What X is best.

[melvinthefisherman]

I'm gonna buy some tippet for next year. I would be fishing for stock trout and occasionally natives but for the most part I will be chasing small stream bass with streamers and bugs. What X would be best for me?

 

[Swattie87]

No one right answer here. If you were asking what one size tippet to cover all these bases best with, I'd say 4x...but understand that's a compromise. It will be too heavy for some Trout applications and on the light end for Bass. Kind of like how you can use the same rod for Brookies and Bass, but it will inevitably be a compromise to some degree. A specialized rod for each situation is better.

You're better off specializing your tippet for each application.

For the Trout fishing you'd be doing...Natives and Stockies, just get one spool each of 4x and 5x. That will cover 95% of the flies you'd be likely to fish for them.

For Bass, don't pay a premium for a little 30 yd tippet spool. Just get some plain old 10lb mono in one of the big spools for spinning rods for basically the same price.

 

[pcray1231]

Yeah, agreed. In fly fishing, tippet size isn't so much about breaking strength. It's about casting. Has to be stiff enough to turn over the fly you are using, yet soft enough to let it act naturally. As such, the size of tippet you use depends mostly on the fly, not the fish you intend to catch.

As a general rule of thumb, take your fly size, divide by 4, and add 1.

So a size 16 dry fly would be 16/4 + 1 = 5. 5x. A size 12 fly would be 4x. A size 8 streamer would be 3x. etc.

 

[marcq]

Go with 5x it will cover most of you dry and nymphing.

Why not just get a few tey aren't much and last a while? I would advice you to carey 6x to 3x it will have you covered for basically all situation. If you are fishing tricos 7x is good to have. Most of my fishing I stay between 7x and 4x. I use 3 when streamer fishing.

By the way not sure if you know this but I though I would add it. The higher number the litter the tippet is. 7x is like 2lb test, 6x is like 3lb test, I think 5x is 4 pound.

 

[pcray1231]

Also, if you didn't already know, that's JUST the tippet, not the leader. You can use one leader and change the tippet size multiple times.

If you bought a, say, 5x leader, that means the leader tapers to 5x tippet at the end, and that tippet is included. If you want to use 4x, or 6x, you don't need to change the leader. Just cut back a couple of feet and replace with the tippet of your choice.

 

[LetortAngler]

4x-5x-6x is mainly what I use but of course bigger flies require larger tippet and sz20 and smaller flies require 7x. There's tons of info on the web on this sort of stuff

 

[gfen]

melvinthefisherman wrote:
I'm gonna buy some tippet for next year. I would be fishing for stock trout and occasionally natives but for the most part I will be chasing small stream bass with streamers and bugs. What X would be best for me?

I see no one paid attention to this part.

Just rip off 3' to 6' of the 8# mono you use on your spinning reel and make it your leader/tippet for bass.

For your troutfish, buy some 5x. By the time you figure out what you're doing is wrong after being instructed by people who know more than you with over 9000 spools of tippet on their vest, you'll have caught plenty of fish and not gotten lost in the minuetae of measuring system.

If you really want to be stylin' with lots of gear, you can buy a spool of 3x through 6x, but you might as well buy two or three spools of 5x.

Because that's what you'll use.

 

[marcq]

Thought 3x would be fine for bass but then again I dont really target them.
But what gfen is saying is true. Its easier and cheaper to carry a spool of line that is for spin fishing around then tippet.

 

[Chaz]

3X or 4X for bass, or if you're cast streamers for trout. Otherwise 5 or 6X for trout fishing nymphs or dries.

 

[maliha3492]

Just started fly fishing not too long ago after I swore I would never do it. Long story short just looking for someone to go out and fish with me on the Manatawny and mentor me to become at fly fishing.