Hi Everyone. Just a real simple question for alot of you but for me I am a little confused.
I understand about the tapered leaders and matching them to the size of the fly but not sure if you have to match the tippet to the leader. So if I was using a size 12 Fly I may use 4x (6.4lb) Tapered leader.Do I then have to match the tippet to this size leader ie 4x tippet or the closest to 6.4lb or can you go smaller in diameter to say 6x (3.6lb) I am using Rio Tapered leaders and tippet. Hope thios makes sense?

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Fish and visiting in laws stink after three days!!

you can go smaller if you dare just watch when you strike or the fish runs you dont break it

So are you saying to be safe stay as near to the tapered leader breaking strain....is the the norm?

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Fish and visiting in laws stink after three days!!

You'd normally reckon to go down 1 or 2 sizes, so in your case, using a X4 leader to a X5 or X6. Tying a 2mm micro ring onto the end of your leader and then the tippet onto the micro ring will make your leader last a lot longer. Onto the micro ring you can tie another 2ft of X4 tippet which would be right for your size 12 fly. Hope this helps

This blog post will give you a good start to making up leaders and the tippet sizes. The best thing for answering what thickness difference you can get away with is to tie on a tippet and then test it by pulling it. Then try a bigger difference and test it by pulling it. You will arrive at a decision on how far you are prepared to go by your own discoveries. The biggest difference I dare use is 15lb Maxima (a bit thicker than 0x) direct to 5x. If going down to 6x or 7x then a length of 3x would be tied to the 15lbs Maxima and then the 6x or 7x would be tied to that.

richard

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Who resides on the right bank of the Derbyshire Wye and is lulled to sleep each night by the mutterings of a weir, dreaming that "When the rivers and their inhabitants come first, we ALL win..."

The best rule of thumb I can give you with tippet is that you have to go with the heaviest tippet that the fish will let you get away with. You have to factor in the size of the likely fish and how wary they tend to be given the water and conditions.

Now I realize that isn't much to go on because the fish don't exactly give you much in the way of feedback other than biting or not biting. Tippet is one of the factors that you have to experiment with.

I've fised places where the fish don't seem to care or the water clearity doesnt' give them a chance to see even heavy tippet. And then I've had the opposite happen. Couldn't catch a fish to save my life with 5x, changed to 6x and it was game on.

Also, keep in mind, the weakest link in the chain is almost always the knots. There is no such thing as a 100% breaking strength knot. To be cautions, you have to figure most good knots will probably give you 80%, so that needs to be factored in.

Grouse