Leader requirements?

[hesmysnowman]

I am fly fishing for bass and don't understand why there is even a leader required when casting a fly. The bass don't seem to mind monofilament in spinning reels. Would it affect the roll cast to just have mono to the fly line. I was thinking of just running 6lb test from the fly line to the fly and skipping the leader/tippet combo.

Any thoughts?

 

[Rip Tide]

I do it all the time with poppers, but I use a heavier mono than 6#. I use 12-15 #.

You'll find though that successful bass fishing has a lot to do with accurate casts, and to make an accurate cast you need to use a tapered leader.
They don't have to be complicated tapers however and if you're not worried about scum building up on the knots, (I don't) you can build a simple tapered leader from 3 different sizes of mono.
Try a butt section of 25# test (or heavier) of about 4', then blood knot on a mid section of around 15# test of about 2', and finally loop on a tippet section of 10# test (more or less) of about 1 1/2'
That should turn over bass sized flies nicely

 

[hesmysnowman]

Thanks Rip. I was just thinking of running 8# all the way, but if it isn't controllable... I will try making my own. I have a nail knot tying tool that will make a nice low drag knot.

 

[cketh]

Part of the purpose of the leader is to taper down in stiffness and size from the fat flyline to the thin tippet. If you went from flyline right to thin tippet (like riptide said, you can do it with thicker mono), the knot would act like a hinge and the line would pass the fly or get all tangled up.

 

[jwitt618]

Hey- just signed on, and just starting out.

Last weekend, tinkering with fly gear, I simply nail notted 4' of 6# flourocarbon line to the end of the fly line for roll casting a popper. Worked like a charm for hauling in bluegill...but of course I wasn't trying to present a fly or even execute a cast. My roll cast goes farther than my overhead cast at this point. (That ought to clue you in on how much to listen to me)

When overhead casting, the 6# tied on did not behave well at all...good demonstration of "how not to rig it."

 

[mnshutterbug]

That certainly answers my question regarding the importance of a leader.