Hi

Can anyone suggest the best tippet to use for dry/nymphs? I missed approx 10 trout yesterday on dries! They seem to come upto the fly but dont actually take it! Whereas other anglers nearby were catching on the same pattern! I was wondering if they are getting spooked by the tippet somehow (colour or they way it presents the fly). Obviously I dont know how many have been interested in nymphs as I cannot seem them, but I am sure there have been a few!

Any advice suggestions!

Many thanks

Hi and welcome to the forum.

What tippet are you currently using and what type and size of dry fly?

Was your tippet degreased and below the surface as floating tippet is a common cause of fish turning away at the last minute.

I use 6lb spiderwire fluro if there is a ripple on the water but if the water is calm I use well degreased 5lb Hardy copolymer.

Another reason could be that the fly you were using wasn't quite sitting right on/in the surface.

Cheers

Mat

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It won't be the tippet per se but drag from the tippet/leader causing the fly to behave unnaturally.

Fish ignore tippet, they concentrate on the 'food' item, but if the tippet is dragging sideways or showing a wake on the fly, they will refuse it.

Try casting with a deliberately wavy line/tippet, it may well be the answer.

I use Ultima Power Match ( a pre stretched carp copolymer) for preference but have tried most in the past but refuse to pay the 'fly fishing' premium on tippet.

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Just My Tuppenceworth!!

Super thread! Love to learn things I didn't know about fish and the things they depend on. Maybe the anglers on that water will do well to try crayfish imitations?

In the days when we had native crayfish on the Derbyshire Wye they were most certainly high on the bigger fishes menu.

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..."

Thanks for your replies guys!

I have been told Rio Powerflex co-polymer is a good tippet to use! Has anybody used this stuff?

I have and yes it's a good tippet material,although i recently changed to Orvis super strong for fishing dries (no reason just fancied trying something new)

Neil

I am currently using Trilene from my local fishing store. One chap on the reservoir where I fish said he never heard of it! But something is not right, and I think this could be it. I also used a hopper, then an emerger pattern, both size 12. Fish were interested, but no catches!

Cheers

Im fairly new to fly fishing and am interested about what you said regarding degreasing the line! This is obviously important and I am interested to hear more!

Hello Ron

Where are you fishing ? are the fish boiling at the fly or can you see the fish refuse it?.If on a reservoir and other anglers are catching.Try a controlled tweak/short draw when a fish boils at the fly and see what happens.On the reservoir I use often degreased Orvis Super Strong 3X copolymer most of the time.

JP

I often fish the loxal stillwater with dries and in most conditions, especially clear and still, de-greasing the line for 6 -12 inches from the fly definitely makes takes more likely.

If fish are coming up to the fly, and then turning away, it is almost always due to the tippet floating and being highly visible. In a flat calm, it can be very difficult to get the tippet to sink, even if you 'degrease' every cast with paste. It can help if you clean off the paste using saliva though ;-)

A good way of ensuring that the tippet sinks is to have a dropper 18" - 2' away from the dry, with a small (16-14) nymph attached. A buzzer or diawl bach is good! I find that a size 14 dry, properly treated with floatants will easily hold up 2 size 14 sparse nymphs on droppers! You'll probably find you get more takes on the nymphs too!

As for tippet material, after being disillusioned with the unpredictability of Stroft, i am now using Gamakatsu G-Line. It's a pole line that was highly recommended to me.

By comparison with just 2 of the cult type fly tippet materials of same diameter:

Rio Powerflex .178mm 6.4lbs

Stroft GTM .18mm 7.9lbs

Gamakatsu G-Line .18mm 9.5lbs

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