Hi All

Was just wondering, are knotless tapered leaders as good as they say etc?

e.g. for river fishing with a 9ft6inch 6weight rod, will they improve my turn over(wet fly) or is 2 arm lengths of 6pound floro looped directly to main line just as effective at the 20 to 30 feet casting range?

I have used the airflo sinking tippets on stillwaters with my floaing line and find they are good for reaching depth if needed. obviously looping on some floro to the end of these to attach my fly.

Just wondered what are peoples experiences of off the shelf tapered knotless leasders with the fly tied directly onto them and the leader looped to the main line.

I have one I got free with a magazine a few months ago and havn't used it yet. I guess I will give it a shot.

cheers
rusty

Rusty, in a word yes.
You will get better presentation and turnover.
This is what I do. Others will have a different idea.
Buy some Varavas Standard leaders. These come in 7'6"; 9' and 12' lengths.
But before you do you need to think about tippet size. On most rivers you should be thinking 6x or 7x thickness.
Buy a leader that has that size tippet, and a spool of tippet material.
Measure back 3' from the tip, cut the leader and re-tie the piece you have cut off. use a 3 turn blood knot. Now you know when to replace the tippet.
Simples.
Why Varivas? Because they have the right size butt section which is critical, they are relatively cheap and the are good.

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"A traditional wet fly addict"

Uk representative and Instructor for Fly Fishing Masters - www.flyfishingmasters.co.uk

Distributor for Terenzio Silk and Artificial Silk Fly Lines - Pay distributor retail price.

Yes they are, for dry fly fishing where you want a good leader turnover with a virtually weightless fly on the end.
Not necessarily so for nymphing where the nymph itself may have some weight, and you want it to sink fast to its working depth: a thinner level leader may allow the nymph to sink faster, and you may get a better drag-free drift.

7X tippet on a 9'6" #6 rod; that's asking for break-offs.

Andrew

Phil, how do you rate the 14' varivas super yamamy?
i love the 'standard', and gold yamamy's can you still get the 'perfection' ones, with the long belly and short tip?

Are knotless tapered leaders as good as they say?

Definately.

BK

Yes, they are great, infact, theres nothing better... unless, you are at the stage where you are finding the neccessity to design your own tapers from different diameters of mono, and knot them together, but then you are into the realm of customised leaders, and these are very specific to your own requirements.

Hi Rusty,your leader serves one main purpose, to connect the fly to the fly line. But if you were to simply use one level (same diameter) leader from the fly line to the fly, you'd run into a few problems. When you cast, part of the leader's job is to "Turn Over" your fly. In other words, the leader should straighten out, and flip the fly as far away from the tip of the fly line as it can, so you can control the fly, have a tight line to set the hook, and so the fly isn't right next to that thick fly line that might spook the fish.
In order for the leader to turn over the fly, it needs a certain level of stiffness, so its usually thicker. But a thick leader will be either too large to put threw the eyes on smaller flies, and when its in the water beside the fly,the fly won,t float naturally.
Tapered leaders solve this problem by giving you the best of both worlds- a somewhat stiffer butt section fastened to the fly line, and a thinner part down by the fly.
Also lads,(and ladies) all leaders will knot at some stage,just some leaders are easier to un-knot (like mine) just try keep an eye on your leaders maybe every 10-15 casts and look for knots,if you spot them early they can be untangled easier,use the point of your hook to catch in the knot and pull apart slowly,do this carefully to avoid damaging the leader.
Hope this helps you

David

P.s check the classifieds-fly lines section- 13 leaders £10

hi everyone
thanks for all the replies!
next time im out n about il'l give them a try for sure.

cheers
rusty

I think the guys have gave you pretty good advice but a few wee things I would add.
As a returning angler to the sport last year I had never used tapered leaders before. My initial impression was bad because I was using the wrong tip diameter for the fishing I was initally doing, Its maybe obvious to you as you have probably researched it a bit already but coming at it cold so to speak I was fishing way too light for stockies and was being broken all the time.
I now have leaders for all purposes and am quite able to understand which to use for the job at hand and have no such problems.
Second for river fishing I use 5X or 6X tip diameters I tend to fit a micro ring to the end of my leader then attach the tippet to this. This saves the end of the leader when tippets wear out- ie its not knotted on so you are not nipping back the leader, also if I do get snagged up there is a fair chance it will snap at the ring to tippet knot so again protecting the leader.
I don't tend to do this for stockie bashing - as rings are usually rated at around 8lbs and I tend to fish 6 or 8lb tippet when fishing for rainbows and there is less risk of breakages. If I need to cut the leader back I simply tie a heavier diameter tippet to keep the transitions within 2X of each other and use knots.
I guess when all is said and done everyone will have their own way- I am only adding this as my own personal experience and hopefully iy will help you not make the stupid mistakes I did at the start- and save few money too!
all the best
Kenny

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I have not tried them at all. I like the Standard so much that I have stuck with it.

If I want a longer leader (in fact I usually fish with a 5m leader) I start with a 12' 5x and then add to it.

__________________
"A traditional wet fly addict"

Uk representative and Instructor for Fly Fishing Masters - www.flyfishingmasters.co.uk

Distributor for Terenzio Silk and Artificial Silk Fly Lines - Pay distributor retail price.