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flyfishing leaders


Guest derek

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Guest derek

Im very new to this sport so I apologise if this question has an obvious answer.....what determines the correctlength of leader to use?

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Guest Spiderfan

Hi Derek,

 

This question is very much like the 'how long is a piece of string?' with more than a passing resemblance!

 

The short answer is; long enough so that the fish aren't scared by the proximity of your flyline and short enough to achieve the correct presentation of the fly.

 

A minimum length would be around 6 feet, shorter in some circumstances like small river/stream dry fly fishing, to a maximum of 10 feet (or around the length of your rod) for, say, stillwater nymph fishing.

 

You need to remember that you have to net a fish with all the leader outside the tip ring which is rather difficult with ultra-long leaders. Also turnover is harder to achieve the longer the leader,

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Guest salvelinus

SpiderFan has it pretty well covered. But I would suggest you taper your leaders. When starting out it might be best to use shop bought ones (don't buy knotted ones) and add your own bit of tippet. The taper greatly assists turn over and using one or just two flies is best until you get your casting sorted.

 

 

If you feel your knot tying is up to it tie you own, they are just as good and way cheaper.

 

Myles

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Guest Richard L

Spiderfan,

 

Can you clarify? Why do you have to have all of the leader outside of the tip ring in order to net a fish? I often fish with 14 or 15 ft. leaders on a 9ft. rod which means there is often 4 or 5ft inside the tip ring.

I'm not sure what difference it makes.

 

R

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Guest Spiderfan

Richard,

 

On the premise that Derek is a beginner, he'll probably be using braided loops on the end of his flyline to which his leader is attached. In my experience, taking these loops through your rod rings under tension increases their propensity to pull out, especially if the fish takes off at speed on a short line.

 

Also, 16 foot leaders are more difficult to handle when casting, this being another reason why I would never recommend a leader longer than the rod to someone with little experience.

 

If Derek is not a beginner, then yes, long leaders may be used to great effect, but only with care.

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Guest DerwentBob

I have never been fly fishing before but I intend to give it a go when F&M abates. Having seen ads for outfits in the magazines and the reply above my question is what on earth are braided loops for and how do you use them?. I'm going to try to find some tuition at the show this weekend but any advice would be gratefully recieved.

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Guest Richard L

A braided loop is used as a connection between fly line and leader. It consists of a hollow braid sleeve with a knotless loop at one end. The end of the flyline slides up inside the braid sleeve and is either secured with a piece of tubing or a drop of glue. This gives you a very smooth connection and it is v easy to attach your leader to. I also use them to connect the fly line to the backing. Hope this makes sense!

 

R

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Guest DerwentBob

So it takes the place of the old needle knot which is illustrated in every fly-fishing book I can find. Does superglue really make a strong enough joint?.

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Guest Richard L

Well put it this way, we spend a lot of time at Sportfish rigging up people to go flyfishing for sailfish, tuna, etc. and this is the basic method we use at both ends of the flyline.

So it should hold a trout!

 

R

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Guest Graham E

Derwent Bob, I started fly fishing a year ago, just for a change when the rivers were off.

Great fun and more fun learning. I also was totally confused with the leader length and how to fix. The best way I found was to start at a small lake and the baliffs are all very helpful and even gave a few lessons FOC.

The challenge comes in selecting the line (floating/intermediate/sinking) according to the temp/activity and then the fly for the fish.

For example last week all were caught on the Appetizer(white/green) and this week not a take till changing to an orangy thing then 8 fish in an hour.

I tried to get a few coarse anglers from AN interested for a day with tuition at 16.00 but no interest.

The challenge is to find the right setup for the day. Enjoy, it is sometimes a bit easy but the smaller 3/5lb rainbows are great fun.

 

[This message has been edited by Graham E (edited 28 March 2001).]

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