The fly leader has only one function...and no, it's not to send you into a choleric rage when it throws a neat clove hitch over a limb 40 feet up in a tree.
It is to disguise the connection of the fly to the line. Fish aren't intellectual volcanoes, but they are wary of suspicious coincidence. The more invisible a leader to a fish, the more apt the fish is to snack on the fly.
Leaders come one-piece tapered at the factory, or tapered by a series of different diameter lengths knotted together, or finally, a level length of monofilament.
Joe Angler can't taper one-piece leaders, but he can fashion knotted leaders. The major reason is to save money. But there also is creative satisfaction in customizing for length and strength. A store-bought tapered leader costs about two or three dollars, but you can make a leader for a fraction of the cost of a factory leader. All you need to know is the formula for tapering from butt to tip, and the simple blood knot for joining two pieces of monofilament together.
I enjoy experimenting with leader lengths and construction--the thrill of creation on a minor scale. Maybe you'll stumble on a leader that isn't duplicated by factory leaders, but that casts like a dream with your favorite rod.
Every rod and line combination has special casting characteristics and there is no way for a factory leader to be all things to all rods and lines.
I'm no great shakes as a fly caster and am especially prone to the wind knot, a simple overhand knot thrown in a leader by a careless cast. It weakens the line at the knot and a few wind knots makes a leader useless.
Even if you never cast a wind knot or snap off a fly on a bush, you'll change flies frequently. Each time you do, you shorten your leader. Each time you replace a tippet, you shorten the next section back.
It doesn't take long to run through a sizable chunk of a nine-foot leader. What's better--tying a new one for a few pennies or slapping on two dollars worth of factory leader? If you carry spools of leader material in your fly vest, it's a matter of moments to tie a leader to fit the situation; if you depend on factory-tapered leaders, you're stuck with whatever lengths and tapers you happen to have.
The right leader for the fishing job depends on several variables. First, is the water clarity which leads directly to spookiness of fish. Quiet, clear water demands a long leader, with a fine tippet that will result in minimum disturbance and shadow.
But if the wind or a rapids ruffles the surface, you can get by with a shorter, stouter leader. Regardless of fish species a leader between six and nine feet is ideal probably 90 percent of the time.
The fly also influences leader length and strength. You can't use a 7X tippet to hurl a wind-resistant bass bug. A weighted nymph is like casting a brick and needs a stiffer-backboned leader. But a tiny No. 18 dry fly, cast to slick water, will demand a sleek tippet.
The fish species also play a part. Trout usually are moodier than bass, and bass are more picky than panfish. In fact, you can fish for bluegills most of the time with five or six feet of level six-pound monofilament as a leader.
A brown trout on a dark night will hit a huge fly rod mouse tied onto three or four feet of 20-pound monofilament. But the same brown trout in clear water on a sunny day will spook at a 12-foot leader with an 8X fairy's eyelash tippet.
You can add a lighter tippet to the existing one (or lengthen it) if trout are spooking from the leader. If the result doesn't cast well, add a heavier section in the middle of the leader. That's the advantage of the knotted leader--the ease of customization.
A sinking line doesn't need a long leader--six feet or less. If you're fishing for panfish with a sink-tip line, try a slider bug (bullet-faced) and an eight- or 10-foot leader. The sunken line jerks the bug under, giving it action similar to a jerkbait.
Strike indicators are invaluable to the sinking fly or nymph angler. There are many commercial indicators, or you can color the leader butt section orange (or buy a commercial fluorescent orange butt).
Famed fishing writer Ray Bergman gave a rule of thumb for leader construction years ago that still works: a 7-1/2 foot leader takes six 16-inch strands, a nine-footer six 19-inch strands, and a 12-footer eight 20-inch strands. For salmon and steelhead (or large fish in general) Bergman used five 23-inch strands, tapering from .024 (roughly 35-pound test) to .014 (about 14-pound test).
More anglers are realizing that northern pike in shallow water readily hit large streamer flies. Use a shock tippet of eight or 10 inches of 30-pound or more monofilament to guard against the pike cutting the leader with teeth or gill covers.
The knot for joining two pieces of monofilament together is the barrel or blood knot (probably called blood knot because that's what you sweat when you're trying to tie it with the wind blowing and dark gathering, as the biggest rise in history pocks the stream around you).
An alternative joining knot is the surgeon's and if it's good enough to tie you together, it should be good enough for fishing line. The two joining knots are about equal in strength; the blood knot is neater looking.
You need to know two other knots, the nail knot to attach line to leader, and the improved clinch to tie on flies. There are several commercial methods of attaching line to leader with the advantage of a smoother joint. Harry Murray's Fly Fishing for Smallmouth Bass has an excellent section on leader-making, as well as outstanding Dave Whitlock illustrations of several knots.
There are other knots that are nice to know, but not critical. The Turle knot attaches down- or up-eye flies so they float properly. The Duncan loop permits good action by a fly and acts as a shock absorber.
So, for a few bucks and with a little knot know-how, you can make several year's worth of your own leaders.
It may not rank with the Mona Lisa for creativity, but subduing a nice fish on a leader of your own design is a minor triumph worth experiencing.
Books With Good Leader Information
Fly Fishing For Smallmouth Bass by Harry Murray
Fly Fishing For Bass Handbook by Dave Whitlock
Trout On A Fly by Lee Wulff
The Practical Fly Fisherman by A.J. McClane
Fishing With Ray Bergman edited by Edward Janes (out of print, but a classic with a good chapter on leaders--look in used book stores).
Copyright (c) 1997 Joel Vance. All rights reserved.
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