Hi all
I've been fly fishin for just over a year and a half now and originaly was advised to use ready made leaders and loops, then to attach a 5lb tippet. Recently tho I've have become aware that these look really messy. So I've decided to tie it myself, what would be the best for leader and tippet ie lengh, lb etc

Cheers in advance
Matt

Hi Matt, 2 or 3 questions. how do you mean ''messy'' what kind of fishing are you doing. single dry fly.lurefishing, fishing with droppers.

Jim

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The Fishermans Friend is the Flirty Fly,Fickle Food for Fleeting Fish.

Hi Matt,

Depends where and how you intend to fish. Being more specific will get you more detailed answers. This is a question asked many times and many different views given. I would suggest searching the forum for answers in the first instance. Also this link is worth a look.
The Global Fly Fisher - Production Leader Tying Techniques
Good Luck

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Eddie
"We look to Scotland for all our ideas of civilisation."
Voltaire

Sorry guys "messy" was the braided loops and the loop to loop connections. Fishing wise I do mainly river on the upper severn for brownies and grayling using nymphs with a dropper.
I'll look at that link

Sorry guys "messy" was the braided loops and the loop to loop connections. Fishing wise I do mainly river on the upper severn for brownies and grayling using nymphs with a dropper.
I'll look at that link

If you use minicon braid loops and cut back the heavy part of the tapered leader,then use a longer tippet.you might find it not so 'messy'.
Or if the flyline has a braided core.strip back the coating and make your loop with the core.(very neat).

Jim

__________________
The Fishermans Friend is the Flirty Fly,Fickle Food for Fleeting Fish.

There's no answer to your question about what is "the best" leader/tippet setup. It all depends.

This is where angling skill and experience come in. Leaders and tippets are just 2 more of the variables that you have to work with and adjust while fising.

In general terms, use the shortest leader you can get away with and still fish effectively. Every extra inch of leader is an opportunity for more casting issues and more tangles. There is currently a fad toward using excessively long and complicated leader setups of 15 or more feet. Avoid this fad and don't believe anyone who says it's necessary to catch fish.

As a starting point, for floating line work and fishing nymphs on rivers, I usually go about one rod's length for the leader and then add tippet from there. This is only a very general guideline, things like river depth and the presentation you're trying to work with will dictate you move up or down from there.

BTW, to show you how much it can vary, for streamer and woolly b u g g e r fishhing, I use leaders at about 6 feet. For nymphing, I use 8-9 feet. For wets, I use 9+ feet. And all this is on the same river. So you see how much variation there is?

Grouse

cheers guys youve given me some really valuable info there!!!!


matt

As a starting point, for floating line work and fishing nymphs on rivers, I usually go about one rod's length for the leader and then add tippet from there. This is only a very general guideline, things like river depth and the presentation you're trying to work with will dictate you move up or down from there.

BTW, to show you how much it can vary, for streamer and woolly b u g g e r fishhing, I use leaders at about 6 feet. For nymphing, I use 8-9 feet. For wets, I use 9+ feet. And all this is on the same river. So you see how much variation there is?

Glad someone said this.