i have been making some hand tied leaders …out of mono … just was wondering who else does anwhat type of line do they use ? i started with trilene …and was thinking about maybe some others …i live down here in south west missiouri …near anderson …and well not to many warmwater flyfishermen or women down here …such as it is …but i do have e-mail an will re. all if i dont git overwelmed …wait for the spawn …and trout opening day @roaring river …t/c michael
Foambug,
First, welcome.
You can tie effective leaders out of any regular monofilament. The stuff they make specifically for leaders, though, seems to work a bit better. It’s stiff where it should be stiff, more limp where that’s needed, etc…
I’ve seen ‘leader kits’ at places like Cabelas that give you all the sizes so that you can build them to suit. I’ve actually used the Maxima kit, and it works well.
If you need information on the ‘formulas’ for leaders, you can find a lot of that information here. Just do a seach.
Good Luck!
Buddy
I use the Maxima Chameleon for my my fresh water leaders
Climax for the salty ones, although I’ve used Trilene XT in the past
Years ago when I first began tying my own, I started with a ‘kit’ of Orvis Super Strong
I use Maxima Clear for my regular leaders and Orvis Mirage for my fluoro leaders. Both are very stiff which is desirable.
Buying knotless leaders isn’t a bad way to go either. Get some tippet spools of varying “X’s” for replenishment and you would be amazed at how long a leader will last. You can usually find some good prices in the winter and stock up for the season. A really good place to get solid info on tying various leaders is over at globalflyfisher.com. Look for the “Leadercalc” program. You need Excel to use it, and it is downloadable. Hours of good stuff in there. Good luck with it.
For most saltwater and bass applications I use a length of mono or berkley Vanish is as large a size as I think the fish will ignore. No tippet required.
Bass usually rate 8-12 pound test. Saltwater up to 20.
For most of the others I wait until sierratradingpost.com has a sale on Dai-Riki tapered leaders (which can get as low as 79 cents each) and buy a bunch. Then I cut off the end two feet and add appropriate tippet. For bluegill that will be 4-6 pound Vanish, for trout I may use that weight Vanish then add smaller fluro tippet if fishing tiny flies.
If you haven’t already read thru it, take a look at
http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/showthread.php?t=25719
It has some interesting discussion and techniques
Have fun,
Faombug,
I have been using Lefty Kreh inspired “supple butt” leaders for most of my angling for years. Maxima Chameleon can be a bit too stiff for butt sections in my opinion. That loop needs to roll, it makes sense to me that it be made of material that wiil allow that. I use quality mono such as Trilene or Ande. Whatever brand you choose, keep it the same throughout the butt and midsection for consistant energy transfer.
John
I’ve been using Berkley Big Game until recently. My only complaint is that it is difficult to straighten out. It takes several passes with a rubber pad. Rio will straighten with just the friction from your fingers.
I thought that I was going to tie my own leaders last year and kept this very nice, short and to the point link: http://www.flyfishusa.com/tackle-tips/leaders/about-leaders.html
I considered buying multiple spools of Maxima and then a bloodknot tying tool. Instead I ran across some Dai-Riki leaders from Sierra trading post for penny’s. This year I just received 24 tapered, knotless Rio leaders from Ebay for 62 cents each and that is with the shipping costs. I couldn’t even buy the materials for that much less do the work. I still think making and experimenting with leaders would be a fun, learning experience; economically, if one shops during the off season, it just wasn’t worth it to me.
Rick
I was one of those people that hand tied leaders for some time. Then I started reading about furled leaders here on this site. With a little research I built my first jig and furled my first leader. Wow , what a diffrence in how better they cast and fish. I cant believe how few people I see use them. If you have not, they are worth a try. There are a lot of inexpensive ones out there to buy and give a chance. I do not miss all those knots and spools of mono everywhere. With a simple loop to loop connection and few spools of tippet your set to go. And as your might read if you look into it, they can last a whole season or more. Just my 2 cents worth.
I prefer using Aireflow Poly Leaders with a loop to loop tippet made out of 3x Floralcarbon.
If you use intermediate line, I use that about 60% of the time the Aireflow poly intermediate leader works great.
I make my tippets about 3ft long and put a small silver quick snap on the end. I know a lot of people do not like snaps but they have advantages you should concider, Changing flies is quicker and simpler especially if you have vision problems or arthritis that makes tying alot of knots in the field a problem. Be sure to make up several tippet before you go fishing. Besure to check the snap end offten especially if the Basss are hitting. The insides of a bass mouth is like sandpaper and can abraid the end of your tippet. I have found that Cabela brand works just fine or my friend uses straight 8# FC fishing line. I have found that when using bigger Bass Poppers that the Frog Hair brand works great! I have found that it is a little stiffer.
Fishin’ Jimmy
Why worry about that just buy you a light and heavy furled lead and tippet and don’t worry about it the rest of the year maybe two just my 2 cents
It is tough to beat Ebay when it comes to buying leaders. Same with some flies. I don’t think some of the prices cover the material costs.
Why worry? I’ll Be there! Unless you bought a lot of cheep stuff. Than I will fess up the true cost of you being cheep!
Fishin’ Jimmy
Do Not forget to buy a couple of great Babboo Rods! Maybe a Walton POWELL or a West Jordon my mind can go nummmmm!
I use furled leaders too, and I use them for all my set-ups (from 3wt trout to 10wt salt water). This way I get fantastic leaders that last forever and in whatever configuration I want. The first three or four were a bit of a pain, but even at that they were easier to me than tying all the knots in a hand-tied leader. If I couldn’t furl my own I would just buy furled leaders. If I couldn’t do that either I would buy machine made tapered mono because it would be worth the cost to me to avoid all those knots.
And, some are tied from fly tying thread, some from mono, some from fluoro, but most from nylon thread from the quilting section of the craft store.
I most often use uni-thread or mono. Have not found a good source of thread at the craft stores. Can you give pointer on what size or brand to look for?