Leaders / Quiz

Walter & Group...

This is a string of messages on leaders which I felt worth sharing :

 

From Peter Minnick to Lefty Kreh :

Lefty....just back from NZ and a wonderful trip. Your

suggestion to do what the guide says is golden and makes for a better

day all around. In addition I Iet every guide know that I'm not only

paying him to take me fishing but also to teach me a thing or 2. I

expect to learn something from everyone and it might even work the

other way around ! I also give every guide permission to critique any

aspect of my casting or fishing. In any event it opens up more

possibilities for discussion. On a nbr of occasions I had difficulty

turning an 18' leader with 5x tippit over in very windy conditions..I

generated HL speed and tried to bounce the fly "off the wall" but with

limited success... I'd like to work on this ..any suggestions..do you

think that a stiffer tippit material helps here ?...Thanks....

Peter

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 Lefty answers :

Peter-- Your casting may have been okay. When I use 16 foot leaders in New Zealand I found that it really helped to use ONLY SCIENTIFIC ANGLERS MASTERY TAPERED leaders. Their 16 footer turns over for a good reason.

 

A fly line unrolls to the target--so must the tapered leader. The fly line is  flexible weight. You need flexible weight also in the leader to cause it to continue to unroll. SA has a butt section half the length of the leader in their Mastery Series only and the leader is also very limp.

 

I suggest you try one you may see a world of difference in turn over when compared with almost all other commercial leaders.

Lefty

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The messages were forwarded to me.  My answer :

Peter & Lefty....

 

Great advice !

 

Some folks teach as I once did...  that a STIFF leader turns over better.  We were wrong.

 

As you point out, Lefty, both the fly line AND the leader are really tapered flexible weights.  That is the way Bruce Richards designed that 16' SA leader.

 

To put it in a scientific way:  The turnover capability of both fly line and leader depend upon the mass profile of each.

 

One reason that some stiff leaders turned over reasonably well was that it so happened that the stiff material some used had sufficient weight per length that those tapered segments did provide nearly the right mass profile.

 

However, if you take soft material with the same mass profile of leader design, they turn over better.

 

Lefty:  I never forgot a picture you published of the stiff leader tending to want to stand up straight as the caster tried to turn it over while the soft leader didn't do that and turned over well. (I can't remember which of your publications had that picture.)

 

Best to each of you !!!

 

Gordy

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CAVEAT: 

 # I use the term, "Aggressive taper" to mean a taper which quickly goes from heavy to light in contrast to a "gentle taper".

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Hard as it is to believe, as I was hosting a Masters exam a few years ago, I asked the candidate a few questions about how he might tie up some leaders.  His answer: I don't know.  I buy all my leaders and always ask the guys at the fly shop what to use."  ( ! )

Brings us to a little quiz :  ( Short answers.  Longer answers only when needed.)

1.)  We have talked about mass profile as being of primary importance in determining the turnover of the leader.  Name some other factors which have influence on leader turnover.

 

2.)  A fly fisher can purchase ready made leaders or he can tie up his own.  What are the advantages and disadvantages of each ?

 

3.)  When (if ever) would you recommend the use of a commercially available tapered leader combined with a segment which the angler adds  ?

 

4.)  Describe your choice for a leader when fishing a spring creek for wary trout on clear day.

 

5.)  How would you tie up your own leader for fishing tailing bonefish ?

 

6.) Name as many materials as you can for tying up fly leaders.

 

7.)  Approximately what percentage (length) of the leader would you use for the butt section when tying up most salt water fly leaders ?

 

8.)  Your student has heard about "bite tippets", "class tippets" and "shock tippets".  He wants to know what these are.  What do you teach him ?

 

9.)  What leader would you favor for fishing a placid shallow lake on a clear day for very spooky trout taking # 18 midge patterns ?

 

10.)  What leader would you consider for fishing brook trout on a very small stream in New England ?  You are fishing with your 2 wt. outfit.

 

11.)  Your Florida salty guide says he's going to take you out to fly fish for Spanish mackerel in the morning.  You are rigging up your leaders in advance.  What bite tippet would you use ?

 

12.)  Tomorrow has arrived.  You are out with this guide.  Lots of mackerel.... but they follow your fly and won't strike.  What do you do now ?

 

13.)  What bite tippet would you use for large Northern Pike ?

 

14.)  How do you attach it to the rest of your leader ?

 

15.)  Your student is going largemouth bass fishing using poppers on a lake in Texas where there is lots of cover including lilly pads.  He wants to know how to rig his leader.  What do you tell him ?

 

16.)  What knots would you use when assembling and attaching a leader for steelhead fishing  ? :-

     a. Connecting the butt section to the fly line.

     b. For the segments of the tapered section .

     c. To attach the fly.

 

17.)   You are using a sink tip line to fish for King salmon (Chinook salmon) in a 10' deep pool in an Alaskan river.  The fish are moving deep near the bottom.  What leader design would you consider ?

 

18.)  Approximately what percentage of the length of your entire leader would you choose for the butt section for most salt water fishing ?

 

19.)  Without getting into the complexities of rigging a leader for large tarpon, tell us what size material you would choose for the butt section.

 

20.)  Design a leader to use when fishing for pan fish with a 4 wt. outfit.

 

21.)  When (if ever) would you use fluorocarbon material for part  or all of your leader ?

 

22.)  If you did decide to use fluorocarbon for part of your leader, how would you attach it to the nylon monofilament of the rest of the leader ?

 

23.)  Would you ever use a fluorocarbon tippet when dry fly fishing ?    Briefly explain.

 

24.)  Is there any advantage to using segments of the same brand of nylon monofilament when tying up leaders ?

 

Gordy