# Fly fishing leaders



## Trapp (Apr 6, 2011)

Did a little bass fishing today and found I needed to retie my fly after every second strike. Is the fluro leader retie the same or will it with stand the hard strikes better


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## BrandonFox (Jan 8, 2013)

What pound leader were you using?


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## Trapp (Apr 6, 2011)

I am guessing that it is a 12# leader. It came prerigged on the reel. Bought the Cahill 8wt from Cabelas when they where on sale.


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## Trapp (Apr 6, 2011)

Another thought was to remove the current leader and go with a straight 16 pound fluoro tippet material. Kinda new at the fly fishing thing so any advice is greatly appreciated. I had lots of fun with it and don't want to get discouraged with it due to break offs. I know what to do with traditional gear but I am leading to believe that in fly fishing it is not the same.


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## BrandonFox (Jan 8, 2013)

Trapp said:


> I am guessing that it is a 12# leader. It came prerigged on the reel. Bought the Cahill 8wt from Cabelas when they where on sale.


I would ditch the pre made leader and just tie on your own. A good length section of 12# should be plenty for bass. Some fish will weaken it at times but not usually after every 2nd fish. Good luck.


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## Top Drive (Feb 4, 2013)

I use clear 20 lb. mono- I fish mostly around shell reefs for redfish and trout. The leaders get shredded pretty quick. I keep a spool of mono and a straw for nail knots in my fly pack. It is heartbreaking to hook a good fish and lose it, but that's part of the game.


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## Xplorin08 (Jan 18, 2011)

Top Drive - Are you just using the 20# leader with a tippet? I started making my own leaders with 60% of it using a 40# mono section, followed by 20% of 25# mono and 20% of the remaining leader being tippet in the 10-12# range.


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## I.Fish.Hard (Mar 20, 2013)

Xplorin08 said:


> Top Drive - Are you just using the 20# leader with a tippet? I started making my own leaders with 60% of it using a 40# mono section, followed by 20% of 25# mono and 20% of the remaining leader being tippet in the 10-12# range.


Ding ding ding! We have a winner!


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## Top Drive (Feb 4, 2013)

I like 10-12 lb. test at the fly. The problem is this shallow bay. The fish here seem to travel from one shallow oyster reef to another. Every fish I hooked cut off. I went to 20 lb. test from the fly line to the bug in self defense. Even now some of the fish I have caught left the leader literally shredded, but it stayed together enough to get the fish in the boat. The water has been stained to downright muddy, so I have been getting away with it. If the water ever clears up, I will probably have to do something different, but I don't know what. These oyster reefs are like fishing over broken glass. 
What knot are you using to put leaders together?


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## I.Fish.Hard (Mar 20, 2013)

Top Drive said:


> I like 10-12 lb. test at the fly. The problem is this shallow bay. The fish here seem to travel from one shallow oyster reef to another. Every fish I hooked cut off. I went to 20 lb. test from the fly line to the bug in self defense. Even now some of the fish I have caught left the leader literally shredded, but it stayed together enough to get the fish in the boat. The water has been stained to downright muddy, so I have been getting away with it. If the water ever clears up, I will probably have to do something different, but I don't know what. These oyster reefs are like fishing over broken glass.
> What knot are you using to put leaders together?


If you don't want your line in the oysters, then keep it out of the oysters. Simple as that. Play the fish up high with that 9' foot fly rod.

You could use 50lb. directly to the fly. Our redfish our dumb and won't care. Some on here will say otherwise, and that their redfish spook... that may be true, but it sure ain't the diameter of the leader doing the spooking.

Blood knots.


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## dsim3240 (Nov 12, 2008)

Trapp, to answer your question you should check your leader often and retie when you find any abrasions. It's not a big deal. When the leader gets too short just add a section of tippet material. Last week when I was Perch fishing I had to retie several times and I didn't catch anything over 6". 
The tippet should be sized for the fly, fish, and conditions. Most of my freshwater fishing I use 6-10lb. For bass, if you are around heavy, hard cover(trees) then I might go up to 14lb. But the heavier the tippet the less action you will get from your fly and the harder it will be to make a good presentation. I advise is use the lightest tippet you can and retie often. In saltwater I retie after every fish.
P.S. I have found good Mono better than flourcarbon. So I only use fluor when I fish realy clear water. Hope this helps and good fishing.


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## knuttdeep (May 21, 2004)

*Leader*

In the salt I have been very pleased the last few years using ; from fly line to leader, 20#,15#,10# in 3' sections.
Nail Knot, mono to fly line.
Blood knot, mono to mono.


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## Russ757 (Apr 5, 2010)

Im using a straight 12lb 8.5ft leader right now, do you think that is ok is will that impart the wrong action on the fly or hurt my casting?

Russ


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