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Date: April 29, 2006 at 12:16:08
From: ken, [pool-70-109-217-38.prvdri.east.verizon.net]
Subject: Leaders my opinion



Date: December 26, 2002 at 18:55:44
From: ken, [pool-64-223-38-62.prov.east.verizon.net]
Subject: Leaders


Re: Leaders - 2 July

Summer 2001

Re: Leaders - 2 July

From: Ken
Date: 05 Jul 2001
Time: 16:12:00

I very seldom use light leaders. I use the heaviest leader I can catch fish on consistently.

If I am having problems with fish I do not attribute the problem to my leader as the first trouble shooting solution.
It is very seldom the leader that is the problem for me. I usually find that the reason for not catching fish lies in some other fundamental cause such as the fly is the wrong size or the angle on the presentation to the fish is off.
The problem is almost always something else besides the leader but sometimes it is the leader or at least reducing the size in thickness of the leader does affect my catch rate.

If the fish notices my leader and shy’s away from my fly I am of the opinion that my presentation is off and the fish is not focusing on the fly. If he were than the leader would not be a problem no matter how large it is.
I try to solve problems with presentation solutions and this has served me well over the years. Fish do see leaders and that is always going to be true.
I try to have my flies capture their attention and hold it so they don't shift their attention to the leader.
How to do that is not answerable by me but I try to do it all the time even if I can not explain it. The best fishermen I know have this awareness and operate from it.

Focusing in on leaders takes away from focusing in on what the fish are doing. It's a simple shift of your attention and although focusing on leaders may feel like an obvious solution it usually doesn't tell you anything important about fish behavior and attention and these two factors are more critical in the long run than theories about leader thickness being the definitive factor for success.
The thickness of the leader should be as thick as necessary to swim the fly in a natural manner.

The leader is a part of how the fly comes to the fish it is not just an invisible link to the fisherman.
If the leader is too thick for the size fly you are using in a particular type of presentation than the fly will not swim right, kind of like using an elephant leash on a toy poodle or a mouse.
It has to be in balance in terms of presentation.
The opposite is also true a leader that is too light for the size of the fly it is tied to will not keep the fly in the plane that you may want to fish it in.

Leader's are more than invisible links to the fly they are also mechanical leads to the line which transmits the energy of your presentation strategy to the fly.
The heaviest leader that you can use and still maintain control of the presentation is the right size.
If at that point the fish place their attention on the leader and shy away from the fly because of it, then the leader may be the reason but not necessarily.
A change in position in relation to the fish may also be a solution.
I would always try to find the root rather than reduce the leader size but I am not saying that light leaders are wrong solutions. I use them but for mechanical reasons, not because the fish are leader shy.

Abrasion resistance is the most important consideration for me with leaders. Big fish have a way of rubbing through a leader in short order. It happens often and I do not like shock leaders because they affect the way a fly fishes.
I prefer doubling a leader for several inches rather than adding a heavy shock tippet.
It works better for me and the extra strand has come in to play many times.
At night thirty pound is comfortable for me but I have had it rubbed through by the rasps on the lips of big fish many times.

The real hard mono that is used for billfish has good abrasion resistance but it is so hard that repeated casting as one does in surf fishing fatigues it and flies pop off like popcorn.
I have fished with clients that use it and have had them cast off a half dozen Razzle Dazzles in a single session.
It always happens and they blame their knots or their casting but it is neither that type of mono is simply not suitable for repeated casting.

There are two kinds of fluorocarbon one is not abrasion resistant and one is. Don't use the one that isn't. I don't like to use brand names so find out which one is which and try it. On big fish it is the abrasion resistance that is critical.
I don't use fluorocarbon all the time because I have a preference for leaders that are lighter than water. I have more control over how deep my flies are fishing and I can use that to my advantage in presentation. I do use forty lb. and I do use fifty and if you feel that you are better equipped with that size leader and the fish agree with you than go for it. Good luck.

I like old fashioned first generation German made mono from the fifties. It is thinner and stronger then the modern moos and abrasion resistant.

You can buy it from Bass pro. It is an old product that has been sold under many names over the years. It is called Camo Line, the one made in Germany and is very inexpensive in bulk spools. Once upon a time it was very popular. I think that is becausee it was one of the first mono's on the market. The improvments on mono have not improved on it at all.
Every time they tweek it they lose something. It will be popular again.
It has never let me or any of the real old timers that use it down- as of yet.



Last changed: November 05, 2001


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