Archive for the ‘fly’ tag
Fly Leader
what is the best leader lenght inc hook lenght for a fly rod?
Robert,
There are many variables, but there are some standards you can use as a rule of thumb.
Are you using a 9 foot fly rod or a 7 foot or an 11 foot? That helps decide what length of leader you want to use.
Using a 9 foot rod, and if you are fishing dry flies the answer can be anywhere from 7.5 feet to 9 feet to 12 feet. The longer the leader/tippet combination, the harder it is to maintain control of the fly. If you are on a small river or stream, then most of the time you are going to want a drag free drift, so you must maintain control of your line, leader and fly. Maintaining control means you control it, you don’t let the water sweep it away causing lots of drag.
Sometimes, on quiet waters, like lakes or pools within streams, with small flies and spooky trout, you will need a long leader/tippet, say in the 12+ foot range. Presentation is critical in this type of fishing, the leader has to lay down on the water quietly and unfold, depositing the fly in just the right position and without a lot of fan fare, nice and quiet.
On water that is a little choppy because of a wind, you can use a 7.5 to 9 foot leader/tippet and have excellent results.
The size of your leader must match the size of your fly. You are not going to use a 7X leader to present a size 6 Grasshopper. You would use a 7X to fish a small size 18 to 22 PMD or BWO or Trico.
For going underwater, then you can shorten your leader. If you are casting a big heavy streamer, you need a shorter and heavier leader to maintain control of the fly.
However, if you are going to fish just under the surface on a lake, say with a soft hackle fly, then you want a long leader to keep the fly line out of the fishes vision.
You will notice in a fly shop or a fly fishing catalog, the standard length for a tapered freshwater leader is 9 feet. Then they sell 7.5 foot leaders and a few 12 foot leaders. Mostly it is the 9 footer that people buy.
When you have a fish on, it is best to try to keep the leader/line connection area outside the tip of your fly rod, so if you have a really long leader, you are not going to get the fish really close to you or you have to bring your leader inside the top several guides on your fly rod. Unless you have a very smooth knot or connection between the two, you stand a good chance of loosing your fish if it makes a fast run. The knots tend to hang up on the guides and you will pop off the fly.
So, stay with 9 feet for dry flies, adjusting up or down as the situation calls for and go with around 4 footers for heavy streamers.
Larry