what leaders do you use

[richard]

i was just wondering what kind of leaders do people use, tapered or not
where you buy from and what type

[Scamper]

Cheaper to buy 4oz spools of 50 or 60lb line instead of the stuff that says Shockleader on it.

[richard]

so a couple of feet of 50/60lb and they 10/15lb at the tip ??

[EricH]

I have been using the penn senator mono, got a huge spool when i bought some braid.

Otherwise any decent 50-60lb mono should do for general fishing.

I have 5-6 turns on the spool,(Multiplier : low reel position) then thread it through the rings and have maybe 4 feet of a drop from the tip of the rod.

I will use a longer leader when rock fishing.

The general rule is 10lb of line for every oz of lead :
5oz lead = 50lb leader and so on.

Oh and make sure you can tie a proper shockleader knot.

Hope this helps!

[EricH]

Sorry, just laughed my arse of at myself when I realised that this is in the saltwater ff discussion thread . . sorry, man i have no idea about fly leaders . . .

I just saw the previous post was talking about 50-60lb mono . . .

Its been a long week . . . !!
:D

[teacher]

Cheaper to buy 4oz spools of 50 or 60lb line instead of the stuff that says Shockleader on it.

This is the Fly Fishing forum so I'm guessing the question referred to those sort of leaders, rather than "shockleaders". I would laugh, only I was in the proces sof posting a reply about "Greased Weasel" myself.

EDIT: I see I'm not alone, Rocker!!

[lumpy]

i use rio tapered permit leader, although 4 foot of 40lb mono looped to a 15lb tippet would be more than adequate

[Scamper]

Doh!!! Sorry :oops:

[richard]

thanks lumpy that answers my question

[jack01986]

I normally use about 5ft of 15lb mono all the way through, but might start using tapered leaders like Lumpy uses.

[JimH]

If using a pre-made, tapered leader which are expensive and often unneccessary , cut off the first 24 inches and tie a Surgeon's or non-slip loop in the terminal end. Then just cut your tippet, tie a loop in it and attach it to the butt section. Using that method, it is possible to fish a whole season with one leader. Just replace the tippet.

You are not casting a fly line but rather unrolling it. For that reason, the butt section should be made of supple, flexible material.

Regular nylon line such as Sufix, Maxima or Ande is ideal.

Fluorocarbon should be avoided for butt sections because it is too stiff and will hinge rather than unrolling.

The butt should account for 50 percent of the leader length; for example, a 16-foot bonefish leader should have 8 feet of heavy material to turn it over.

In the butt section of your leader do the following - below 8-weight, use 40-pound monofilament. On 8-weight outfits, use 50-pound. For anything larger than a 9-weight, use 60-pound test.

Keep the tippet portion to no more than 18 inches. This will reduce casting knots (aka wind knots) and hence lost fish and flies.

If fishing over rocks/rough ground use a Rio hard alloy mono if possible - very tough but will turn over, also IGFA rated.

[lumpy]

with regards the test of your butt section i wold be looking at a diameter which matches or is slightly smaller than that of the point of your fly line rather than test. i have found that Suffix Superior Leader 40lb is perfect for my 9wt outfit, i uni knot this to 30lb co-polomer and tie a loop knot at the end. as jim said this enables you to loop tp loop your leader to tippet.

it should also be noted that leader length is highly related to the density of line you are using. floating lines are generally used over shallow, possibly rough groud(not always) where your fly need to be fished in the upper layer of the water. because of the shallow water fish generally tend to be very spooky in this depth because their surface vision is less due to the shallowness. for this fishing i will generally fish a 12 foot leader. intermediates require a slightly shorter leader because you want the line to tow the fly and leader deeper in water. if you use an excessively long leader you fly line may be 3 feet sub surface but because you fly is 12 feet away it is only a foot subsurface. to alleviate this fish a 8-9ft leader unless fish are spooky, in which case yuo may have to use said long leader and allow a longer sink time. finally a deep sinking line around 400 grain+ are fished quite deep (the sink 7inch/second+), so again it is necessary to fish a shorter leader of approximately 6 foot to guarentee the fly is at the depth of the line, rather fishing hight in the water. i have found this eminently important when fishing 25ft + for pollack as at times it is the difference between bagging up and poor fishing

[JimH]

Richard

To combat some of the issues discussed by Lumpy above you could also use a 'streamer' type flyline. This consists of a head composed of a floating section and an intermediate section. It can be 'difficult' to cast with two densities but does solve a lot of issues. You have some depth and some control which is a good combination.

I cant emphasise this enough and i think L has done so too - correct depth presentation is a major key to success.

go here for some hints or help

http://www.bassfishing.ie/Saltwater_fly_fishing.pdf