What brands and sizes of "fishing line" are best used as tippet??

[Acristickid]

I don't really have any experience in using fishing line for tippet.

Meaning like the stren,berkely etc....

Looking to save some money and looking for these equivlents in 3x,4x,5x and 6x.

Also- can you recommend the stores that carry them. Do you just take the line off the big spools and put it onto the small tippet spools?

Or is it not worth it?

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[JackM]

Paul, if you are going to use a lot of 4X and 3X as final tippet, it may be worth it to buy the standard mono. Look for the "extra limp" variety of either Stren or Trilene. My 4 pound test Stren is 0.008 diameter, which is the same as my 3X tippet. It would take a long time to use a spool if you are just using it for intermediate segments of 6"-12", so I don't think it is worth it for that purpose. Also, smaller than 0.007 (4X), I think that tippet material is stronger for the diameter and I prefer it for that reason even though it is more expensive per linear length.

 

[pete41]

pennywise-pound foolish
however if you insist on using "fishin line" for leader material
Far and away the best. [in a class by itself]is
Breakaway
No joke the dia. vs.pd test is in a class of its own.Their 10 pd is equal to others 6 pd.
And it is so tough you won't believe it-I used it over oyster beds-
I have gone to braided so don't use mono anymore.
Cabelas stopped carrying it-its available some places L J [google it up=lol
suffix is good but
Seaguar for leaders is WORTH the price.

 

[Spyder20oz]

my 3x tippet is 8.5lb and 0.008" diameter

 

[jayL]

4lb berkley vanish stuck many browns on the bighorn when fishing dries. Something tells me that is pertinent info for you.

 

[Spyder20oz]

There is a reason why the serious spin fisherman come into fly shops to buy tippet... they know its better.


Their setup is spinning line (100+ yards) swivel then 2 or 3' of fluoro tippet

 

[gfen]

I've been told that cortland camoflauge makes a decent tippet. YMMV.

I buy SA spools of tippet, $3 worth lasts a couple months at a time forr me.

 

[shakey]

for anything bigger than 4x,or for non-trout fish, i use spinning line because i'm cheap.

right now i'm using berkley trilene XL in four and six pound test.i think XL stands for extra limp.

 

[dryflyguy]

I've been tying my leaders with stren low vis monfilament.
Works fine. But I still finish them off with a 30" section of 5x Orvis super strong tippet

 

[pcray1231]

Well, I've never used them as tippet, but I'm in a family that is hard core spin fishermen, and I still do it on occasion.

I can say even for spinning tackle, limp lines blow other lines out of the water, IMO. Unfortunately the K-mart/Walmart/****'s brands are all pretty bad (Trilene, Stren, etc.). Generally too thick and stiff. They may have "extra limp" or "castability" varieties that are acceptable.

But the best lines seem to be thin for the rated strength, and limp. Best I have found are

1. Tectan: Available ONLY at Cabelas. The stuff casts like a dream, limp and no memory. Best strength/diameter ratio out there, and it'd rank good among tippets too. But tends to get brittle in cold water (steelheading like conditions). And it doesn't stretch, which I see as a bad thing when you hook into bigger fish.

2. Silver Thread: Available at Cabelas among other places. It is a little thicker than Tectan, but still very good among monofilaments. Just as limp and casted nice. It was good in cold water too, and it stretches with the bigger fish, which is a major plus with things like steelhead, its sort of a shock absorber just like the rod tip. I think we used Excalibur, but the Super Silver Thread looks good as well.

 

[Acristickid]

OK gents thanks.

I will make a stop at the Cabelas in Billings.

 

[pafisherman]

Certinaly not trying to bust on anyone here but I bought a couple spools of tippet at Bass Pro this week. Orvis Tippet 6x & 7x and I am pretty sure they are 30 meter spools for $3.95 ea. As this is a major part of whether we land a fish and even get a fish to hit our fly... I can't imagine why anyone would consider tippet a place to cut cost. Think about it... you are paying $25.00 - $500.00 for fly reel and $50.00 for a fly line $50.00 to $1000.00 for a fly rod.... $2.50 cents a gallon for gas to drive to the place you want to fish and none of those things ever come in contact with the fish we are trying to catch.
Bill A

 

[JackM]

If I could run my car on tap water, I would use it to drive to the stream. Just saying, is all....

 

[afishinado]

pafisherman wrote:
...I can't imagine why anyone would consider tippet a place to cut cost. Think about it... you are paying $25.00 - $500.00 for fly reel and $50.00 for a fly line $50.00 to $1000.00 for a fly rod.... $2.50 cents a gallon for gas to drive to the place you want to fish and none of those things ever come in contact with the fish we are trying to catch.
Bill A

pafisherman,

I'll have to defend Jack on this one since I do understand it from his perspective. If a fancy spool of tippet costs half as much as your entire fishing outfit, it doesn't really make much sense to spend that much money on it. Further, there are plenty of slob spin and fly fisherman out there that discard their line on the stream, and gathering it up and using it for leader and tippet is both good for the environment and good for the wallet. You see Jack is a dual conservationist, he saves the environment.....as well as his money.

 

[JackM]

I often come home from a fishing trip with a tangle of mono in my vest pocket. When I am harvesting flies from streamside bushes, I often encounter 5-6 feet of tangled spinning line. In fact, I have more spinners at home than I ever had when I spin-fished. But, my comment was not just another example of being a cheapskate. There are times when spending extra money makes sense and times it doesn't. I have never thought of using the spinning-line tangles I bring home to build leaders-- I just throw it away along with all the soggy cigarette butts.