Red leader/tippet for pocket water?

Gear & Reviews
1

I read an article in Fly Fisherman this month. In a pocket water fishing article the discuss red leader/tippet to assist in detecting strikes. Does anyone have experience with that/those technique(s)? Pros vs. cons…? What do you actually use?

Thanks,

Dana

2

I use red Amnesia tied with a nail knot to the end of my fly line. I attatch my mono leader to the Amnesia with a loop to loop connection. You can also get the Amnesia in Chartreuse. It does have its place, at times, especially in pocket water.

3

Dana, if this is the article titled Pocketwater, then the reference was to using red or chartreuse as the ‘butt’ section of your leader - not tippet. I use this all the time with my leaders in that I nail-knot a red Amnesia section to my fly line (about 12-inches), tie a perfection loop in the end, and then attach my leader which also has a loop in the butt end. I fish this setup for all of my nymphing along with a strike indicator. I can see the red mono underwater and can often detect strikes before the indicator moves. Good luck. It works for me.

kelly.

4

Thanks for the heads up. Ive found a distributor. Can you use it effectively without a strike indicator? I prefer to fish without them.

Dana

5

Most definately you can. As long as you can see the butt section, it is the indicator. Look up the Czech nymph style or High-Stick nymphing. Both of these methods(O.K. they are basically the same, I just don’t want a debate) suggest a hi-vis butt section to detect strikes instead of an indicator. Hope that helps.
Lou

6

Lou -

Darn it. Wish you wanted a debate so I could suggest that a hi-vis butt section is an indicator !!

John

7

I coat my leader knots with fluorescent chartreuse frabric paint

8

Neat idea Dudley, the whole idea is just to make the leader/tippet visible. At one time Cortland marketed a fly line with a wavey sort of pattern on it - it make any movement visible. Anyone remember those?

9

i don’t remember the wavey lines but do remember one floating line called the nymph tip that had fluor. red or fluor. green tip about a foot long. worked well.

10

I use a Fire Orange 6/0 Uni thread furled leader. It makes a great strike indicator.

11

Great idea! I will try that.

12

I do about the same as KG, except, rather than a foot, my amnesia section is about 1.5-2 inches. Sealed up with UV KnotSense. Works great.

13

The Cortland Dyna-tip lines have a visibly different color at the end. Same idea.

With respect to the “red butt,” I think Harry Murray still sells red butt nymph leaders.

14

Rio also makes an “indicator” leader with a red butt. i ordered a few yesterday. Gotta look though… the don’t have a wide distribution. They have a colored butt and a flat line extension for fast sinking of flies, rather than a conventional taper. $4.95 a peice everywhere i found them. I’ll give them a try. Bit it seems like a simple task to tie a given X leader to Amnesia line and save alot more.

15

I just bought some of this in WF4F. I got it on sale brand new for 30 bucks. I am pumped up to try it out.

It is made by Rio…