Saving Leader

[melvinthefisherman]

So how you guys save length on your leader. I'll buy a leader say 8 feet and fish it. I will tie it to my casting line, the thick green line. I will fish a fly not like a fly tie on a new one. Do it again now my leader is 7 feet long. Do it a few more times now 5 feet. And eventually I get to a point where I have a three foot leader which is unfishable. How do you prevent or fix this problem, am I missing something ?

 

[CathyG]

You need to add tippet. The end of the leader is the tippet, the thicker part that attaches to your fly line is the butt section. You can buy tippet on spools and add to the leader.

To make it last even longer and make it easier to attach tippet you can buy tippet rings, little rings about 2 mm (they vary a bit) that you tie on the end of the leader and then attach tippet to the ring.

Tippet on spools comes in the same size thicknesses as leader; 3X, 5X etc.

 

[melvinthefisherman]

So it goes fly line(thick green stuff) then leader, then tippet, then fly, then fish :-D

 

[The_Sasquatch]

Yup. I often buy leaders (or now, make leaders) a little shorter than I'd prefer. If I want a 9' leader, I'll get a 7' leader instead and add to it w/ tippet.

 

[whheff]

When you put a fresh leader on you line, put a tippet ring on it and then add your tippet to that. You should not have to add any more material above the ring.
Also, save the 3' section for a streamer leader.
Bill

 

[jeremymcon]

Yup. Add tippet. I know when I first started fly fishing I thought I would just buy new leaders instead of tippet. Now I have spools of 2x through 6x that I have with me most of the time. If you really want to be cheap, you can use the heavier tippets (2x) to help rebuild a leader that you've cut back too far. Though tippet rings will prevent that. I now use tippet rings most of the time - I know you can get them for pretty cheap from Cabela's, as well as bearsden.com.

 

[phiendWMD]

If I'm fishing a 5x leader, to tippet ring, to 5x tippet. and decide I need 4x or 7x tippet, how would I about setting that up? Could I go down (4x tippet on 5x leader) and not cut it or move the ring?

 

[Younger]

phiendWMD wrote:
If I'm fishing a 5x leader, to tippet ring, to 5x tippet. and decide I need 4x or 7x tippet, how would I about setting that up? Could I go down (4x tippet on 5x leader) and not cut it or move the ring?

Never used a tippet ring. Tie a double surgeons knot or blood knot between the leader and tippet. Keep it simple. No need to go nuts with hardware or knots until you start messing with bigger saltwater species.

 

[jeremymcon]

phiendWMD wrote:
If I'm fishing a 5x leader, to tippet ring, to 5x tippet. and decide I need 4x or 7x tippet, how would I about setting that up? Could I go down (4x tippet on 5x leader) and not cut it or move the ring?

Don't tie the ring to the very end of a brand new tapered leader. Fish the leader for a while (or just cut off the tip) until you've cut back into the taper of the leader, and then tie on your tippet ring. At the point the tippet ring is tied on, the part of the leader it's tied to should be more like 1x or 2x in thickness and breaking strength. This way you're free to use tippet as heavy as 3x without having to worry about your leader snapping in the middle instead of at your tippet.

You'll lose fewer tippet rings that way, too.

 

[melvinthefisherman]

What's the 1x, 2X and stuff
Really what is the X?

 

[jeremymcon]

melvinthefisherman wrote:
What's the 1x, 2X and stuff
Really what is the X?

Ha ha ha I have no idea what the X actually means. I assume it's some relic from the early days of tippet manufacturing. But 0X is thick, 1X is thinner, 2X is thinner than that, etc. In trout fishing you usually use between 3x and 6x. Depending on the brand of tippet you use, 6X is about 3lb test, 3X is like 8lb test, and I think 0X is like 15lb test. You can buy 7x or 8x tippet but you I don't think you really need it.

 

[afishinado]

What's a tippet?....why do I need one?....and how do I tie on a tippet?.....


A leader is tapered fishing line where the heaviest end attaches to your fly line (usually with a loop). The leader tapers down to the thin section (the tippet end) which attaches to your fly.

The tippet is a short piece of mono fishing line tied on the end of your leader. When you change flies you cut the tippet rather than cutting and shortening your leader with every fly change.

The easiest way to add a tippet is to cut down your new leader by 18" or so, or buy a leader a little shorter, like a 7.5’ leader to end up with a 9' leader. Tie a 18-24" section of line (tippet) on the end of your leader using a surgeon's knot.

The tippet section should be the same strength line as a the leader or a little lighter. For example: Use a 4x tippet on a 4x leader or 5x tippet on the end of a 4x leader. When the tippet becomes short after tying on a few flies, replace it with a new tippet as explained above.

The mystery of the "X"! :roll:

Tippets are based on the line diameter of .011 (11 thousandths of an inch). Included are approximate lb test ratings depending on the brand of line used.

