R e d c h a s e r . c o m
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Basic Leader Construction w . w . w . r e d c h a s e r . c o m
A Simple Formula For Effective Leaders. Leaders are the ties that
bind, the connection between fisherman and fish. Leaders serve
another important function as well. Properly designed, a leader
transfers the energy of our cast, and form of our loop, from fly line to fly. Many newcomers to fly-fishing
are surprised to find out that a leader is not just a level piece of mono, that
is leaders are not the same diameter from butt to tip. Leaders are
gradually tapered from a thicker butt section down to a finer tip. It is
this taper that allows for the transfer of energy from the fly line to the
fly. A fly cast on a leader that is not tapered would just pile up at
the end of the cast, without the leader unrolling fully. A tapered
leader on the other hand unrolls the loop of the cast in much the same way as
the fly line, straightening to deliver the fly without slack in the leader. There are 2 ways to achieve a
taper in a leader. One is in the manufacturing process, where a knotless
leader is extruded in a taper. The other is to tie a tapered leader
using pieces of monofilament of various thick nesses. While the knotless
tapered leaders you can buy are very convenient, they can be a bit expensive.
They are also not readily available in all sizes in all areas. Hand tied
leaders are inexpensive to make, and can be easily customized both in size and
taper to meet specific needs. While there are specific
leader and tippet materials available on the market, I find that regular Ande
brand monofilament makes a fine leader at a low cost. The first step in building a
leader is deciding on a length, and also what diameter or class of tippet you
want the leader to terminate in. The tippet is the thinnest and
weakest part of the leader, which is at the front end that attaches to the
fly. Leader length is usually determined on fishing conditions.
How spooky are the fish you are pursuing, how clear and or calm is the water,
as well as how big are the fly's you plan on throwing. A shorter leader
generally turns over a fly more easily, but offers a less delicate
presentation. Longer leaders offer soft presentations to spooky fish,
but can be a little harder to cast with. The size of your tippet
will also depend on what you're fishing for and what fly's you're casting.
Larger diameter tippet turns large flies over more easily than thin tippet. A good moderate all around length for a leader is 9 ft. For most inshore saltwater applications tippet of 8 - 15 pound test is usually sufficient. Lets look at the construction of a 9ft saltwater leader.
When constructing your own
leaders, there is a good rule of thumb called "The Rule of
Halves". Which states generally that when building a leader, the
butt section should be roughly half the total length of the leader.
The butt section is followed by a second section of line, one step lighter
or thinner than the butt section that is roughly one half the length of the
butt section. This is then followed with a third section, again one step
lighter, and half as long as the second section. Following the third
section you can elect to taper further with a fourth leader section, or you
can tie in your tippet of around 16 inches. The above illustration
shows a leader made with three sections and a tippet, which is fine for most
inshore saltwater applications.
In some instances, such as situations
where a delicate presentation is not required, and you have to turn over
large flies, you may build a leader of just a butt section of 3 or 4 feet
and a tippet. On the other hand, when fishing a crystal clear
spring creek for spooky trout, you may need an extra long leader of say 13
feet, and add additional sections to the leader. I find a 9 foot
leader of 3 sections and a tippet a good all around leader.
The size lines you construct
your leader of depends on where you want to end up with your tippet.
If you are going to be fishing a tippet of 8 - 15 pounds, you probably want
to start with a butt section of around 40# test. If you are going to
be fishing 5x tippet for trout, a butt section of 20# test is fine.
The different sections of the
leader are joined with a Blood Knot. The
tippet can be connected to the leader with a Blood
Knot or with Loop To Loop Connections made
with a Non Slip Mono Loop knot. The
leader is generally connected to the fly line with a Tube
Nail Knot or Loop To Loop Connections made
with a Non Slip Mono Loop knot.
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Redchaser.com is owned and maintained by Ron Begnaud 725 Iberville St, Lake Charles, La 70607 email redchaser@redchaser.com |