Lake leader question

[m_grieb 0]

I'm starting to broaden the horizon a little bit by starting to fly fish our local lake. I'm not sure if i have the correct leader size. I have a 8 and a half foot 6 weight with 6 weight line on a 6 weight reel. I use anything from wooly buggers to small caddis patterns. Is there a " ideal length" that would kind of serve as an all around leader?

[Crackaig 0]

In short NO.

 

A very good competitive fly fisher here once told me that in still water fishing the longer your leader the more chance you have of catching a fish. Use as long a leader as you can manage.

 

For most of my still water fishing on the lochs this is the leader set up I use.

You may want to adjust that to match the size of flies you fish and the conditions, but it is a starting point.

Cheers,

C.

[flytyer166 0]

In short NO.

 

A very good competitive fly fisher here once told me that in still water fishing the longer your leader the more chance you have of catching a fish. Use as long a leader as you can manage.

 

For most of my still water fishing on the lochs this is the leader set up I use.

You may want to adjust that to match the size of flies you fish and the conditions, but it is a starting point.

Cheers,

C.

so just to clarify, you fish with a 20 foot leader? and are you fishing with multiple flies?

[Piker20 0]

yes we'd be using 3 or 4 flies on a long leader typically. BUT not on a 8.5 foot rod! I use a 8.5 ft #5 rod a lot and its really hard to land fish when the leaders too long. Typically on my short rod I use dry flies and fish a maximum leader of 15foot. More likely 12ft or there abouts.

On my longer 10ft #7 rod I will use long leaders and have the extra reach to lift the rod and net fish.

The long leaders ONLY work if you can cast well enough to turn them over and present the flies tangle free. Add a wind, poor choice of flies in bob, middle and point positions and a poor timed cast and you spend the whole day undoing tangles or retying leaders. Better to fish a shorter leader and fewer flies and actually be fishing. Remember the advice on long leaders in the UK has always seemed to stem from the competition scene, 10, 20 even 30 boats all with 2 anglers casting everywhere is bound to see those fishing that bit further or presenting flies away from the fly line do better, but for pleasure fishing I dont think you will struggle with a 12 foot leader for 2 flies, aiming to increase as you need/want to.

[Jaydub 0]

It depends on the lake. On some lakes I fish, a typical 9' leader is fine. One particular lake is crystal clear with educated trout. On that lake a 14' leader isn't too long. This is for fishing with a floating line. If you are using a clear intermediate line (highley reccommended) you can go shorter, but I'd still go with at least 9'. If you are using a full sinking line, trying to get deep, use a short leader, maybe 4-5'. In chironomid fishing, leaders can get really long depending on the depth.

 

My simple setup for exploring a lake would be a clear intermediate line, 9' leader, wooly bugger, 18-24" of tippet tied to the bend of the bugger hook, then a small nymph.

[Crackaig 0]

Colin about summed it up. Yes usually three flies with the bushiest on the top dropper, known as the bob fly, getting slimmer to the point. I have at times used 4 but not often. A team of flies working together is greater than the sum of its parts. Often I will fish a small muddler on the top. Often the fish will come to this but not take it. Then take one of the other flies as they turn away. I know that on some waters you are not permitted to fish with more than one fly. Even with this restriction I would look to use a leader 1 1/2 the length of the rod. There is good reason for this.

 

I'm not well up enough on the science of casting to make the argument myself. Also I can't recall the details I was given, but one of the best casting instructors I know gave me this as a piece of general advice. I trust him enough to follow that advice.

 

A big help with the landing of fish on a short rod is to use the slimmest of connections to the fly line. This is the super glue connection. Using a needle the knotless tapered leader is threaded up the end of the fly line, and a drop of good quality super glue (waterproof) is put either end of the connection. This passes through the rod rings very easily and makes it possible to fish a longer leader on a shorter rod. A lot of people doubt this connection. It is as strong as any I've used. Recently a friend had 5 Atlantic salmon on a connection of this kind, and its still as strong as ever. That's why in the diagram I showed the leader emerging from the end of the line. It's what my set up looks like!

 

Cheers,

C.

[phg 0]

It also depends on how leader shy the target species are. Trout are notoriously leader shy, which is why you are reading about supper long leaders. On the other hand, large mouth bass and bream are not leader shy, so any thing over 6' is unnecessary.

 

That said, when fly fishing for species other than trout, I usually try to keep my leader just about the same length as my rod, which is to say, 7' to 9'. A bit longer than needed, but it just feels right when I'm casting.