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themattman

What leader

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How do you figure out what leader and tippet to use. I am currently using a 2x Orvis with a 2 to 3x tippet. Is that to much? i am currently going after mostly pan fish. With a bass surprise ever now again.

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I tie my own unless I use a versa leader to get down a little better/faster but not to deep, I run about 2.5-3 ft of 20 lb hard mono then about the same amount of 20 lb maxima then 2 or 3 ft or 12 lb fluorocarbon. works pretty well at the rate I got through the first section I can't imagine buying leaders all the time.

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2x and 3x will work fine for bream and bass, who are not leader shy. The length of the leader is more critical, but even there, bass and bream only require 4' to 5' of leader.

 

Generally, when I'm pond fishing, though, I use about 6' of leader ending in 3x tippet, and am fishing size 6 and 8 hooks. For bigger flies, the 2x tippet is fine.

 

For trout, and other leader shy species, it's a whole different story....

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i'm cheap (oops i mean frugal). i use cabelas bass leaders. on sale now for $6.88 pack of 4

 

bass_zpsaqabqsoi.jpg

 

tippet-conv.jpg

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For pan fish I use a leader from cut throat leaders. They are great and double loops last forever. I use 4lb mono for tippet. I got frustrated with trout fishing and all the X whatever. Never looked back after switching to larger, cheaper, easier to tie materials.

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It is quite simple, you need a stiff enough tippet to present your fly. Lets start with flies that have no added weight and tied on hooks with a "standard" shank. If you take the hook size and divide that by 4 and add 1 that will give you the X rating for the tippet you should use. For example a 16 Adams dry fly. 16 / 4 + 1 = 5X.

Now if your fly is tied on a heavy wire hook you may want to change it up one. If your fly is tied on a long shank hook, say 3x then the size you use for the calculation is 3 x sizes larger. So for a size 12 3X long the calculation becomes 8 / 4 + 1 = 3X.

This isn't really precise, you can vary it a little, but it gives you a good approximation. If the fish are not leader shy use heavier tippet.

Cheers,

C.

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What Flytire said. When the last foot or so is chewed up or worn, I cut it and loop to loop a length of 6-12lb mono, depending on what I am targeting. I should add this is for 5wt-7wt lines.

 

If I move up to 8wt-10wt. for inshore fishing, I use 4ft of 40 lbs mono, 3ft of 30 lbs, and 2ft of 15-20lbs mono, or whatever bite tippet I need.

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I fish strictly for panfish, and use a monofilament leader about as long as my fly rod... no tippet. For bluegills you don't have to be so fancy. In fact it seems a sloppy "presentation" that makes a splash only makes them hungrier.

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For panfish and small bass i use a straight piece of 8 or 10lb mono line for a leader on my 5wt and i tie a tippet on made of straight 4 or 6lb mono line.Sometimes when using a wooly bugger or similar fly i will use fluorocarbon for leader and tippet.Seems to get my fly deeper and sinks faster with fluoro.

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For pan fish, which actually I don't target anyway, I catch them on what ever leader is on my rod. It simply doesn't matter, I do nothing special.

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I use the same Cabelas bass leaders that Flytire recommended. Very economical and they perform beautifully. At less than $10 for a 4-pack, they are an excellent value. I typically add 12-16" of tippet material, the same diameter or one size finer than the breaking strength of the leader.

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I just use a straight piece of fluorocarbon when I'm after pan fish. Usually a 5 to 6 foot piece. 8 to 12 lb test. Nothing fancy.

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In fact it seems a sloppy "presentation" that makes a splash only makes them hungrier.

I had to laugh at that , hungry seems to be a panfish's natural state of being. I use furled leaders , make my own out of mono or fluorocarbon. For bass and panfish 5' is fine but I prefer 7' with 2 to 4' of tippet.

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panfish require tippet? leaders? it's been awhile but i too just used straight mono, like flytire's chart shows. 6-8 foot 4lb test of cheap mono.

 

eric
fresno,ca.

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