to get my leader to land correctly with a size 12 fly on im having to use 4-6lb BS line .. size 14 i can go to 4 LB , does this sound right

not sure if its coming from course and not having to worry about turnover and simply going for thinnest diameter line in the BS i want but it just seems thick to what i'm used to..


is it just me ?


billy

I'd says just get out and try it there are no fixed formulas in fishing.

First and formost judging and overcoming the conditions you are fishing in is the most important.

Matching tippets to fly sizes is a consideration but do not go fine just for the sake of it. Erring to the slightly larger diameters will certainly prevent the frequency on tangles , knots and will certainly give better turn over.

Get your knots right and concentrating on presenting the fly well will pay greater dividends than worrying about being too light.

I believe strongly that watercraft is far more important than fine detail in your tackle.

When you hook that fish and it's tail walking off you'll be glad you have that bit of extra insurance.

__________________
ランカシャー·ラッズの

Know exactly where your coming from, in course fishing you look for the hooklength (tippet) to match the fish your going for rather than match the size of the hook, so it can seem like your fishing heavy sometimes.

__________________

well if thats all it is , cool for cats

If there's anything of a ripple there's no need to go too fine, using size 14s and larger, a 4lb or 5lb (0.20mm) tippet should be OK. With smaller flies, or in flat calms, you might need a 3lb (1.5mm) tippet.

__________________
*
How poor a thing, sometimes I find,
Will captivate a greedy mind - Isaac Walton.

~~*~~~~~
*****©(

cheers chaps.. like i say looking at the line its a bit of an overkill for the type of fishing i normally do (minus pike) so it just seems big..

no problems

cheers


billy

Of course my answer was for fishing dry flies. Should you want to fish lures on sinking lines you may need to use 6lb (0.22mm) tippets or even 8lb where there are a lot of big fish present.

It does seem rather heavy line after coarse fishing but you'll need to use these size tippets to prevent breakages - trout can hit a fly with some force!

__________________
*
How poor a thing, sometimes I find,
Will captivate a greedy mind - Isaac Walton.

~~*~~~~~
*****©(

You must be bit bashing mate, I rarely go below 8lb hooklength for regular coarse stuff

( dragging carp & sillwater chub out of tree lined snag pits on paste )

You hit the nail on the head though, not many 8lb brownies about !

__________________

i think i have 2lb on my "normal" reel and i only have 10lb on my spinner/pike reel .. i can understand 8lb with carp /chubb etc but never really fished for them especially round snaggy areas..

in fact i think i only have 15lb on my beachcaster as mainline.. traces are normally around 50lb body with 15lb or so for the hooklengths .. 60 down to 15 shock leader ..

i have been known to use 25lb line and a 30lb test boat rod for targeting one or two "jaws" type pike that needed taming ( or is that plain dragging out )

well im happy as long as i'm not using overkill line.. like i say im used to really thin lines so thats all it is ..


billy