wet fly 2 dropper leader----- fish 3 flies

[maxima12]

12 inches----.018
20 inches----.015
14 inches----.012
20 inches----.010
24 inches----.008

cut your pieces as follows

13 inches----.018
22 inches----.015
16 inches----.012
38 inches----.010 9 inches each end for drops
25 inches----.008

loop at butt----keep it small big enough to stick a pencil through it
blood knots
9 inch drop blood knotted to the .012
9 inch drop blood knotted to the .008

you should have 20 inches between drops
24 inches from point to bottom drop
9 inches for the reason of tying on your fly
proper length of drops actually should be 6 inches.
the 9 inch will allow a tie or two

most fishermen get confused with the propper line.
most favor diameter. not the right choice.
stiffness is the correct thinking
most use maxima which is semi stiff
mason hard type nylon #1
you sacrifice diameter but gain fly drift and presentation.
use bigger flies.
perfect for nymphing
perfect for high stick


john fave

 

[troutslammer]

so you use heavy tapered leaders for nymphing ? don't they cause alot fo drag near the surface where the water speed is greater than the water near the bottom ? just wondering , never liked tapered for nyphing , but i don't fish big rivers or really big streams where turn over is a real top priority .

 

[maxima12]

don't understand heavy leaders-----what's so heavy about .018----.008. drag------why would a taper drag any different. i am trying to understand. you don't like tapered leaders. i find it hard to believe. do you fish a straight piece of mono. you must somehow taper from your line to tippet. yes. you lost me on this

 

[tomgamber]

max, are you the guy who sells leaders on ebay?

 

[maxima12]

yes. i hope you like them

 

[jayL]

Max,

Many great fishermen recommend using flat, thin leaders for nymphing. The idea is that they sink uniformly. In a tapered leader, the only part that sinks properly is the tippet. The greater butt diameter will sink more slowly, and will also incur more drag. These all factor in to drag and lack of contact with the flies.

I have put that advice to use and found it to be good. My nymphing got decidedly better, but that could be because I started fishing more and at better streams.

I am interested in this comment on the stiffness of the leader. Are you saying to use a stiffer material? This sounds like it could work, and I'll give it a shot.

 

[tomgamber]

maxima12 wrote:
yes. i hope you like them

I do and I had asked you to list some and then missed them over the holiday. So I apologize. Send me a PM on here next time you list those and I'll see it. Glad you decided to check out the site.

 

[bam]

if I'm nymphing with an indicator I generally use a 3 foot piece of 10 lb mono and a small barrell swivel. From there I go straight to my tippet and flies adjusting my indie up or down the tippet as necessary. This seems to keep my line to the flies vertical and gives me plenty of leader to mend and allow a drag free drift.

I htink the tapered leader lends itself better to nymphing without an indicator. It seems to keep a tighter connection to the flies and works well when swinging wets or when trying to feel the take.

 

[afishinado]

Jay, you saw my rig. I make my own furled leaders out of mono and use the butt as as my strike indicator/sighter. The leader butt stays on the surface and is really an extension of the flyline. I fish my nymphs with all tippet in the water, usually 4-7' of tippet from the point to the butt, depending on the water depth. Unless I'm fishing a larger stream or river, do I need to use anything other than the leader butt with a few swipes of Strike putty for visibility as a strike indy. I can easily switch over to fishing dries with the same furled leader butt.

 

[Fredrick]

Hmm interesting . I use a furled mono leader also and its is very versatile I can switch from nymphing to dries in a mater of minutes . But I'm always willing to try something new .

So what we are saying is a thinner/stiffer leader is better for nymphing . Correct ?

 

[jayL]

Tom,

I use that same rig now in certain places.

Do you use the same set up for heavily weighted "euro" methods?

In cases where I need more than just the tippet to sink, here's my rig:

2.5 ft 25lb amnesia
4-6 ft 1x or 2x tippet

I will add my terminal tippet to this.

Thoughts?

Fred,

In situations where a quick and uniform sinkrate is needed (heavy slots, pockets, springtime flows, bigger rivers, etc), I tend to go for the flat leader.

In skinny or slow water situations, or in spots where I use minimal weight, I like Afish's rig.

I am going to try one of these stiff leaders this year.

 

[whheff]

Great info. I have tried furled leaders and I am still undecided if I like them. Maybe it is because I am using the wrong type. I will have to look for your leaders on e-bay and give them a try.

I have Davy Wotten's wet fly DVD and like the way he sets up a 3 fly system. Your style sounds a lot like his.

 

[Acristickid]

max- I will give it a try.

afish- how do have leader laying on the surface an have a tight line?

 

[jayL]

Ya know, after thinking about it, I will try the furled leader for all but the deepest water situations. It's essentially the same as the amnesia rig, but with the bonus of quick switching for dries.

 

[afishinado]

jayL wrote:
Tom,

I use that same rig now in certain places.

Do you use the same set up for heavily weighted "euro" methods?

In cases where I need more than just the tippet to sink, here's my rig:

[color=FF0033]2.5 ft 25lb amnesia[/color]
4-6 ft 1x or 2x tippet

I will add my terminal tippet to this.

Thoughts?

Fred,

In situations where a quick and uniform sinkrate is needed (heavy slots, pockets, springtime flows, bigger rivers, etc), I tend to go for the flat leader.

In skinny or slow water situations, or in spots where I use minimal weight, I like Afish's rig.

I am going to try one of these stiff leaders this year.

My furled leader butt accomplishes the same thing as your amnsia Jay.

 

[jayL]

afishinado wrote:

My furled leader butt accomplishes the same thing as your amnsia Jay.

Yeah, it just took me a few minutes to realize it. No coffee yet. Cut me a break!

How long is your typical furled leader for nymphing? You gave me a couple but said they were longer than normal. I am going to tie a few.

 

[Fredrick]

Jay the thingabober works great on the furled leader . I use it in when I have alot lead on my leader .

Don't anger old man TWEED about his leader... He gets sensitive about it :-D

 

[trowpa]

lately i've been using a short quickly tapered leader down to 4x then one of those mini-rings - then tie straight 5x or 6x for the rest of the leader. having a mostly thin leader helps get the fly down i feel...and the miniring lets me preserve the tapered section for a long time. Can't use it for dries though - but i don't care about that especially this time of year.

However i can't say that my success has improved - in fact i'm going through a bit of a slow period that i'm just gonna blame on all the high water conditions (cause that's easier than admitting i am doing something wrong lol)

 

[shakey]

anybody have a link to the original posters bay?i might want to try one.

 

[afishinado]

jayL wrote:

afishinado wrote:

My furled leader butt accomplishes the same thing as your amnsia Jay.

Yeah, it just took me a few minutes to realize it. No coffee yet. Cut me a break!

How long is your typical furled leader for nymphing? You gave me a couple but said they were longer than normal. I am going to tie a few.

Jay,

The furled leader I gave you was 6' long. I didn't have any shorter ones to give you on the stream that day. That leader butt was built for a finished 12-14' dry fly leader. Typically, I build my furled leaders about 1/2 the rod length: 9' rod = 4.5' leader, 8' = 4' ,etc. I build the longer butts for making longer leaders in low water situations. These long leaders also work well for French nymphing.

Brownliner/Fred,

I find a Thingamabobber works well right on the tippet using a toothpick to stop it from moving. I like to nymph with all tippet in the water to avoid drag. BTW, a Thingamabobber will cut right through thin line when looped around.