Streamers and leaders

[King-Fisher]

Should I be changing my leader and tippet when I switch from a nymph or dry to a larger streamer? When I do that my streamer never casts right. Im using a 5wt line and 5x leader with my nymphs and drys.

 

[gfen]

Depends if you're lazy or not.

If its not turning over, then it could be the leader. I use a ~5.5' furled leader, and usually another 18" or so of tippet directly tied to it and then a streamer.

At 9-12", its time to clip it off and tie new on.

 

[King-Fisher]

Actually I am quite lazy at times..LOL

But after reading some earlier posts and responses I'm thinking 5x may be too light and I need to go to 4 or 3x....am I on the right track?

 

[Fishidiot]

KF,
My preferance is to use VERY heavy leaders when fishing streamers. I'll usually cut off nymph tippets when switching. For most streamer fishing for trout I like a leader with at least 8lb test and usually use 12 or 13lb test. I find this doesn't effect strikes and you can pull off snags. Also, when you're streamer fishing you will often be casting down and across current and the hits are hard and often come from big fish on a tight line. Considering this, a typical nymph tippet of 4X or 5X will often break. Definitely go heavy with streamers. You can also use a shorter leader. On days when I'm switching back and forth (which is frequently) I'll nymph fish with a 8 or 9' leader with a 2' tippet of 4X to 6X if the water is clear and the flies small. The next section of the leader would be a foot or two of 12lb test. When switching to a streamer I merely cut off the tippet with nymph attached and carefully roll it up and put it away to be re-tied later, then tie my streamer directly to the heavy second section.

 

[troutbert]

King-Fisher wrote:
Actually I am quite lazy at times..LOL

But after reading some earlier posts and responses I'm thinking 5x may be too light and I need to go to 4 or 3x....am I on the right track?

Yes. I recommend not going any lighter than 3x for streamer fishing.

Trout often slam streamers hard when the line is tight and has no give, so they can pop light tippet very easily.

So just go back to 3x to fish streamers. Then if you decide to swit to dries or nymphs, add some finer tippet to your leader.

 

[ryguyfi]

Listen to FishIdiot, he is wise in fishing streamers for trout and bass.

Try using a loop to loop connection on your leader. Just permanently attach a butt section to your floating line with a loop at the end, and then you can swap out a leader of choice for different situations. I just started doing that this year and it works great. You can either buy or build your own leaders such as a short stocky leader for streamers or a long delicate one for dries. Just make sure they have a loop on the end of them and you can easily swap out your leaders for each situation throughout the day.

 

[King-Fisher]

Thanks for all the info. Next outting I will be more prepared to throw streamers.

 

[bam]

fishidiot's advice is good. If you know you're fishing streamers and nymphs exclusively, go with 5-6 ft of straight 10lb mono to which you can attach a streamer or a length of tippet for nymphs. There's no reason you couldn't taper down to 6x if you planned on throwing dries in a pinch

 

[bam]

I'll add this advice is for fishing big, heavy streamers. If you're throwing a small bucktail or leech, or are dead-drifting a bugger, I'd go with 3-6x tippet... depending on the water.

 

[bikerfish]

I'll usually fish streamers on the hike back downstream, usually fishing drys on the way up. I'll nip off the 5x and tie the streamer onto the 4 or 3x that is left on the leader. I've found a shorter leader is nicer to control the streamer as well. streamers will attract bigger fish and they do have a tendency to hit it harder, a short stout leader is nice to have when that happens.
tippet size depends on fly size, big fly, bigger tippet and vice versy.

 

[buckbarrett]

If I use about 6 feet on a leader for streamers, I can hit anywhere. That balance seems to work for me.

 

[wbranch]

Fishidiot wrote;

"My preferance is to use VERY heavy leaders when fishing streamers. I'll usually cut off nymph tippets when switching. For most streamer fishing for trout I like a leader with at least 8lb test and usually use 12 or 13lb test. I find this doesn't effect strikes and you can pull off snags. Also, when you're streamer fishing you will often be casting down and across current and the hits are hard and often come from big fish on a tight line."

This is great advice! I sometimes use large streamers and never go lighter than 10# tippet and often go as high as 15# or even 18#. I am 100% convinced the heavy tippet does not lessen my success rate compared to using lighter tippets. Typically I use large streamers in low light conditions and/or stained water. You are most often stripping the fly through the water so the quarry is going to be chasing the fly to inhale it. They do not even see the heavy leader as they want what they are thinking is a big meal. Sometimes in very swift water I will not only use a sink tip line but will use just a straight piece of 15# mono about a foot long looped to the 6" long piece nail knotted to the end of my fly line.

I'm throwing flies in the #4 - #1/0 range. Smaller flies you might want to consider the 8# leader so the fly swims more lifelike.

 

[King-Fisher]

Thanks for all of the advice on leader size. I got some 3x and 2x line at my local fly shop and tried my luck with some streamers. No luck with the fish but I was able to cast it much easier.