Fly Fishing Leaders & Tippet

FLY LEADERS & TIPPETS UNCOVERED... THE WHAT, THE WHY & THE HOW.

First question, just what is a tippet? A tippet is a particular gauge monofilament line which should be attached to the end of your leader, then tied to your fly. The tippet is normally the littlest gauge line on your rig and is pretty unseeable to the fish. Adjust your leader weight to the size of the fly. Normally the tippet is 2 to 4 feet in length and matches, or is smaller than, the diameter of the leader's tip. The biggest advantage to using tippet is that it extends the life of the leader. Leaders can be expensive and if you change flies often, little by little the taper of the leader is cut away. By tying on tippet, you can avoid losing taper. The fly is tied to the end of the tippet. What type of fish you are angling for determines the type and size of the fly. Flies come in all different shapes and sizes that range from very small #28 to large #2. There are still larger flies, but they are categorized on a different scale. To help determine what gauge leader and tippet to use with a particular size fly, many leader manufacturers insert a small chart inside their packaging. The leader is attached to the end of the colorful fly line and gives the fisherman a virtually transparent connection between the line and the fly. Commercially bought leaders come in a variety of lengths with 7.5 to 9 feet being most common. Most leaders are tapered monofilament nylon, meaning they are a larger diameter at the butt end, which attaches to the fly line, and a smaller diameter at the tip, where the tippet or fly is tied. During the cast, the taper allows the leader to shoot through the air more efficiently and rest more softly on the surface of the water. Leaders come in different weights and strengths. The correct leader weight is primarily determined by the size of the fly. Fluorocarbon is denser than monofilament, making it more resistant to abrasion. Monofilament is nearly the same density as water, making it neutral-buoyant. This is the opposite of fluorocarbon, which is denser than both, allowing it to sink Personally I use mono for most of my fishing because of the extra stretch when fighting fish. But when I am nymphing I use Fluorocarbon because it doesn't stretch thereby giving me greater contact to detect the take. Fluorocarbon is also usefull in saltwater inviroments as it has greater abbrasion resitance giving a little extra protection against coral, rocks and toothy criters.

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