.011 = 0x (11 - 11 = 0x) 15lb test
.010 = 1x (11 - 10 = 1x) 13lb test
.009 = 2x (11 - 9 = 2x) 11lb test
.008 = 3x (11 - 8 = 3x) 8.0lb test
.007 = 4x (11 - 7 = 4x) 6.0lb test
.006 = 5x (11 - 6 = 5x) 4.5lb test
.005 = 6x (11 - 5 = 6x) 3.0lb test
.004 = 7x (11 - 4 = 7x) 2.5lb test
.003 = 8x (11 - 3 = 8x) 1.5lb test

You subtract 11 from the diameter of the tippet to get the "X" number.

If I need a heavier tippet for streamers or buggers, what do I do?

As stated above, never tie on a tippet that's heavier than the leader. So if you have 4x leader you can tie on a 4x or 5x tippet and not a heavier 3x tippet, which is usually used for streamers or buggers when fishing for trout.

You can buy a 3x leader and use that for steamers and heavy flies or cut back your lighter leader a few feet to the heavier section. Most leaders have a loop-to-loop connection to the fly line and are easy to change out - no knots to tie.

You can use tippet rings instead of surgeons knots, but I beginning anglers to keep it simple by using less hardware.

 

[Fishidiot]

melvinthefisherman wrote:
What's the 1x, 2X and stuff
Really what is the X?

Good answer on "X" sizes from Afish.

Many new fly fishers started as spin fishermen and learned to become familiar with fishing line based on its breaking strength. If, for example, you tell a spin fishermen that he should use "6 lb test" he will instantly understand. If you look at spools of fly fishing tippet, they will have this breaking strength listed as well as the "X" number. Although I have fly fished for over thirty years, I still think in terms of "lb test" rather than "X" size....and you can too. It is all written on the spools.

In my personal opinion, the old "X" system used in fly fishing is obsolete, overly complicated, and should be abandoned in favor of the lb test system used pretty much everywhere else in sport fishing.

 

[afishinado]

Fishidiot wrote:

melvinthefisherman wrote:
What's the 1x, 2X and stuff
Really what is the X?

Good answer on "X" sizes from Afish.

Many new fly fishers started as spin fishermen and learned to become familiar with fishing line based on its breaking strength. If, for example, you tell a spin fishermen that he should use "6 lb test" he will instantly understand. If you look at spools of fly fishing tippet, they will have this breaking strength listed as well as the "X" number. Although I have fly fished for over thirty years, I still think in terms of "lb test" rather than "X" size....and you can too. It is all written on the spools.

In my personal opinion, the old "X" system used in fly fishing is obsolete, overly complicated, and should be abandoned in favor of the lb test system used pretty much everywhere else in sport fishing.

Agreed above. But most fly shops, guides, and FFing authors still use X's when talking about tippets. It is really kinda silly and just complicates things.

But we have a sport where a bobber or a hank of yarn tied to our lines are called "indicators", and where bottom fishing is called "high-stick nymphing" and a small grayish brown bug is called a Paraleptophlebia adoptiva :roll:

 

[Heritage-Angler]

Rather than thinking about pound test rating, I like to think of tippet by it's diameter.

Pound test rating varies too much by material and manufacturer to use that as a guide, IMO.

FWIW, the "X" came from the wire sizes used in making watches. Obviously, that isn't worth much these days. ;-)

 

[pcray1231]

Yeah, for me x ratings are more about how well it turns over a fly rather than it's breaking strength, which varies WIDELY in comparison with diameter, stiffness, etc.

It ain't perfect. Perfect would be some quantifiable measure of stiffness. But lacking that, diameter > breaking strength. I do think "X" is kind of silly. I could live with just 0.005, 0.006, etc. It'd be a lot clearer to beginners and non-fishermen.

 

[JackM]

The X system works well for me. I think once you understand it, it is intuitive in a reverse way.

 

[afishinado]

pcray1231 wrote:
Yeah, for me x ratings are more about how well it turns over a fly rather than it's breaking strength, which varies WIDELY in comparison with diameter, stiffness, etc.

It ain't perfect. Perfect would be some quantifiable measure of stiffness. But lacking that, diameter > breaking strength. I do think "X" is kind of silly. I could live with just 0.005, 0.006, etc. It'd be a lot clearer to beginners and non-fishermen.

Heritage-Angler wrote:
Rather than thinking about pound test rating, I like to think of tippet by it's diameter.

Pound test rating varies too much by material and manufacturer to use that as a guide, IMO.

True that above! Rather than needing a secret decoder ring and a pocket calculator, the X's should be more straightforward like:

3x = .003 / 4x = .004 / 5x = .005 / 6x = .006........

 

[Foxgap239]

afishinado wrote:
True that above! Rather than needing a secret decoder ring and a pocket calculator, the X's should be more straightforward like:

3x = .003 / 4x = .004 / 5x = .005 / 6x = .006........

So today's 10X would then be -1X? :-D

 

[Heritage-Angler]

Foxgap239 wrote:

afishinado wrote:
True that above! Rather than needing a secret decoder ring and a pocket calculator, the X's should be more straightforward like:

3x = .003 / 4x = .004 / 5x = .005 / 6x = .006........

So today's 10X would then be -1X? :-D

:hammer: