Tippet Leader Line

Nozebleed

Hi. When setting up a fly rod. do i use tippet as my leader? or do i have to have the leader and the add tippet then the fly? im a little confused! I guess im asking can i just use tippet with my fly on the end?
thanks

coolwings

Tippet is the thinnest part of a leader nearest the fly.
So if you buy tapered leaders and do not want to cut some off the business end each time you replace a fly, then you tie on a tippet and use it to make the knots with.

On the other extreme some people use a straight length of monofilament from flyline to fly, so the leader and the tippet are one and the same in that case.

But a smooth transition from the thicker heavier flyline reduces the "hinge" that occurs with a thin leader and helps the leader turn over and land beyond the end of the flyline, which is desirable. that's the advantage of a pre-made tapered leader.

I personally make my own tapered leaders from knotted 4' lengths of mono, with eg 12lbs mono tied to the flyline, then 8lbs-6lbs for a metre or so, then the tippet material which might be 3lbs mono to the fly.
If I make a dropper leader it has the 6lbs to the tippet, and the droppers are tippet material of eg 3lbs off the 6lbs.

Hope this makes it clear.

Nozebleed

hey coolwings thanks. can you tell me..what knot should i use to tie the leader to the fly(floating) line?

coolwings

I tried the braided loop affairs and decided I hate them anywhere near the presentation end of the gear. Though I do use them for rear of flyline to backing line connections.
They cause a disturbance and large wild browns are very sensitive, far more than people give them credit for.

So I have all my heavy lines #6-7 and heavier, with a needle knotted heavy 12-15lbs mono 18" length. The butt end of the leaders get tied to that with either a 4 turn Water/Cove/Surgeons knot, or if droppers are on the leader and that knot is harder to tie, and I would use a double Uni/Grinner knot.

My lighter river gear #5 and under, is figure of eight to a loop in the leader. A perfection loop lies straightest, but if you tie a triple loop better use it.

The reason for the different river setup: the lighter line can have it's tip pulled under the surface by turbulence and weighted flies. I prevent that. The lighter fly line being thinner has less buoyant plastic coating to hold it up on the surface. But if you use a figure of eight it creates a tiny knob of flyline at the tip, and there is more buoyancy in that, especially if a bit of line grease has been added to the thin front tapered part of the line.
When fishing a nymph, the need for indicators, floats and dry "butterflies" for bite detection is reduced (not totally eliminated) with the figure of eight knot.

surripere

I hate braided loops more than i hate bite indicators & thats saying something, went as far as buying new spool & line just to avoid using them.

thehamo

As very much an amateur fly fisher, that is all gobbledygook to me! i basically was just getting a length of leader tying it to the fly line with a nail knot and then the fly to the end of the leader!

Having said that, i've only fished stocked lakes with good results, but would this be a pointless task river fishing? I was thinking of broadening my fly fishing horizons onto the liffey this year, but no point if im not doing it right!

fathersymes

Was chatting about this the other day and remember when I started fly fishing as a kid, I just tied a loop in the fly line and added a 2 foot leader to the fly and still caught wild brown trout! Nowadays I use a 10-12 foot leader with no tippet and braided loop.

I reckon we can get too hung up on tackle, using a 2 foot leader all those years ago was because nobody told me otherwise but the trout didn't seem to mind!

surripere

reminds of a mates ould fella years ago coming along to matches with a broom handle & twine, he use to bag up on perch laughing at the lot of us with our so called hi-tech gear. thehamo! the point is to be out fishing regardless of what level ur at. If u be catching on lakes ull catch on rivers nay prob dude.

ironbluedun

yes its all getting too tactical these days, keep it simple and concentrate on finding feeding fish, I never use tapered leaders, complicated knots or any of that stuff, just same diameter leader from fly-line to fly or flies and it works good for me. For a beginner you can try using leader rings in small sizes they make forming knots much easier. Basically leader rings are small 1-2mm diameter stainless steel rings and they are available from Riverge. I have been using them and find them very handy. Dont buy the cheaper square edged ones they will cut the line.