Leader and Tippet Material

[thebassman]

Hey Guys,

Since leaders have become such a big topic in my other thread, I thought I would post a few questions that I have (might be dumb).

What leader an tippet material should I look into....Floro, Mono, Nylon? Whats the advantage/disadvantage of these materials

Thanks for putting up with all my questions.

Steve

 

[gfen]

Flouro won't biodegrade, meaning those little bits you cut off will be littering the enviroment for the remainder of time indefinite.

Just use mono.

 

[Lonewolve]

Bassman,
Deoends what your fishing for where it pertains to leaders.
do you want to tie your own? Some would argue that hand tied leaders perform the best.If so get a leader kit,Flyfisher's Paradise in State College sells one also come with directions for various leaders and explanation of leaders,as well as formulas.
IMHO Maxima In Chameleon or Ultragreen is a great leader butt and midsection material.For tippets i have found Rio Powerflex a great new discovery for me,prior to that i have used orvis Super Strong,ClimaxMaxima Ultragreen as well as cortland mono for tippets .This as listed is standard fare for dry fly leaders.
In the Past folks used silk for leaders,then after the advent of WW2 nylon was discovered and soon leaders and tippet were made of this for a good many years ,like silk this was all that was available for a while,in the meantime mono became better and better,and then Florocarbon became available.
Flourocarbon is better suited to Wetflies,Softhackles,Nymphs,and Streamers.In the Saltwater scene Flourocarbon is the standard leader material and tippet material.
Saltwater Regulars will tell you flat out Seaguar is the best,where it perrtains to flourocarbon they invented it they brought it to market and they have improved it too.Also Froghair has done some work to improve through their Gamma technology.
For freshwater dry fly fishing leaders with maxima butts and midsections and Rio Flouroflex perform hands down.Other mono i'd use for tippet is Orvis Super Strong it also very very good.
For Nymphing /wets/softhackles use Maxima for butts and mid sections,use flouro Seaguar Grandmax,And Rio Floroflex plus for tippets.for streamers since the leader is generally shorter use Flouro through and through usually just three sections to a streamer leader till yer at the fly.
Saltwater Flourocarbon only,Seaguar is the standard and the best ,maybe some fine coated knotable wire leader for tippet when blues or toothy critter are around, also works for musky and pike fishing too.
Tight Wraps & Tight Lines
Rick Wallace

 

[sandfly]

lonewolf

Saltwater Flourocarbon only,Seaguar is the standard and the best ,maybe some fine coated knotable wire leader for tippet when blues or toothy critter are around, also works for musky and pike fishing too.

.............


...... try ande line in clear or green. works just as good as flouro but a lot cheaper. all I use for salt. walmart used to sell spools from 100 to 800 yards depending on pound test. I use it for flies and bait/plug setups. I DON"T use wire except for cudas and sharks. the rest I just use heavy ande line.

 

[stevehalupka]

I do keep 3, 4x of flouro handy if you plan on fishing erie steel. it does make a difference. For all other applications, rio powerflex as noted can't be beat.

use leader suggestion I posted in your other thread. I spend at most 15 dollars on leaders a year. With the tippet sizes I reccomended, you can build on even the thickets of used butt ends. In fact, I ask all of my friends to save their butt sections that usually get tossed. 2 surgeon knots and I have myself a few streamer leaders.

 

[jdaddy]

Here's a question I recently thought about ....
We know mono degrades over time. So those who spend $15 a year on leaders, how do you keep Maxima butt sections fresh for years and years?

 

[Heritage-Angler]

jdaddy wrote:
Here's a question I recently thought about ....
We know mono degrades over time. So those who spend $15 a year on leaders, how do you keep Maxima butt sections fresh for years and years?

A lot of folks don't realize that mono takes hundreds of years to degrade in a stream. Gotta pack that stuff out with you too.

Maxima Chameleon is usually used in the heavier sections of leaders by most, and it'll last a very long time. It does tend to get a bit wirey though. Solution? Coil your leaders up like store bought tapered leaders, and boil them for 5 minutes. Take them out of the boiling water, uncoil them, and give 'em a good stretch. Better than new!

Try this - you'll be amazed. You have to re-boil them every couple of months - more often if you don't use them a lot.

 

[pcray1231]

As heritage said, it might not completely disappear for 100 years, but it becomes unusable far before that. I've had mono tippet degrade on the spool within a year or two and become useless, but not the chameleon.

Suspect the difference is in the storage. Tippet spools go with me all the time, every time. They get sun on them, I manage to get em wet somehow, I accidently leave em in a pouch in the car and they get baked. A spool of tippet lives a tough life, because it always has to be easily available in whatever conditions.

The chameleon typically lives at home at my tying desk where I tie my leaders. On longer trips it does go with me, but in a ziplock bag in a pack or something. It just doesn't take the beating.

And if it does degrade a little, who cares? If a tippet degrades a little and loses 25% of it's strength, thats a big deal. If the butt section of my leader loses 25% of its strength, it's still stronger than the tippet and doesn't break.

 

[mcwillja]

Flurocarbon is necessary IMHO fishing for steelhead in the salmon river. Last year I used Rio powerflex and the tippet was getting weak and would break very easily after a few minutes from rock abrasion.

To say just use mono because it breaks down after a hundred years and fluro doesn't is crazy.

 

[troutslammer]

anybody who has had a spool of tippet go bad might as well take up golf or crochet. As far as which breaks down quicker all line/tippet gets packed out. the beauty of fluoro is u can go heavier without the fish seeing it. thus resulting in less break off and less line lying arround in the water and in the fish's mouths. a maxima butt section should last ya all year if tied right unless of course you decide to try to pull your buddys truck out of the ditch with it or something cause it literally won't break under even abnormal conditions

 

[sandfly]

keep all leaders, and tippets out of the light and heat and they should last a few years. i tie all my leaders and then put them in a small zip lock then in a drawer at home to keep them good.