Tippet Ring on the end of a fly line ?.....using two tippet rings on a leader ?

[Walter1023]

In my never ending obsession with tinkering and reading about leaders and tippet strategies - I saw a video on line where the gentleman makes a loop on the end of his own fly line - which I and many here likely do - but adds a large tippet ring (3mm -....vs 2 mm usually used on a tapered leader) in the loop to attach the butt of his leader to. The idea being the fly line loop won't get the usual wear and tear and attaching the butt section is easier and allows for a smoother transition through the guides. just curious if anyone here has tested this in the field. On that same subject - while many use complex tapered dry fly leaders that incorporate a tippet ring (2mm - trout size) just wondering if anyone ever used 2 rings in the construction of their dry fly leader.

 

[clsmith131]

I've been an advocate of tippet rings until a few months back. I noticed I was breaking off on fish quite a bit, which has always been a rarity for me. I realized that the tippet rings were the culprit, rough edges cutting my line. I'd only ever used Rio tippet rings, so I can't speak to all of them, but I've moved away from using them altogether on anything smaller than 4x. So my answer would be, to get away from using them, rather than doubling down.

 

[jayr]

In my never ending obsession with tinkering and reading about leaders and tippet strategies - I saw a video on line where the gentleman makes a loop on the end of his own fly line - which I and many here likely do - but adds a large tippet ring (3mm -....vs 2 mm usually used on a tapered leader) in the loop to attach the butt of his leader to. The idea being the fly line loop won't get the usual wear and tear and attaching the butt section is easier and allows for a smoother transition through the guides. just curious if anyone here has tested this in the field. On that same subject - while many use complex tapered dry fly leaders that incorporate a tippet ring (2mm - trout size) just wondering if anyone ever used 2 rings in the construction of their dry fly leader.

In my very unscientific experience, I would say the loop would get more wear and tear simply due to a smaller area of contact with the tippet ring as opposed to a perfection loop. I could see where over time, the tippet ring could easily and rather quickly cut into the fly line itself.

Just my .02 worth.

 

[rockriver]

A perfection loop works fine for me.

 

[silver creek]

Walter, I do not place a tippet ring in the preformed fly line loop.

Fly line are made so that at the end of the front taper, there is a 4-6 inch level section of fly line that ends in the preformed loop. See diagram below.

I go old style. I cut off the preformed loop and some of the tip. I nail knot a section of Cortland Chameleon about the diameter of the leader butt I am going to put on, and tie a perfection loop to the end. The Cortland Chameleon connector is about 3-4" long. I coat the nail knot with UV resin to smooth it over.

Then I can loop to loop connect my leader to the Cortland Chameleon.

Alternatively, you can cut the loop off of the leader butt and nail knot it to the end of the fly line. Then when the leader is worn out, cut the butt down and tie a perfection loop and that become the loop to loop connector for your next leader.

Since the connector section of the Cortland Chameleon and the leader butt material have about the same stiffness and the same diameter, there is a smoother transition of energy from fly line to leader. This is what you want.

Parabolic Test:

Read this article from Sweetandsalt. He is a master on this subject:

Fly Fishing Leader Selection – SweetandSalt

 

[el jefe]

Use Ard's double-braided loops. They come in different colors, so can double as a strike inditcator, they are looped on both ends so you can attach your looped leader to it, and it distributes the load over a wider area of the fly line to preserve the factory loop.

 

[Walter1023]

YouTube

This was the video

 

[DonW]

I'm sorry but five minutes in and still babbling about streamlining, don't have the patience get to it or I'm moving on. Not sure what advantage this is over welded loops that have always worked for me, but not having watched the whole vid maybe I missed it.

 

[flav]

I would think you're going to get terrible leader turnover with a tippet ring that moves freely like that. You need a secure connection between your fly line and leader butt to effectively transfer energy from the cast into the leader. I've used loop to loop connections for many years, and never had any issues that made me think I needed to change things.

 

[Walter1023]

I have only field tested it in my yard so far yesterday - using a long leader and aiming for various targets close and far. It actually has performed very well.....whether this holds up on stream remains to be seen. The loop I welded the ring into is much smaller than a typical factory size loop. We'll see....the fun of experimentation.