hi all im new to site but have been flyfishing for last 7-8 yrs . im looking for advice on making tapered leaders how to tie them and what strength of lines to use and what kind of lines . its mainly to fish a spent gnat in evening to cover rising fish on lough i was told its essential to have one when chasing fish like this any info greatly appreciated

john

No one seems to be answering you... so i will start it and then others can disagree.

It depends so much on your casting ability and what you can turn over, as on still waters the percieved wisdom is the longer the leader the better.
By far the easiest is to get a shop bought tapered leader... this doesnt have to be tooo snazzy, the Leeda profil is quite adequate the 9' 4x (4 lb) or 3x (5lb) if you prefer more strength. It costs about £2
Also get a spool or two of tippet at 3lb , 4lb or 5lb.( just normal maxima or similar)

try casting the 9'(with a fly on) and see if your action turns it over OK, if your happy with it, try tying on another yard of tippet of the same strength or smaller knotted on the end, try casting with that. Play around with lengths till your happy with a combination for you.

If you find like me 9' of tapers about right,(caster of less than average ability) then after you have tied a few flies and the leader gets shorter on you will want to tie on a few feet of tippet to compensate. subsequently you just need to change the tippet section as things get too short.

If you dont get on with my suggestion you have lost £2, as the nylon tippets should come in useful

cheers for that whinging pom . i think i understand most of what ur saying can i ask what is a tippet

Tippet is the length we tie the fly to.
so you have your fly line.... then your tapered leader.... then your tippet.
Usually of the same material as the leader. So nylon to nylon or flouro to flouro.
I prefer nylon, its a good base to start, easy to knot, with either water knots or double blood knots, it has plenty of stretch.

The reasons we replace tippet are to; as I mentioned add a new length instead of changing the whole leader as you keep changing flies. And also as you change the size of you flies you will want different sized tippet. (thinner for smaller flies, visa-versa). 5x 4x and 3x should cover most of your needs.

I like old fashioned maxima because it has stretch and it is very limp, two qualities which I personaly look for. ( however I am basicaly a small stream fisherman, so expect to see me contradicted!!). Really you need to go and forget about fishing for a wee while and try out some different lengths and combinations with your spent Gnats etc and see what suits you.
If you do buzzers and small nymphs you will want the finer and a longer tippet length if you can manage it. ( better casters use 15-18' or more of leader and tippet.... however if it lands in a big mess its b*gg*r all good to you and your better shorter and in control).



By the way the X system related to Gut in the old days.. it was standard width. To thin it they would pass a blade down it and take a shave off it. So 1x had one shaving 2x two shavings etc. therefore the bigger the number the more shavings and the finer the diameter of the final line. Breaking strains rarely relate to reality, however line diameters do.

thanks again W P trial and error i suppose thanks for that info

Just beware of cheap Chinese tapered leaders some of which have the memory of a spring