Saving Leader

[troutbert]

JackM wrote:
The X system works well for me.

Me too.

Just get 4 spools of tippet material: 3x, 4x, 5x, and 6x.

3x is heavy, good for streamers.

4x and 5x are sort of average, and what you use the most. I use 5x the most, by far, for PA trout fishing.

6x is light. Good for small flies, like size 18s, when the water is low and clear.

That's about it. With practice, you'll get the feel of which to use.

 

[Foxgap239]

H-A I'm sure your post has all the normal levels of cleverness that you bring forth each day, but the only thing coming up on my PC is a box that says click to see picture but I get nothing when I click it except that little guy hammering me!

 

[Millsertime]

For you tippet ring guys...

What if I bought a 7' mono 3X leader and added a ring to the end of it. Would I be able to add 5X or 6X to the ring or do I need that 3X -> 4X -> 5X transition to smoothly cast it?

Right now I'm using a BlueSky light furled leader and add 4X, 5X, or 6X to the end of the leader depending on what the conditions require. It casts smooth. I'm curious if a similar setup with a tippet ring would cast as well. I'd like to try it b/c I like the advantage to add a dropper off the ring but want to keep the simplicity of adding whatever size tippet I want to at any given time.

 

[Heritage-Angler]

Yeah, that'll work fine.

I've used a 7' 1X leader with a tippet ring on the end, and added a few feet of 5X tippet to it. Works OK too.

The transition in X sizes of tippet in a normal knotted leader is more important to allow the knots to hold well than it is for turnover.

Typically, the only time I use tippet rings is when I'm making a large drop in tippet size, or when I want to preserve the butt and mid-section in a really short leader.

 

[Coughlin]

Wow! Where's my slide rule.

Afish, thanks for above. Very clear.

I've become a fan of tippet rings because it keeps the X-factor above it and the tippet below constant. I used to snip off the tippet from the extruded leaders I bought and tie a double surgeons and then keep snipping back as the tippet got shorter but began to see that after a few snips I wasn't sure exactly where I was on the leader taper. Still, as we all know, it's not quantum mechanics, but physics does play a big role. As noted above, tie a length of tippet larger than the leader above and lots of bad things happen. Tippet rings solve the problem for me without sacrificing presentation.
Coughlin