Trout leaders. Length and design.

Walter & Group.....

 

 

Hi Walter and Group;

 

Your comments remind me of the time I added too much tippet to my leader. I usually add about four or five feet to a nine foot leader. Anyway, there was too much tippet and when the fly was casted it did not turn over well but instead it just dropped on the water. But WALLA, big hit. In the middle of a hatch, it must have resembled an insect falling into the water and I was getting takes everytime I casted the over length tippet. Well, it became a new technique and I deliberatey repeated the same thing and scored quite well. It guess you might call it an "unintentional pile cast", but it worked. I do indeed like to added an additional four to five feet of tippet to the leader -about 12 to 14 feet of Orvis Flourocarbon Mirage tippet and leader. It just seems to work well in both nymph and dry fly fishing.

 

Any similar experiences?

 

Robert

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Robert....

 

You, "stumbled" on exactly the correct solution with that erzatz leader.  This is the basis for a standard leader modification algorithm.  The choice of materials is optional.

 

Please read,  PRESENTATION , by Gary Borger, ISBN  0-9628392-5-6, pp. 179-188  for details on trout and other leaders (other than salt water leaders).  I consider this book a MUST for the library of any MCI candidate !

 

Also....read, PRESENTING THE FLY, by Lefty Kreh, ISBN 1-55821-788-6, pp. 116 - 119.

 

And:  FLY FISHING FOR TROUT, by Lefty Kreh, C. 1992, pp. 43-63.

 

Also:  TROUT, by Ernest Schwiebert, Vol. I, ISBN 0-525-24269-4, PP. 807-808.

 

A, "basic" fly leader is approximately  60 % butt section, 20% tapered section, and 20% tippet section.  Two modifications among several stand out as yielding a collapsing leader layout when one is desired....1. Adding a short segment of lighter leader material in the body of the tapered section and 2. Adding more than 20% light tippet section.  Also: go through the excercise of looking up what is called the, "HARVEY LEADER".

 

For the desired layout of the leader, one must consider its length and (just as important) its design.

 

Gordy

 

 

 

Gordy