Leader storage

[Poopdeck 0]

I though I would share this with others who may find it beneficial.

I've been doing lots of wade fishing lately. I am a minilmist when it comes to carrying gear and carrying leaders in plastic bags has always bugged  me because they seem to tangle easily no matter the care taken when coiling them. This year I took a page from my saltwater boating days where we would tie up many rigs and put them on a spool for when we needed them. Since I fish the same shape knotted leader all the time I began tying up my leaders with a loop knot on both ends. I wrap them on an empty tippet spool and connect them together by the loop to loop manner so I can put a dozen leaders on the spool. When I need one I just pull one off the spool and clip off the loop at the tippet end freeing it from the next leader. So far it's working great. I really like it because as I get older it gets harder for me to see and tie blood knots in the small diameter of tippet material while standing in the middle of a creek. I find it much easier to tie blood knots on my couch and swapping  out the entire leader on the creek. This goes double when my fingers are cold. So far the results are good but I will continue evaluating. 

 

[Capt Bob LeMay 0]

That “leader wheel” is indeed something that serious saltwater fly anglers have using for years.  I have three of them on my skiff - each one clearly labeled with the tippet size and the “bite tippet size, all looped together in a continuous chain...

[Edward Snowden 0]

Thanks for the tip, it is a very clever solution to the problem.

[Philly 0]

Good idea, PD.   I guess that's one advantage of using furled leaders.   I just carry a couple of spools of tippet material with me when I'm wading, not that I do it that much these days.   One thing I use to do when I was making up walleye and flounder rigs, not sure how useful it would be while wading, was take  a piece of 6 mm foam,  4" x 6" cut slits  at the top and  bottom and wrap the leaders around the foam.   More useful for rigs/leaders with hooks on them.

[Guest]

I got these from GamderMountain years ago really handy for prerigged multi flyrigs for stream trouting.        Kinda off topic but great after every thing balls up and easier to go to another one.   Couple I had with foam stone floater and couple nymphs underneath.  One is Cdad with 2 midges underneath.   Called RigRaps.  Need to make larger loop or blood knot them on.   Wish I had more.....😏

Salty ones are in sandwich bags labeled,  popper dropper, bite tips, wire tips and most have tested pull weights marked on em.  Got a spool with some wound on per CapinBob.   Gone to far to take chances.

 

Bass and bream just few spools in my big fly box for bass leaders, or lil bream or grass carp smaller stuff.  Stays in da truck!😛

[Poopdeck 0]

Capt. Bob, I can't believe it took me so long to find a solution that was right in front of me the entire time. 

I fish a lot of furled leaders as well but lately I've been doing less fishing on top and more deeper water. 

Denduke, I wouldn't have room for my poptarts with them things. Pack light freeze a night. 

Another benifit is the leader/tippet spool snaps onto the other tippet spools I carry on my tippet carrier on my lanyard. I can drop the carrying of multiple tippet spools thereby lightening my load by at least one or two tippet spools. My neck will love me. 

[Capt Bob LeMay 0]

I did a short piece for Florida Sportsman a few years back about the system I was taught to use... Here's one of the photos from that...

What we do is simply to tie up two leaders - joined by a common shock tippet a bit more than twice the length you'd actually use - then loop to loop them into a continuous chain.   All of my fly lines are set up with a permanently attached butt section with a surgeon's loop at the bitter end.  In use you simply pull off the top leader pair, clip the bite or shock tippet in half - then loop it to your butt section.  Then all that's needed is to tie on your fly of choice and you're ready to go.  I run a fair number of night charters where we're tossing flies at small tarpon in the 20 to 40lb range and it's very handy not having to tie up a new leader when needed.  I try to keep each "wheel" with at least five pairs of leaders (ten leaders per wheel) and we're ready to go.  Those heaviest ones shown, the 20 to 80 ones are specifically for big tarpon in the dark waters of the backcountry in the Everglades... If we were down in the Keys - the 20-60 leaders would be the heaviest we'd dare to use (and some days, even with big fish we're only using 20 to 40 leaders... By the way the first number is the breaking strength (tippet) and it's almost always Hard Mason mono.  The second number is the bite tippet and it's mostly fluorocarbon....

[Poopdeck 0]

It is a clever system. Mine is a bit smaller than your spools. I've never had leaders so accessible and so easily stored and right now I'm kicking myself for not doing it sooner. I would always fish a leader to death and a shell of its original self to avoid the hassle of repairing or replacing it. Now, it's a snap with no fumbling around looking for a leader and uncoiling it. I can't wait to use up another spool of tippet material so I can fill another with a different leader. 

 

[chugbug27 0]

35 minutes ago, Poopdeck said:

I would always fish a leader to death and a shell of its original self to avoid the hassle of repairing or replacing it.

Tippet rings solved that for me. 

[Poopdeck 0]

I bought a clip of tippet rings a few years ago. They have hung at my bench in my world headquarters ever since. I have never touched them because they are also very duminitive in size and hard to see. Perhaps I should buy larger ones. Maybe this is the year I try them. I am glad I'm not the only one who fished a leader beyond death. 

[chugbug27 0]

12 minutes ago, Poopdeck said:

I have never touched them because they are also very duminitive in size and hard to see. 

The trick is tying them on your leader while they are still on the clip. Just make sure it's the last ring on the clip, not the first...

[Poopdeck 0]

Chug, tying on the first one instead of the last one is exactly what I would do at least one time. I think I'm going to head out tomorrow, maybe I'll try one. Is a simple clinch knot sufficient for tying a ring on the leader and the tippet to the ring?

[chugbug27 0]

Clinch, easy peasey. 

[Poopdeck 0]

Chug, I used a tippet ring today! It wasn't so bad pre-tying one on. I did get broken off during the day and tying one on with cold fingers pretty much sucked. I will definitely use them when my fingers won't get cold but next time it's cold out I'm just changing out the leader. Thanks for kicking me into action though.

[chugbug27 0]

Yup. Not a game changer, but I now use them every time. One less headache while fishing.