I noticed when I went fishing there were other fly fisherman and they were carrying diffrent size’s of tippet on there vest and at times they would add tippet to the tippet that was on there line. Why?
If you add tippet do you still use the rule of thumb of smaller tippet as you go down?
Thanks again
Rambo
some people make theie own leader out of different sizes of tippet materials. It allows for better casting if you make it right, and much more versatility for length and other factors. Plus, you are not going to tie a 5x tippet to an 8x leader. just versatility.
nen-bran
I am one of those guys. I do it for several reasons. First, when I eat up a leader and it is 2’ shorter than when new I add a piece of tippet to make it like new then add another piece and start over. At other times I may be fishing 6x and want something less visible or something I can get through the eye of a small fly so I’ll add a piece of 7x.
I am not overly concerned with the exacting measurements of what a proper leader taper should be.
I won’t add 6x to 6x, I’ll remove the old piece and add a piece of longer tippet.
jed
While I on the other hand will add 3X to 3X if the 3X gets too short in my home made leader, not only that, I’ll put 4X between 3X and 3X sections then more 4X and finally 5X…etc…the reason is to tailor the leader to turn over certain bugs. I never go lighter than 5X and prefer sticking with 3X or heavier even for trout. It can work and it is done. That’s just .02 worth and my humble opinion, prolly not worth much.
Cheers,
MontanaMoose
George,
WHAT on earth are you talking about???
Doug 
:lol: P.S. I’m just giving you a bad time!
Hey good buddy, if you can’t understand those drunken leader building instructions, you’ll have to have me tye your leaders for you when you come down huh !
Cheers,
MontanaMoose
George,
You actually set a new ‘LINE’ record for the BB!!!
3x, 3x, 3x, 4x, 3x, 3x, 4x, 5x, 5x, AND 3x!!! :shock:
Your the MAN!!!
I would like to come down there and fish, if only I could inherit someone’s inheritence! :lol:
Doug
say what?! :shock: :? :o 
haha
this thread is going confusing! lol
That’s a pretty wild homemade leader ya got there Doug…now is that for drys or nymphos?
Cheers,
MontanaMoose
I guess it’s for dries since I’m afraid of the other!! :lol: :lol:
Yeah, I had to quit 'em too because bursitis had set in.
Cheers,
MontanaMoose
dumb question to add to this thread but what is a tippet and if i have a mono 2 wt leader do i need one?
there are 3 basic components of a tapered leader. the fat end is called the “butt section”, the next part is the “mid section” and the skinny end is called the "tippet.
The leader butt attaches directly to the fly line and must be of a diameter and stiffness similar to the end of the fly line, so as to transfer energy from the fly line to the rest of the leader smoothly. The graduated mid-section transfers the energy from the butt section to the leader’s tippet. The butt and mid-section are designed as a delivery system for the tippet and fly. The tippet is the leader’s single most important component. The tippet size and type are determined by the fish size and fishing conditions.
many fly fishers will tie on a standard tapered leader to the end of the fly line. then they will add a 1-3 foot length of "tippet to the “tippet” end of the original leader. this new length of “tippet” will facilitate the the changing of flies during a day of fishing and preserve the original length of the tapered leader. the new “tippet” will get shorter and shorter with more fly changes.
adding “tippet” to a packaged leader is NOT REQUIRED and can be used as is right out of the package, but if you want to preserve the length of the leader, then add some “tippet”.
DShock & MontanaMoose: Am I intepreting that you guys don’t nymph anymore because of bad shoulders? I wqent to a 10-foot rod and that helps helps me a lot.
Hey Rambo: I second what the previous posters have said about leaders. I’d be glad to send you one of my nymphing leaders if you’d like to PM me your address.
Bruce
to the original question:
various reasons for adding tippet to the leader have been given, but to sum it up, tippet is generally added on the end of a leader to increase the length of the leader, adjust the taper(more advanced, some people worry about it, I would bet most don’t), or to drop down to a smaller tippet to decrease visibility or tie on a smaller fly.
To CharlaineC:
2wt would refer to the flyline, not to the leader itself. Normand posted what a leader is, maybe you are referring to a leader that came with your 2wt outfit?
And lastchance, maybe it’s just me, but I think you missed a joke in there somewhere based on the letter o?
As was mentioned above the tippet is the end of the leader that attaches to the fly. Certain size tippets work best with certain sized flies, first of all: http://hipwader.com/2003/tippet-to-fly-size-chart which is a chart that explains that.
Also, when fish get shy, tippets usually are reduced in diameter an X or two for that particular fly size.
The leader should fit nicely between the size of fly you are using (not only hook size but air resistance and weight) and the flyline. Commercial tapered leaders come with butt sizes from around .017 to up around .025 with the latter being for heavier saltwater and bass bug outfits. From that butt, which should match your fly line in flex, it then tapers down to where the tippet is attached. For commercial leaders, the taper takes place primarily in the mid section of the leader with the butt being fairly level as is the tippet. Whether commercial or hand tied, the tippet is most always a level piece of mono or FC.
Generally a rule of thumb is around three feet for your tippet. I tie on 3 to 4 ft when needed, use it up changing flies until it’s down to between a foot to 1.5 feet and then switch it out with new tippet. The tippet will also be referred to as a class tippet as it’s the weak link that determines fly line class if you are fishing for records. When pursuing fly rod records always insure that your “class tippet,” measures at least 24" or you will be disqualified.
Dry flies or spooky fish in shallow water will require the longer leaders, finer tippets, etc with wet flies and streamer leaders, or murky water leaders being much shorter except in rare instances.
OK I will throw this out there for fun…
I like things real easy and simple…
I buy a 9ft, 1,2 or 3X tapered leader, tie a loop in the end, the take about 2 - 4 ft of mono or poly line, size or weight 2 lb 4lb, 6 lb , 8 lb and loop to loop what ever size that I need, to the end of the leader, when the looped “tippet” gets too small I loop a new tippet it again, no need to cut and tie to the leader, and you can change “tippet size” fast…
Works well, If I am fishing a feeder stream with small Brookies, and then hit the main branch and want to hit the Cutties or Bulls then pop of the looped Tippet and hook anther on… and away we go…
Anybody else do this or am I the only one??
That’s exactly how I manage my tippets as well. Also in many instances I’ll leave the tipped tied to a fly thus making fly changes extremely quick as well.
Paul
You’re mostly right in my case only it was elbow and shoulder. I was just beginning to train myself to cast lefty to give the shoulder a rest but quit nymphing instead. All is well now and i’ve had no recurrence. Also, nymphing became quite boring though highly productive. Nowadays i dryfly, swing or strip but not necessarily in that order. Thanks for the suggestion of the 10 footer though, others will benefit hopefully.
Cheers,
MontanaMoose