Ive been chatting with a guide in FL about flyfishing down there and he told me what he used as leaders but I MAY have gotten mixed up…( Duhhh…lol)
For fish such as snook; “baby tarpon”; red fish; sea trout…etc…i THINK he told me he uses a 15-20 lb leader ( ??) about 7 1/2 ft lg to which he ties about 2 ft of 20 lb mono…and then about 2 ft of 30 lb “shock tippet” but may have to jump up to 40 lb on th every end because some fishes gill place or others teeth…tear up that shock tippet.
Why does “smaller to larger” sound backwards to me ( someone who hasnt fished in the salt ever)
I’m a little confused about your description. If he is talking about a 15 to 20 # tapered leader I might agree with him, but if he is talking about a level leader with no taper, I would disagree. You would have a difficult time turning over a fly effectively with a level leader and a larger bit tippet.
My standard saltwater leader is 4 ft. 30# hard mason mono, 3 ft. 20# hard mason mono and 2 feet of 10# fluorcarbon. The sections can be shortened for a shorter overall leader. If necessary, I add a 25# fluorcarbon bite tippet of about 1 foot.
tarpon have a very rough mouth and can wear out a small diameter tippet close to the hook—you are necessarily looking for stealth at the end of the leader .
my standard tarpon leader is 40#–30# and 20 or 16# with 18" of 80 or 60# at the end next to the fly—I like them around the length of the rod so the line/leader connection doesnt get pulled into the rod tip.
Yes…excuse me I should have said a tapered leader. But just as you describe…a much heavier section right at the “fly”…seems the leader itself would give up the ghost before the “tippet” does???
Can a person even purchase a 20# factory made “tapered” leader? I can buy the material for sure and with my “handy dandy” blood knot maker build some if need be…but I dont see anything that big for sale in any catalogs?
B. LEADER
Leaders must conform to generally accepted fly fishing customs.
A leader includes a class tippet and, optionally, a shock tippet. A butt or taper section between the fly line and the class tippet shall also be considered part of the leader and there are no limits on its length, material, or strength.
A class tippet must be made of nonmetallic material and either attached directly to the fly or to the shock tippet if one is used. The class tippet must be at least 15 inches (38.10 cm) long (measured inside connecting knots). With respect to knotless, tapered leaders, the terminal 15 inches (38.10 cm) will also determine tippet class. There is no maximum length limitation.
A shock tippet, not to exceed 12 inches (30.48 cm) in length, may be added to the class tippet and tied to the lure. It can be made of any type of material, and there is no limit on its breaking strength. The shock tippet is measured from the eye of the hook to the single strand of class tippet and includes any knots used to connect the shock tippet to the class tippet.
In the case of a tandem hook fly, the shock tippet shall be measured from the eye of the leading hook.
dudley: Ooookkkk…?? But whats that got to do with me exactly? Im not out after a trophy or anything. If i need (??) to use 100# mono to land a 20 pound fish…thats fine with me. Heck…if I get a 20 pound ANYTHING ( except an alligator) boated Id be happy
just use a regular leader and tie on a about 1ft of bite tippet…I use 25lb for snook and baby tarpon…bigger fish require heavier bite tippet…some fish dont require any bite tippet such as bones and permit…I have never had a bite tippet give out but they must be changed constantly because the flourocarbon gets chaffed easily and refracts light plus its weaker…you wouldnt even want to know my leader formula…I will go as much as 5 sections and rarely do I go under 13ft
here the easy one that I use for anything and everything except sharks…I can tie a bite leader to it if snook or tarpon are around…in reality if the water will allow I will use a 8" piece of 20lb and call it good usually…it will allow for quick fights but wont stop bones from taking it unless it hinders the fly movement
5ft of 40lb
2.5ft of 30lb
15" of 20lb
4-5ft of 10lb flourocarbon
Sully, I’ll try to explain why we do this in the salt as simply as possible. We use a tippet in the salt called a Shock tippet. This is usually a heavy mono or flourocarbon 40-50lbs and sometimes even a stainless steel wire. The strength of the tippet before the shock is never over 20 lbs. the reason for this is actually simple. The shock tippet will guard against the fishes gill plate or teeth from cutting through it. The lighter tippet behind the shock tippet is never over 20lbs for a very important reason, so it will break before the line or backing. If the tippet breaks you lose the fish, fly and tippet, however you will never break your line(30lb) or worse yet break your backing(30lb) and lose you line. Hope this helps.
