When i first started fly fishing i was trying learn on my own and I was really
about tippet. A guy i worked with recommended i use one of those braided loops that you heat shrink on the end of your fly line,Then use non tapered tippet. Thats what ive stuck with. usually like a 4x or 6x. and it seems to work just fine.
But what im wondering is am i missing out by not using tapered leader?
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Not sure what the guy from work is telling you.
The end of your fly line can either be a Braided loop as you mentioned, a molded loop or a loop made right in the fly line, or a heavy piece of mono in 4" to 10" with a perfection loop in the end....or finally, a nail knot in which the leader is tied on the line or a needle knotin which the leader is coming out from the middle of the line.
I recommend some sort of loop in the end of your fly line. To that you will attach a TAPERED leader in 7' to 9' length. Specially on a floating line. A taper leader is what makes the smaller flies turn over and land more true to form.
I guess if you are only nymphing or streamer, a straight piece of mono or fluorocarbon will work.
On a tapered leader you attach TIPPET. Example you have a 7' leader in a 5X. You can add 12" to 24" of 5X or 6X tippet to the end making the leader 8' or 9'. This will make the leader last longer because you will be changing flies and loosing line everytime.
As far as the "X" factor...an easy way to figure it is (generally, but all companies have their own) 9 - X = lb. (ex. 9 - 5X = 4lb)
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I do have a loop on the end of my line. i use a cortland slip-on leader loop. you say that tapered line helps the fly land properly and that answers a huge question for me because i notice my flies landing upside down..sideways...whatever. i knew that wasn't right but i didn't know how to fix it. Thats kinda what your saying right?
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picked up some tapered leader today.Wow big difference! didn't get a chance to use any dry flies today but i did some nymphing and quickly noticed how much farther and smoother i could cast. Thank you so much for you help! This is what i did, hope it was correct: I tied the thicker end of the leader to the loop i have on the end of my floating line and tied my first fly to the small end.Then i attached about 18" of tippet to hook of the first fly and tied a smaller fly to the end of that. it seemed to work great like i said. Even caught me a couple fish. Thanks again.
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That is it. Try a perfection loop in the big end of the leader and do the Loop to Loop hand shake.
http://www.killroys.com/knots/looploop.htm
this is a smoother connection and will go through the guides easier.
On the small end of that tapered leader, attach 12" to 20" of the same size tippet using a blood knot or a double surgeon's.
http://www.5min.com/Video/How-to-Tie-a-B...t-64263185
Then attach your fly or flies. This way, the leader will last longer because every time you change a fly, you are cutting off the added tippet, not the leader.
When you get to the initial knot, tie on more tippet and continue.
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Ok now is see what your saying about connecting the tippet to the tapered leader THEN tie on the first fly. i know for most people that probaly seems like a silly question. but to me this will make a word of difference. like i said i've been pretty much learning on my own and i've gotten a ton of help from sites like this. This will be my 3rd summer fly fishing and for the last 3 years that pretty much all i do. i've figured out enough to where i've caught quite a few fish but i've also picked up some bad habits because i don't always know the correct way to do things.
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that was not a silly question at all.. you should of seen me several years ago now when I first met FG and others on line here.. I had a ton of questions about flies and loops and knots.. and tippet size ... what fly to use to what tippet.. you name it I have probably asked it.. and I am here to tell you FG and several others answered them all no matter how silly I thought they were..:-)
MacFly
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