Post by colliedog on Apr 22, 2007 23:19:16 GMT
I was catching up with the leaders thread and was interested in the discussion. I though there might be some interest in describing the leader set up that I have been using now for about 4 season now (I estimate that I have hooked, caught or lost at least 150 salmon and kelts in this period -only one has been lost due to a leader failure (and that was down to operator error).
I buy 19lb Riverge tapered leaders (£4.99)- available in 9' and 12' in salmon. For most applications I use the 9'.
Some of these I keep at 9' others I shorten to 6'. In all cases I attach a Riverge 2mm leader ring using a grinner knot (stronger, and less prone to pig-tailing than blood knots)
To the other end the ring I attach my tippet (again using a grinner knot) - several feet of Seagaur depending on the overall leader length required.
If I require a dropper, this also gets tied onto the leader ring. This has the advantages of making the dropper just as strong as the main line (not possible with nylon to nylon knots), stand out well and be replaceable as it gets shorter with fly replacements.
I use the 9' tapered leader plus tippet (overall length 12-15') for floating line work. The shorter 6' tapered leader plus tippet (8-10') for sinking tips and intermediate work. For full sinking lines I use about 5 feet of straight fluorocarbon.
The main advantages of this set-up are as follows:
1. After the initial outlay, the Riverge tapered leaders have a very long lifetime as they are heavy duty and hard wearing.
2. The leader ring preserves the lifetime of the tapered leader as you are not shortening it each time you change the tippet. Lifetime of the tapered leader depends on frequency of abuse but they can easily last a season, sometimes more - the fluorocarbon doesn't seem to degrade. Common sense should prevail - check them before you go fishing.
3. You use the minimal amount of expensive fluorocarbon tippet material.
4. They are strong - with the 19lb tippet you tend to get your fly back with a bent hook (loop doubles excepted).
4. The leader ring does not seem to affect turnover or presentation - the tapered leader facilitates this. Neither does it cause any visual disturbance or wake.
6. Fly wake on glassy glides is a rarity due to the density of fluorocarbon
The main exception to the fluorocarbon set up is when I am fishing wake flies or very slow water where I want a fly to fish close to the surface - in these cases I substitute the flourocarbon with a copolymer or nylon tapered leader and tippet connected by the leader ring.
So how does that compare to your set-up? I'm interested in comparisons, variations and howls of protest.
Regards
CD
I buy 19lb Riverge tapered leaders (£4.99)- available in 9' and 12' in salmon. For most applications I use the 9'.
Some of these I keep at 9' others I shorten to 6'. In all cases I attach a Riverge 2mm leader ring using a grinner knot (stronger, and less prone to pig-tailing than blood knots)
To the other end the ring I attach my tippet (again using a grinner knot) - several feet of Seagaur depending on the overall leader length required.
If I require a dropper, this also gets tied onto the leader ring. This has the advantages of making the dropper just as strong as the main line (not possible with nylon to nylon knots), stand out well and be replaceable as it gets shorter with fly replacements.
I use the 9' tapered leader plus tippet (overall length 12-15') for floating line work. The shorter 6' tapered leader plus tippet (8-10') for sinking tips and intermediate work. For full sinking lines I use about 5 feet of straight fluorocarbon.
The main advantages of this set-up are as follows:
1. After the initial outlay, the Riverge tapered leaders have a very long lifetime as they are heavy duty and hard wearing.
2. The leader ring preserves the lifetime of the tapered leader as you are not shortening it each time you change the tippet. Lifetime of the tapered leader depends on frequency of abuse but they can easily last a season, sometimes more - the fluorocarbon doesn't seem to degrade. Common sense should prevail - check them before you go fishing.
3. You use the minimal amount of expensive fluorocarbon tippet material.
4. They are strong - with the 19lb tippet you tend to get your fly back with a bent hook (loop doubles excepted).
4. The leader ring does not seem to affect turnover or presentation - the tapered leader facilitates this. Neither does it cause any visual disturbance or wake.
6. Fly wake on glassy glides is a rarity due to the density of fluorocarbon
The main exception to the fluorocarbon set up is when I am fishing wake flies or very slow water where I want a fly to fish close to the surface - in these cases I substitute the flourocarbon with a copolymer or nylon tapered leader and tippet connected by the leader ring.
So how does that compare to your set-up? I'm interested in comparisons, variations and howls of protest.
Regards
CD
