Bamboozle
Well-known member
What happens with a leader that is sinking in spots is you have a difference in surface tension as you pick-up between the sections that are floating and those that are not. As you pull and lift up, the sunk sections have a tendency to pull the tippet section under the water, especially if the sections behind them are a few inches below the surface.
When you pick-up your line if you hear a “bloop” sound (which the fish also hear) as your fly breaks the surface…that is why.
It is an even bigger problem if you fish a dry fly in fast choppy water. The broken surface has a natural tendency to pull sections of your leader and even your fly line under water making the lift for the next cast a fly soaking affair. That problem is exacerbated if you use a plain, knotted leader that hasn’t been straightened because the memory coils in the mono naturally break the surface. A shorter STRAIGHTER leader and greasing it and the end of your fly line all but eliminates the problem.
Before I stared using short thread furled leaders to fish dries on smaller streams where broken water abounds, I used the “hollow butt” leaders that Orvis once sold. Having the butt section on top made the pick-up less problematic and they floated better than the greased plain, knotted leaders I was using before.
Now I use greased thread furled leaders or silk blend leaders exclusively when fishing on top and I dry them off with a piece of chamois and re-grease them when needed so I get the easy pick-up I desire. To be honest, I prefer my entire leader to float when dry fly fishing except my tippet. Although if I am fishing choppy water, I will grease right down to the fly and it doesn’t seem to make a difference to the fish.
Speaking of fly lines, in my experience if I am having an issue where the end of my fly line is sinking, 99% of the time, it is because the butt of my leader is sinking and in effect, pulling it under. When this happens, I will either dry off my leader with the chamois & re-grease it, or put on a bone-dry one and re-grease that. It solves the problem every time, even when I am using a real silk fly line.
Finally, while lifting your line up and off the water straight up with a longer rod always improves the pick-up, fishing a long rod or lifting straight up is not always possible or practical depending on where you are fishing. Where I fish the most, 90% of the time I am fishing a rod shorter than 9 feet so every little bit of help from my leader is welcome.
When you pick-up your line if you hear a “bloop” sound (which the fish also hear) as your fly breaks the surface…that is why.
It is an even bigger problem if you fish a dry fly in fast choppy water. The broken surface has a natural tendency to pull sections of your leader and even your fly line under water making the lift for the next cast a fly soaking affair. That problem is exacerbated if you use a plain, knotted leader that hasn’t been straightened because the memory coils in the mono naturally break the surface. A shorter STRAIGHTER leader and greasing it and the end of your fly line all but eliminates the problem.
Before I stared using short thread furled leaders to fish dries on smaller streams where broken water abounds, I used the “hollow butt” leaders that Orvis once sold. Having the butt section on top made the pick-up less problematic and they floated better than the greased plain, knotted leaders I was using before.
Now I use greased thread furled leaders or silk blend leaders exclusively when fishing on top and I dry them off with a piece of chamois and re-grease them when needed so I get the easy pick-up I desire. To be honest, I prefer my entire leader to float when dry fly fishing except my tippet. Although if I am fishing choppy water, I will grease right down to the fly and it doesn’t seem to make a difference to the fish.
Speaking of fly lines, in my experience if I am having an issue where the end of my fly line is sinking, 99% of the time, it is because the butt of my leader is sinking and in effect, pulling it under. When this happens, I will either dry off my leader with the chamois & re-grease it, or put on a bone-dry one and re-grease that. It solves the problem every time, even when I am using a real silk fly line.
Finally, while lifting your line up and off the water straight up with a longer rod always improves the pick-up, fishing a long rod or lifting straight up is not always possible or practical depending on where you are fishing. Where I fish the most, 90% of the time I am fishing a rod shorter than 9 feet so every little bit of help from my leader is welcome.
