What is the best all purpose, reasonably priced, saltwater leader available? I’m on a budget and can’t afford to have more than one spool, so I need a leader that will work inshore and possibly offshore (no big game fish). I’ll definitely be fishing inshore and I might take it with me when I go offshore with my wife’s uncle.
I’ll be fishing in the Wrightsville Beach area of NC.
probably one thats hand tied
Wow, that’s a tough question to answer. I don’t know that it’s really possible to answer with just one suggestion because there are so many different variables to each fishing situation.
If when you say “leader” you are talking about the tippet, and not the butt section of the leader, then you still limit yourself. I think a good allround choice would be 12lb line. I use plain old Stren, but I’ve got it tied to a 17lb line that is a bit stiffer for the butt section, and then I’ve got 50lb flourocarbon tied onto the 12lb for a shock tippet. So you see, I already have 3 different lines for my leaders.
If you’re talking about buying pre-made tapered leaders, I’m afraid I don’t know how to answer that question. I would definatley recommend that you have some heavy flouro for a shock tippet depending on which species of fish you’re after, and maybe even a wire leader or two tied up and ready to go in case you get into some really toothy fish like mackarel or blue fish.
I have found that in all my saltwater fishing I very rarely change my leader, but I do change the shock tippet and wire bite leaders fairly often, so 1 leader could potentially last a long time as long as you’re not damaging them too much on coral and other underwater obstacles. I usually make up a dozen or so leaders and keep them in a little pouch so that if I do need to change, I just take one out, and loop-to-loop it to my fly line, tie on a shock tippet, the fly and I’m fishing again.
I hope this helps you and doesn’t confuse you too much,
TT.
I recently decided to follow up on saltwater guru comments re saltwater leaders. These guys tend to stay simple, i.e: a 5-6’ length of 20# Ande or other mono as a leader. I attached the 20# length with a double surgeon’s loop to my fly line and casted away.
Casted beautifully with good loops, etc. straight line at “plop down” and now that’s what I’m using as a leader.
When the 20# leader gets shorter, I can always attach a 15# length of tippet to my fly.
Thumbs, so correct me if I’m wrong but do you simply tie different strength mono together to form your “leader” and then attach another section of heavier mono or wire for a shock tippet? I have mono of all weights, so putting together a “leader” such as that would be no problem. I was inquiring about pre-made tapered leaders, but I wasn’t too dead set on them. I just want something that will work.
Really, I think I was trying to get someone to tell me that I didn’t need a pre-made tapered leader.
You don’t need a pre-made tapered leader. 
Most of the fishing i do is for stripers and stuff up here in the Northeast. I use 2 different leaders-- one with floating lines and one with intermediate/sinking lines.
With floaters, a 9’ 4/3/2 leader with a 4’ butt section of 35 or 40lb mono, 3’ mid section of 30 or 25lb mono and a "tippet of 2’ of 20 or 16lb mono. I generally use clear or Ande.
With intermediate and sinking fly lines I just use a short, straight shot of 20lb Ande, (not tapered) anywhere from 4 to 6’ long. The short leader prevents flies from rising up defeating the purpose of a sinking line.
I often fish this as is with out a shock or bite tippet for stripers. But, depending on what I’m fishing for, I might add a short 60lb mono shock leader if there are big fish around, and for toothy fish like bluefish, I have simple flies pre-tied to 4-6" of single strand wire with a haywire twist, but you could carry a knot-able wire like Tyger Wire to rig up quickly on the water.
Leaders in SW can be a lot less complicated than the ones used in trout fishing where they need to turn over small flies, and provide drag free drifts. SW flies will generally have enough weight to lay out pretty well, and even if they don’t they are usually actively retrieved when you strip them in, or swung on a tight line.
Good luck,
Mark
…what Mark said
I’ll also use 6’ straight 20# mono on a floating line if I’m planning on fishing a popper
Ande or Trilene Big Game
:shock: There’s guys around here that when fishing a rocky area, will just use a leader of about 8’ of straight 30# mono and tie an overhand knot in it to weaken it ( I know !)
That way they can dispense with the bother of a separate shock tippet
Yup, you don’t have to have a pre-made tapered leader. Mark gave you a great recipe, you can go lighter too it you want. I will also use just a straight lenght of line for a leader if I’m throwing a popper. You should be fine if you make up a few to take with you.
I attach all my lines together using a double surgeons knot. I’ve never had one come undone, and they are super easy to tie. I always use a shock tippet, but you certainly don’t have to.
Glad we could help.
TT
I appreciate all of the help. I’m trying to get everything in order sooner rather than later. Looks like I’m going to be tying up some leaders here in the very near future.
Thanks again.
Mark C
NCVirginian: I agree with all suggestions from FAOL posters re your question and, I, too, have started to use a straight length of 20# Ande for my leader and have found it to be satisfactory, as I posted.
However, if you don’t want to be bothered with tying your own leaders from several pieces of mono in different pound tests, you can purchase, when available, Scientific Angler or Rio or Orvis tapered leaders from sierratradingpostdotcom who often has very good prices on tapered leaders. When they have a sale, I buy a dozen or two for me and my fishing buddy. All perform very well.
