confusion about the leader

[FFChineseman]

As some of you might know I am very new to fly fishing, so I am very confused about if the fast consumption of my leader is normal or I do it wrong.

When I am fishing, I will change my fly constantly trying to figure out which one might work. During the switching, the skinny part of my leader will be cutted out with the fly. After about six or seven times of changing, the top part of the leader will be gone completely, so I need to add new leader on it. (so...one set of leader is about 3-4 dollars, i might need to use like 2 sets everytime fishing )

does everybody have the same situation or just becasue i do it worng ?

 

[jayL]

You can buy spools of tippet to add on to your leader.

Whichever size leader you are using, get some of that size tippet- if you use 5x leaders, get 5x tippet. You can use a blood knot to replace the skinny (tippet) section of the leader as needed. If it gets trimmed down too far, get some heaver tippet material and rebuild it back down.

I usually use a tapered leader as is until I lose a few feet of it, then rebuild as needed with tippet material. Once too much tippet is gone from the leader, I'll usually a little 3x and build back down to 5x.

 

[gfen]

In a similar method, I invested in a couple of furled leaders this year. They've got a loop on both ends, and so I'll just pull off about 3-4' of tippet, tie a quick loop in the end and then connect it to the the loop on the end of the furled leader.

For me, at least, its been very easy to keep track of what I'm doing, and I've become no small fan of just discarding my tippet when it grows to short and tying new on, whereas the previous years I found it much harder to gauge where my tapered leader was sized, and where to cut off and tie up what, plus losing more and more with every blood knot.

The cost of the furled leaders is significant compared to a tapered one, but I've gone the bulk of this trout season with only one leader, and I've only had to replace it due to lack of understanding in the beginning, and tearing the pre-tied loop in the leader.

Another benefit I've noticed is a complete lack of wind knots in my leader, although I do seem to have a bigger issue with twist forming. I'm not sure if that's due to my fishing style, or if its exaggerated by the furled leader, however, I'll take the trade off of having to untwist the leader once or twice a session to getting a wind knot in a brand new tapered leader before I've gotten a chance to use it.

 

[jayL]

You're set for life. A good furled leader lasts multiple seasons.

 

[JasonS]

Here's an example of what JayL is talking about.

http://www.orvis.com/store/productchoice.aspx?pf_id=80P9&dir_id=758&group_id=10660&cat_id=5133&subcat_id=6014

This is the basic leader I use, a 9ft 5x Orvis Super Strong. They sell the leader and tippet as a combo or you can buy them seperately. Normally I carry spools of tippet ranging from 2x to 7x. This way I can rebuild the leader no matter how short it gets, but I can also lengthen it and go thinner to 6x or 7x depending on fishing conditions.

 

[FlySwatter]

Hi FFChineseman,

Depending on the length and brand of your commercial leader, there may be up to 3 feet of level "tippet" at the end of the leader. This gets eaten away quickly as you change or lose flies.

You should do as JayL suggests and invest in various size tippet spools that can be used to replace the lost tippet section of the leader.

This site should help: Surgeons Knot

Alternately, you can tie a Perfection Loop in the end of your leader so you don't use leader material each time you attach tippet to it. The tippet can have a perfection loop, too. Then you use the loop-to-loop connection.

I hope this helps.

 

[littlelehigh]

gfen wrote:
In a similar method, I invested in a couple of furled leaders this year. They've got a loop on both ends, and so I'll just pull off about 3-4' of tippet, tie a quick loop in the end and then connect it to the the loop on the end of the furled leader.

For me, at least, its been very easy to keep track of what I'm doing, and I've become no small fan of just discarding my tippet when it grows to short and tying new on, whereas the previous years I found it much harder to gauge where my tapered leader was sized, and where to cut off and tie up what, plus losing more and more with every blood knot.

The cost of the furled leaders is significant compared to a tapered one, but I've gone the bulk of this trout season with only one leader, and I've only had to replace it due to lack of understanding in the beginning, and tearing the pre-tied loop in the leader.

Another benefit I've noticed is a complete lack of wind knots in my leader, although I do seem to have a bigger issue with twist forming. I'm not sure if that's due to my fishing style, or if its exaggerated by the furled leader, however, I'll take the trade off of having to untwist the leader once or twice a session to getting a wind knot in a brand new tapered leader before I've gotten a chance to use it.

I have to second what Gfen says regarding furled leaders I love mine for dry flys especially. I switch to a George Harvey for nymphing reason being I feel like I get a better drift.

Gfen,
do you taper your tippett off of the furled leader or if you are using 7x will you tie a 3 foot piece directly to the leader. Just curious I've tried it both ways for the hell of it. I think tying straight to the leader is the way to go.

 

[JasonS]

littlelehigh wrote:


Gfen,
do you taper your tippett off of the furled leader or if you are using 7x will you tie a 3 foot piece directly to the leader. Just curious I've tried it both ways for the hell of it. I think tying straight to the leader is the way to go.

I've been considering switching over to furled leader and this was the question I had. Do you have to taper the tippet or can you just tie on a 3-4ft length of tippet? If the latter then I see that as being a big plus for the furled leader, and will make it more likely that I switch over. Thanks for that info lh, curious to see what others say.

 

[gfen]

I normally use 4x or 5x, and don't taper. I've thought about stepping down to 5x and then 7x the few times I have, but never bothered because honestly, I don't spend long enough at 7x to matter.

So, to sum up, for the 5x I don't taper at all, and I get a great presentation that'll roll out for me as good, or better, than I ever got with a tapered mono leader.

For TricoFest, I might taper it a bit to get a nice, long leader, and hopefully a more drag free drift. Even if tapering, if you're going ot find yourself using fine tippet for an extended period, its going to really add that much time to tie on 3' of 5x via loop-to-loop, then your 7x on the end of that via a surgeon's knot, or what have you.

Also, let it be known that when I bought my two furled leaders this year, I bought both as the shorter lengths that Blue Sky offered through Cabela's, not the longer ones.

When it comes time to restock, my next furled leader will be the longer model. I have no doubts it'll turn over like a dream.

 

[jayL]

For what its worth, all of my furled leader fishing is tapered to 3x and 5x. I usually leave it at 5x, but will taper down if necessary. I have found it helps to turn big or heavy flies over easier.

Then again, I almost always use 2 or 3 flies, and lots of lead while nymphing.