[center][cool][font "Poor Richard"][green][size 4]Some people tie their leader directly to the fly. I like to add a 3' lenght of tippet material to the leader. I need a good length of material to tie on a fly. Bright sun, big fingers and poor eye sight make for a difficult task in tying on a fly. Oh yes I do have magnifier clip ons but it is still tough deal. How about you?[font "Verdana"][#000000][size 2] [/size][/#000000][/font][/size][/green][/font][/center]
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During the warm climate months, I don't mind tying a tippet on. Other than that, I will tie straight to the leader.[cool]
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With the exspense of some of the leaders these days, it makes financial sense to put on about 3' of tippet. Especially if you fish yjrough the day and change out the pattern as the day progreesses. I alway use tippet, I feel it gives me more flexability.
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i like to use about 3 ft. of tippet,for just about the same reasons that were mentioned befor.i also need more matieral when fishing in cold weather.my fingers do not work very well
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[center][font "Poor Richard"][black][size 4][cool][#008000]I'd rather burn 3' of tippet than shorten my leader.[/#008000][/size][/black][/font][/center]
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Try tying a size 22 Griffith Gnat on a half of a leader!
When I first started fly fishing back with Fred Flintstone, I didn't use a tapered leader at all. They were too much money so I made my own. Tying 3' of 15# line to 3' of 10# line and then to 3' of 6# line cost just pennies and caught fish all day long. I didn't even use tippet, just fishing line.
No that I am older and richer, I use the accepted method of tapered to tippet. The funny thing is that I don't catch any more fish!
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I think ya got a point there, at least after a sertain point of loss on the tippet.
If I fly fished past the middle of may I would most certainly need to use a leader after I had tied and cut my line past the point where the line starts getting thicker.
I dont often get the opertunity to fly fish past may, around about memorial day I start targeting walleye.
I do ocationaly get to go after bass, but I can get away with the heavery tippit there.
any way I waist a lot of line my self when I tie my flys, seems my nimble fingers aint so nimble any more.... especialy in the friged temps in april....
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I'm cheap. I only use my homemade tapered leaders. I use the Ritz formula. The finer the tippet the longer the leader (usually). The tippet is part of my leader. When the tippet gets short, I change leaders and tie on another tippet to the leader when I get home.
For pike, well a short 2 or 3 foot leader ending at about 15 lb test is what I use the most often.
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Hey you can catch walleye on a fly. Not easy but, it happens.
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No doubt, there is a time of the year when you can catch walleye off the top of the water (near the top) using a wet fly at night or on a dark cloudy day on a 10 - 12 foot 12-15 # test tippet or leader. This is when the mayflies return to the waters.
The may flies around my house only get half inch long, but just 40 miles from my house they get 2-3 inches long.
The trick is to make your fly to drop down in to the water and sink. I like a split shot about a foot back and use a little glow in the dark nail polish to enhance my fly bodies.
The walleye sit under the masses of dead flees on the water and wait for them to sink before taking them. (match the hatch but in this case match the crash and sink) [sly]
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Ok I'm gullible I will bite, how do you make your own tapered tippet? [blush]
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Well, I guess it's not tapered like in the sense of the new leaders that gradually taper throughout their length. The term "tapered" came from a time when different lengths of horse hair were knotted together so that the leader would get smaller (in steps) all the way to the tippet. That new stuff that came out when mono was invented is actually borrowing the term "tapered" (historically speaking)....lol.
I use the Ritz formula for making my leaders. I use various sizes of leader material.
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Now all I have to do is find me a 4-H'er who is going to crop a mane of a big ol clods dale, I wonder if Anhizer would mind if started snooping around their stalls? [sly]
I have used strands of my beard to make old granddad flies. Ya know sip a shot of old granddad puck a strand or two and tie away... [laugh]
I guess if Rapunszle can do it why not Silver.
Thanks, I would imagine it makes a pretty strong twine. Do you oil it or anything to keep it from drying out and becoming brittle? [
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You are right on the horse hair but, I think it was was furled leaders which means the first section was maybe 24 hairs, second 18 hairs and so on. Taper means the same in both cases, fat to thin. There are receipes for making you own leaders (which I do) and whether or not it saves you money it opens alot of doors to what you can achieve. I like to start with .17 on the 9 foot leaders I make for my boo and end with 6X flourocarbon. The leaders you can make are endless, different leaders for different applications. It's really something to try.
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I use leaders when I get back to the fat part of my tipet, I think it is at about 6 feet area of the tippet.
using a polimer knot I tie on one of those tiny black quick clip snaps. then my leader about 4 pound test starts out about three feet long and I can retie my bugs for another good long time. If I wait to long to tie on the clip the line gets bigger than the hole of my clip.
this is a real time saver when fishing for stealhead and other salmon, you may loose your leader to a big fish but not your tipet.
it does save on replacing the tipet especialy if you do a lot of tieing. it is faster too. because you dont have to wind up the old tipet and put it away.
NOPE, I am not one of those guys who dumps thier line in the river.[
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dens me to have to fight my way though a notted mess of line tangled in the bottom of the river. Cant tell you how many times I have had to do that. too many to count.
I carry a little pocket spool of line which I can refill every year. You may have seen them, soft plastic and the one side of the rims of the spool closes on the other to keep it from unraveling.
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I am
Dave (which is not unusual for me). I put leader on my fly line then add tippet to the end of the leader.
Or are you talking about a 6' butt section, then you put the clip then your leader? Another question, what happens when that clip goes through your guides?
I ahve seen those fly clips but, have heard horror stories so I stay away. I attach my self tied leaders to my fly line with a needle knot and then just add tippet sections as needed. No knot line all the way except the tiny knots on the leader. I had a big fish on once with the loop to loop and got that loop section just inside my first guide. the fish dove and the loop go caught on the first eye and I broke off. Too bad to cause I had the 30" in my net and he flipped out and dove.
I attach my tippet with a surgeon's knot. Easy to do with cold fingers.
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my terminal hook runs like this.
100 feet of 30 lb mono backup line.
plimer knot to a manufactured fly line netted slip loop with shrink rap
- doual tapered flotation fly line} or {streight sinking fly line if I want to fish deep -
manufactured fly line netted slip loop with shrink rap
9 foot Tapered Tipet line. 4lb test.
{when I have used up the 4 pound test section of the tapered line I place on the clip. then a three foot section of straight 4 lb test multicolored natural.}
{when I add a splitshot I place it just below the loop side of my leader.}
Like I said I am a hack when it comes to tieing, so my hand tied loops lost me a lot of fish, this is why I went to the slip over loops... man what a life saver.
I also went to shorter tipet lines, from 12 foot to 9 foot, I figured that it made more sence to use tapered tipet line no longer than my 9 foot rod.
the metal clip dosnt get with in 5 feet of my rod end.
my loops seldom get with in a foot of my rod end eather.
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Thanks for the info. I think that I might try those clips in the future. Thay've always interested me.
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