Fly Fishing Leaders

Fly Fishing Leaders - Materials and Construction

Revised 6/15/06

The fly fishing leader is the piece that connects the fly line to the tippet. The fly leader is the last part of the the fly line - fly leader system to transfer the kinetic energy of the cast to the fly or nymph rig.

Modern trout fly fishing leaders are generally classified as monofilament or braided. Monofilament leaders are continuous strands of a single material. Most trout leaders are continuously tapered from the thicker butt section to the thin end section where you tie on the tippet

Monofilament fly leader material can be classified as

Hard -- Has low stretch, stiff memory and is coated with an anti-abrasion material.
- Examples are some of the Maxima leader materials and Rio Max
Medium -- has low stretch and a medium memory
- Examples of this type of fly leader material are Umpqua or Dai-Rikki fluorocarbon materials
Soft -- has a high shock absorption (stretches) , is pliable and low memory
- Examples are Dai-Rikki Powerflex leader spools, Scientific Anglers, Climax, Frog Hair or Umpqua tippet spools

Fly Fishing Leader materials commonly used are

Nylon -- also referred to as a "Polymer". Other Polymer synthetic materials are Dacron and Rayon. Most modern nylon leaders are coated with an anti-abrasion material to reduce wear and tear on the leader.
Copolymer -- A blend of polymers and an additional proprietary resin.
Fluorocarbon -- A term referring to tippet material made of Polyvinylidenfluoride (PVDF)

Many fly fishing experts think the fluorocarbon leaders and tippet material is stronger and more invisible in the water than the nylon materials.

Fly leaders come in sizes 0X through 8X. 0X is about 12 lbs. test and 8X is about 1 lb test. If you want a leader bigger than 0X you will have to build your own.

"X" An old method of measuring leaders and tippet material. Leaders and tippets are listed both in "X" measurements and in thousands of an inch. The "X" measurement is only used for leaders and tippet material from "0" to "8X". (0X being the largest at .011 thousands of an inch and 8X being the smallest at .003 or .004 of an inch).

Fly leader materials vary from brand to brand. If you are building your own leaders, you will want a leader gauge or a micrometer to check the actual thicknesses. Otherwise match the same brand of leaders and tippet material.

Most fly leaders come in a paper or plastic packet wrapped in a circle. The big end is finished off with a perfection loop for attachment to the fly line. The leader circle is kept from unraveling by twisting the big end with the perfection loop around the wraps a few times. Since hard monofilament is used in fly fishing leaders, memory will cause the leader to remember the circle. This memory can cause your fly leader to become a tangled mess when unwrapping it.

How To Avoid Tangles When Using a New Fly Fishing Leader

Hold the leader circle with the perfection loop and the big end of the leader on top of the circle.

Carefully unwrap the perfection loop end until the leader is about ready to unravel. Then insert the thumb and first three fingers of one hand into the circle from the bottom of the loops to hold the circle open.

Take the big end with the perfection loop and gently pull all the loops off your fingers until your fly leader is unraveled and ready to put on the fly line. Simple and easy.

Tight Lines and Good Fishing,

Marshall, Editor
www.fly-fishing-colorado.com

Fishing Articles Index