This thread will host discussions on leader construction and uses.
Bingo ArdBy tying them you can actually create leaders that are quite simple and will work for your own circumstance that you may face on a favorite stream. It is like a mini course in physics because you gain an understanding of how the energy of the fly line is transmitted best to the fly itself. I used to fish nymphs using three at a time and being able to design leaders with two droppers at a chosen pair of blood knots. This was so superior to using snelled flies and surgeons loops in the line that it alone made tying leaders worth while.
Before I stumbled onto Leadercalc, I wanted to tie a knotted leader with similar specs to a knotless leader that I liked, so I did a little bit of experimentation with a dial caliper a few years back. Most leaders weren't too far off, certainly less than .001" at any given point along their lengths, provided I compared leaders of the same brand and model, but differences between brands were absolutely unreal. As I recall, the main difference was in the length of the butt section. In 9 foot leaders, there might be a foot or more difference between the lengths of butt sections.I don't own a precision micrometer, but would love to run one along the length of a few "identical" tapered leaders.
I used to do that quite a lot. I would put a loop in the end and swap out tippet to get what I liked. It worked incredibly well. My only problem, and maybe this was due to my lack of experience, was when I used a dry fly with a dropper. For some reason, my knotted leaders never worked quite as well that way.I was thinking about trying some formulas, but leaving off that last section of tippet and putting a tippet ring on, so I can fine tune it stream side.
Thanks Frank. I was doing an online search and it doesn't seem that Umpqua makes a 03x or a 01x. I read in the kit that I shouldn't mix and match brands, but does that really matter? I'd like to pick up spools of my missing ingredients, and don't think that the maker should matter as much as the diameter being proper.Hi Anthony,
I bought an Orvis kit about 8 years ago, and it contained .021, .019, .017, etc spools. It sounds like the Umpqua kit has the .020, .018, etc line. In any case, I don't think the stiff butt will hurt casting, but might effect the way the leader lays out on the water. Some people do not want a straight leader for dry flies, and you can look at Gary/Jason Borger's recipes, along with Harvey and Humphrey's. The Borger 12' dry fly leader has very few sections, and is designed to land in an S shape. The good news is that you can buy spools of butt material cheap, and also get soft and hard butt material to further refine your leaders.