Ron
So I’m digging through my box of differing strength fishing lines the other night so that I can start tying up some leaders and realized (much to my dismay) that the strongest thing I’ve got is 30lb. mono. . . in RED!!! I have the better part of a spool of it left over from my trolling days on the coast. The next best thing I have is 14lb. mono.
So what’s the LIGHTEST you would go for the butt section? Also, would you use the red for the butt? Would you use it at all, maybe for a shock tippet?
i’m very curious to see the answer to your last NCVirginian…never occured to me to use red for the butt section…i can see the use of it though. Let’s see what the guys with experience have to say.
Cheers,
MontanaMoose
I’m curious as well since I’ve got so much of it. Since I don’t really do much trolling anymore, it’s just kind of collecting dust.
Many folks use a red section of mono …Amnesia…as a connection of line to leader to use as an indicator when using a floating line when nymphing.
I use 40# test for the butt section with a 9 or 10 weight line
Red 30# test would not be my first choice, but probably close enough
I have a spreadsheet that contains formulas for hand tying leaders. One set is for heavy saltwater leaders. PM and I’ll e-mail it to you.
Disclaimer: I am no pro. My only real saltwater experience fly fishing has been in Florida. This is just what I’ve learned from reading/trying things out down there. It may or may not apply.
My understanding is that it’s much more about diameter than lb test rating. You don’t want the difference in diameter between you’re fly line and your leader but to be too great. I don’t know what the proper ratio is, but somewhere around 20-50lb mono is usually in the right range depending on the fly line and the mono in question. When you start to get too much of a gap in diameters, energy transfer from the line to leader suffers. I’d compare the diameter of your mono with the diameter of the line you intend to use. If they look a lot different then you might want to pick up a spool of something heavier. If it’s just going to be a but section, pick up a cheap spool from Walmart or your local sporting goods store. I’ve seen 20,30, and 50lb mono for less than $3 a spool. Its not high quality mono by any means, but its probably not much worse than some old trolling line you had lying around.
As far as the color, I doubt it will make a difference where you’re going. On a bonefish flat with finicky fish I’d be more concerned, but for reds//flounder I think you’ll be fine. Big names like Flip Pallot suggest bright orange fly lines to help you see them as you cast, so I can’t imagine a short red section in your leader would be much more of an issue to the fish.
It could add some extra attraction as a bite tippet in shallow water, but I think part of the marketing for the red lines was also that red light dissipates quickest in water due to its longer wavelength which means it is the first color not to be seen as you get deeper in the water. I’m not sure what depth that start to be relevant or if you’ll ever fly fish water that deep, just something to look into I guess.
If it were me, I’d go grab a cheap spool of 20 and 30lb mono from Wallyworld to be safe. Should be able to get both for less than $7 and it will be enough to last you a long time. Covers you for bite tippet and you can make leaders with a 30lb butt and a straight piece of 20lb mid section/tippet section/bite tippet. Only takes 3 knots between fly line and fly with that system and you should be able to fish just fine. If you get bit off with the 20lb, go up to 30lb for a bite tippet on the end. If that doesn’t work I’d buy some wire before I went any higher with the mono for a bite tippet. I’d still bring some lighter mono/fluoro if you have room for it incase the fish seem leadershy and you want to downsize, but with ocean fish that doesn’t seem to matter much. I used to fish a lot of 8lb fluoro as my tippet when I was fishing the surf in clear water for snook, but when I went up to 17-20lb test I didn’t notice much difference at all and was able to put more pressure on the fish.
Joe,
Thanks for the advice. I hadn’t really thought too much about the diameter difference between fly line and leader. As for the red, I bought that spool for my deep diving trolling rod because they (the so called experts) said it would be harder to see at deeper depths. Since I won’t be doing too much deep water fly fishing, I’ll probably just save it for a later trip.
Thanks again for the tips.
I tie leaders up for all my customers…I also carry all sizes leader material from 50lb down to 8lb in both floro and mono…I cant say I fished Wrightsville Beach but I did come from the Outer Banks of NC…if your rod is a 9wt or under a 40lb butt section is important…from the 4ft butt section go to 2ft of 30lb and then 1ft of 20lb…finally attach the tippet…I would use 15lb tippet…use about 3ft…this will give you roughly a 9-10ft leader which will work fine in the surf and capable of handling up to 40lb fish…if catching bluefish or spanish or something with teeth then add 8inches of 30lb test to the tippet to prevent the teeth from cutting the line…this is a basic saltwater leader that will land anything you will hook…spools are cheap to buy and not the same as mono…I use and recommend Maxima and they are a couple $$$ per spool…for about $30 you will have enough leader material to keep you going no matter what…while others might disagree with this advice I pay my bills from using this formula…there is no big mystery about saltwater leaders but lots of hype…you are not so concerned about “dry fly” presentation and perfect loops etc but a straight solid connection that is solid and basic…good luck
What I use for surf fishing is just a 6’ piece of straight 15 pound test line and that works good enough for me. I don’t fish for bonefish or spooky species so in my particular case presentation is not that important. If I’m fishing for corbina then I’ll just make a longer leader probably 9’. What is critical in my case is that the fly sinks fast so I don’t use long leaders. I tie my own leaders and it’s not that hard once you find a good formula.
I bought a spool of Cabela’s salt striker line ant that’s what I’m using until I run out of it. You can also use fluorocarbon if the fish are spooky.