Have been following the recent thread on tapered leaders but I'm not sure I fully understand what all the line sizes mean. If I want to get a 12ft leader with a breaking strain of around 8lb do I look for 6x, 4x, 2x, 1x? What does the number followed by an x mean?

Also lets say I've got a 12ft 8lb 2x leader on and I want to add some new tippet what size would I use?

Hello sir

6X=3LB
4X=5LB
2X=7LB
1X=9LB

THATS MY LEADERS STRENGTH ANYWAYS,HAVE A THREAD ON THE CLASSIFIEDS (FLY LINE TIPPET SECTION) 13 FOR £10

Hope this helps

David

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Sorry but that's wrong, the X system relates to the leader diamater, not breaking strain, see below for an example table;


8X = .08mm(.003") = size 20-29 flies
7x = .10mm(.004") = size 20-28 flies
6x = .13mm(.005") = size 18-26 flies
5x = .15mm(.006") = size 14-20 flies
4x = .18mm(.007") = size 6-14 flies
3x = .20mm(.008") = size 6-12 flies

It's been mentioned plenty of times before on the forums, for example;

Leader X System Table

The basic reasoning for the system is that you need a certain diameter leader to be able to turn the fly over, so you picked the size of leader to suit your fly. Originally of course you could roughly relate the diameter to the breaking strain as it was mostly the same material, but in modern terms, 4x could be 4lb or 8lb depending on the material, so it really does just relate to diameter these days. Don't worry too much, a lot of people never use it and purely go on breaking strain. small dries 2-5lb, ,medium flies nymphs 4lb to 7lb. lures 7lb to 10lb , salmon flies 10lb to 20lb, based on their experiences really. Also most people do roughly relate the X system to breaking strain to try and remember which leader is which.

A good rule of thumb is to tie on the fly, then holding the leader an inch from the fly, try and hold it all horizontally. If the fly hangs right down the leader isn't strong enough and might struggle to turn over, if it's virtually horizontal the leader is too thick and may prevent natural movement, hanging down about 45 degrees is about right.

One thing the X system is good for is knotting leaders together, never go for more than two X size differences as the knot may fail by the thinner leader pulling through the thicker, for example, you can water knot 4x to a 3x/2x or 5x/6x, 7x or 1x is pushing your luck.

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The X system is a hangover from Victorian/Edwardian fishing days and refers to the number of times a piece of gut is pulled through a hole in a metal grid to make it thinner.

WE DON'T USE GUT LEADERS ANY MORE!

The useful measurement is the diameter of the line - preferably in mm - as this can be measured accurately and has a real influence on how the leader performs. It would make everyones life so much simpler if we could adopt this as the standard way to reference leader material. Breaking strain is an unreliable indication as it varies so much even for the same brand of line in the same diameter (age, humidity, exposure to UV...).

Thats it all in a nutshell, but is still difficult not to refer to the nylon BS.
ATB
Graham

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Getting a heck of an education here.

Fred

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Thanks for the replies - I think I understand(!) although its 10.30 on Sunday night and a few beers later!

What about adding extra tippet to a tapered leader - how do I know what size to aim for?

I must admit, I didnt know about X and their diamter being able to turn flies over... I wonder why my fly sometimes lands to the side or behind my fly line.

Cheers Guys,

PP

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I'll just add a bit to confuse things...

In my experience, you *can* turn over pretty large flies (size 12) on 5 or even 6X tippet, if the fly is particularly heavy and dense (like a beadhead nymph). The momentum of the fly seems to carry it forward regardless of the tippet diametre.

I've given up trying to sort out X numbers and the like. I've found the easiest thing to do is to pick your desired breaking strain, then decide the maximum you want to pay for a 100m spool, then find the thinnest diametre (in mm rather than X) within those limits.

I'll also say that I'm not convinced about the not joining lines more than 2X apart: I routinely water knot 4 or even 2lb line direct to 12 lb line, and have only had it snap when pulling flies out of branches (admittedly, that's rather often...).

There is absolutely no point in trying to decide on what leader or tippet to use based on breaking strain as different materials and brands have greatly differing diameters for the same breaking strain. You need to choose the correct diameter for the size of fly that you are using, too light a tippet and the fly will spin during casting, too thick and it will not present the fly naturally.

The x-rating system may be Victorian but being a standardised measure of diameter it's still best way to select a tippet and actually very simple to use.

Divide the size of your fly by 3 to get the optimum x-rating. A No.12 is therefore best on a 4x tippet, No.14s and 16s on a 5x tippet, No.18s on a 6x tippet and so on. This takes any issues of material choice completely out of the equation and breaking strain is not an issue as long as it is enough.

It's not going to matter too much if you go up or down one x - rating, you'll still present the fly well enough and the fly will still behave OK but get more than a couple of x-ratings away from the optimum and something will suffer.

It also makes making a tapered leader very easy, even using different materials for the various sections. Just start at the correct diameter for the fly and work back to the fly line increasing the diameter for each section.

Simples!!

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