Wonder what length leader is recommended for fishing dry fly on still water. Just started on the dry and any advice is welcome

Cheers

Paul

i use 15ft

I use about 12 to 15 ft.

12ft if it's windy and 15ft when it's calm.

Ripples will hide the end of fly line and any clumsy presentation whilst extra length will help when it's a millpond.

Stuart

I usually use a 7½ft furled mono leader with a 5ft tippet, so 12½ft.

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12 foot tapered copolymer, usually to a 6lb point.

9ft 6.5lb tapered mono leader onto a silver tippet ring, then 5ft of tippet. At a guess roughly 13-14ft.

Cheers for the advice, 12-15 ft seems the norm

Paul

The previous posts suggest that a single dry fly is being presented, but I maybe wrong. Does anyone fish a team say 2 droppers and a point fly.

The guide at my local stillwaters advocates that you should go for the longest leader you can manage, starting at 15' (3 flies) and work your way up to 20'. For all your fishing, dries, nymphs etc.

Getting used to casting a long leader takes time and practice, especially in windy weather. I've worked up to 16' now... without too many tangles.

Dave

I don't really like fishing dry flies in teams. Not sure why. I'll maybe give it another go. I do sometimes put a wee buzzer on a dropper if I'm having trouble sinking the leader.

But as for a longer leader always being better, I don't necessarily agree with that. One of my local waters is only 8 feet deep. It has loads of buzzers in it. If you try fishing a team of buzzers on a 20 foot leader, with the classic "slow figure of 8, just keeping in touch with the flies" then you'll be hooking the bottom all the time. I've found 12 feet seems to be the optimum on that particular loch.

Neil

I tend to fish a maximum of two flies when fishing dries, and I put them at least 5ft apart. I don't know why, it just seems right to me.