Hi all.

Had a few people ask me about rigging up a Pike leader using Titanium so, if it interests you, here's a short breakdown of the leader construction and materials;

Materials/tools:

Seaguar fluorocarbon 25.5lbs
American Fishing Wire single strand titanium in 40lbs (dont go any lighter) (single strand stands up to the rigours of flycasting much better than multisrand wires which will eventually fray)
Clip of choice (I recommend a fastach clip or spiral lock and avoid snaplinks like the plague)
Bug Bond resin/epoxy/aquasure
heat shrink tubing
2 pairs of pliers - one pair should be non-serrated, flat edged (recommended)


How to make it:

Take your clip, in this case a Fastach, and tie to an 18" length of the Ti with a 2 turn clinch knot - this seems, and looks, insecure but it won't pull out. Holding the clip with pliers and the Ti near the knot (with the non-serrated pliers!) pull tight until it just stretches. Trim the tag end and coat the knot with BugBond/epoxy or similar. (The bugbond is handy because it's done in seconds and there's no requirement to turn/wait on it setting). Slip a small section of heat shrink tubing over the knot/eye of the clip to stop any debris/teeth etc catching....



At the leader end of the Ti form a loop (DO NOT PINCH IT DOWN TO A KINK AS THIS SIGNIFICANTLY WEAKENS THE TITANIUM) and form an albright knot. Again, I like to coat this with Bugbond/aquasure etc to seal.....



Form a perfection loop at the other end of the leader (I usually use a leader of 5 to 6 feet) and attach loop to loop with your flyline.

This leader will last a long time! Tight lines!

Dougie

Excellent post, Dougie. It will be very useful for me.

Which link do you prefer, the spiral lock or the Fastach?

Regards,
Brennan

Dougie, what size are the Fastach clips

__________________
A Bad Days Fishing Is Better Than A Good Day At Work

Thanks for posting this Dougie

__________________
Derek

You looked things over and were not yet beat
Then changed flies again and were ready to repeat
The next try was poor because you rushed the cast
You hold your breath in solemn anticipation
You must be a fly fisherman!

~by George W. Harvey, A Fly Fisherman (last 20 lines), in "Fly Fisherman" magazine, December, 2002~

>>>>>>>MEMBER OF THE S.S.F.D.<<<<<<<<<<

Here is something you guys might not have seen & I doubt used.

Titanium wire incorporated into a furled leader



Overall length 6ft 6ins with 10ins. of kink resistant medical grade titanium
superior casting
high durability & toughness
maximum corrosion resistance & strength
overstrike protection, high stretch & recovery
black oxide bite guard reduces underwater visibility
cuts through weeds
ready to use, for 7wt lines & above
breaking strain 20lb


Tight Lines

__________________
"The Future's Bright The Future's Wet Fly"

Great post Dougie. Where did you get the Fastach from?

Ernie

Thanks guys,

The clips are from Dave Lumb at DLST. Size 2 I think?

Dougie

very nice job; same as my setup except I use a small, strong rig ring instead of albright for some extra flexibility (though yours does look very neat I must admit) & I'm still experimenting with top quality snap links though looking elsewhere - do you find the fastach completely reliable long-term? I can't understand anyone using anything except single strand titanium wire - can't conceive of anything better! mine is BOA no-kink from Malin but they probably come from the same factory, and I have found 25lb to be completely reliable and obviously a little lighter and thinner