indiglofish61
Member
I am reading about tippets, and i trying to understand if I really need a tippet, and if i do when would i need one or not?
Tippet?
- Thread starter indiglofish61
- Start date
jayr
Well-known member
Most likely you do need tippet. However, what exact type of fishing are you intending on doing? Streamer, nymphs, drys, etc. It helps to be as descriptive as you can in order to come up with an answer that will solve your question.
Tippet size will be dependent on fish size, conditions, etc.
There is no one real answer.
Tippet size will be dependent on fish size, conditions, etc.
There is no one real answer.
mtboiler
Well-known member
Ok, without you answering the above questions let me give a quick once over...without getting to deep in the weeds....
Leaders typically come in packages. Tippet usually comes on spools. Most spools of tippet are 30m. Unless of course you get the guide spools, good luck finding those at stores, which are 100m. Many of the anglers on here probably carry spools of tippet for each trip. Those spools could range from 0x to 7x, salt water and freshwater warm species might need heavier tippet, which usually go to pound test not the x system, the higher the number the thinner and less strong it is. A quick assumption is that most trout anglers carry 3x, 4x and 5x, some carry 6x. Most bass or panfish anglers probably carry 1x, 2x and 3x.
Tippet is the material that, in most cases for freshwater fish the flies are tied too. Tippet is typically thinner than standard mono. Standard leaders you buy off the shelf have three main parts. The hard mono or butt section, which is normally 25 or 30 lb test. The taper portion, which tapers the thicker mono to the tippet section. And the tippet section, which is thinned down or extruded to a specific thickness or 'test'.
Some salt water anglers, most freshwater toothy critter(pike, pickrel) and probably half the streamer guys use straight mono as a leader instead of a tapered leader. I use straight 30 lb test for pike, salt water mono for big streamers when coastal, etc. And a butt section with 12lb test added for throwing streamers to non toothy fish.
Now, since I work in a store that sells fishing products, I find many anglers that use tapered leaders simply buy a new leader each time they go fishing and forgo buying any spools of tippet. The average price for a leader and for a spool of tippet is the same. So, many on this board that fish a lot probably carry spools of tippet to add to the length of the leader, add a second fly or repair leaders that might get damages, nicked of a rock, broke off a fish, etc. A skilled angler can typically rebuild a leader fairly quickly without noticing the difference when casting and has the tippet spools to do so. Most once a month or 10 times a year fly fisherman probably just buy new leaders each time they go fishing.
Leaders typically come in packages. Tippet usually comes on spools. Most spools of tippet are 30m. Unless of course you get the guide spools, good luck finding those at stores, which are 100m. Many of the anglers on here probably carry spools of tippet for each trip. Those spools could range from 0x to 7x, salt water and freshwater warm species might need heavier tippet, which usually go to pound test not the x system, the higher the number the thinner and less strong it is. A quick assumption is that most trout anglers carry 3x, 4x and 5x, some carry 6x. Most bass or panfish anglers probably carry 1x, 2x and 3x.
Tippet is the material that, in most cases for freshwater fish the flies are tied too. Tippet is typically thinner than standard mono. Standard leaders you buy off the shelf have three main parts. The hard mono or butt section, which is normally 25 or 30 lb test. The taper portion, which tapers the thicker mono to the tippet section. And the tippet section, which is thinned down or extruded to a specific thickness or 'test'.
Some salt water anglers, most freshwater toothy critter(pike, pickrel) and probably half the streamer guys use straight mono as a leader instead of a tapered leader. I use straight 30 lb test for pike, salt water mono for big streamers when coastal, etc. And a butt section with 12lb test added for throwing streamers to non toothy fish.
Now, since I work in a store that sells fishing products, I find many anglers that use tapered leaders simply buy a new leader each time they go fishing and forgo buying any spools of tippet. The average price for a leader and for a spool of tippet is the same. So, many on this board that fish a lot probably carry spools of tippet to add to the length of the leader, add a second fly or repair leaders that might get damages, nicked of a rock, broke off a fish, etc. A skilled angler can typically rebuild a leader fairly quickly without noticing the difference when casting and has the tippet spools to do so. Most once a month or 10 times a year fly fisherman probably just buy new leaders each time they go fishing.
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silver creek
Well-known member
First of all, you need to understand what a "tippet" is before you can understand whether you need one.
The tippet is the level section of leader that is at the END of a leader which is tied to the fly. So in one sense, EVERY leader has a tippet and so you "need" one.
But I don't think that is the question you are asking. I think you are asking: when do you need a longer or long tippet? The follow up question is: how long does this tippet need to be if I need one?
I want to make this point very clear. The most common reason for a fish rejecting a fly is that it is not behaving naturally. For both dry flies and nymphs, this means that they must drift on the surface or below the water naturally. The flies must behave as if they are NOT attached to a leader. This means there cannot be any "drag."
The part of the leader that is most important in reducing and preventing drag is the tippet.
So the tippet is critical in preventing drag.
I have written about tippets and leaders before and I suggest you read my post at the end of this thread and then go to the link at the end of the post.
https://www.theflyfishingforum.com/...suggestions-for-a-6-wt-rod.362304/#post820386
Flyfisher for men
Well-known member
As was said, the the of fish and situation are important to answer.
Mtboiler sums it up nicely here:
Warmwater fish are not normally line shy like trout. If you're fishing for bass, panfish, crappies etc., it's normally not that critical unless you have a small hook eye, need to account for drag, or the cast must be more precise than what monofilament allows.
My usual warmwater setup for bass and bluegills generally ends in 4- 8 lb. mono. and that's fine for typical woolly buggers, small poppers, and many nymph and dry flies. I'll attach a length of tippet if needed for something like a #18 nymph.
indiglofish61
Member
Ok thanks.
trev
Well-known member
If you don't use tippet nothing will attach to the fly and it will be hard to fish, tippet is the thing that ties to the fly (the tip of the leader, so to speak.) regardless size or length. Although most tippet material is less than 25# test.
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LePetomane
Well-known member
Adding tippet to the end of your leader will extend the life of it.
VaFisherman
Well-known member
indigofish61,
I would suggest you read about leaders and leader construction and you will then understand tippet. Now do you need spools of tippet? Yes you do.
A typical 9ft factory leader has a butt section (approx. 60% of the length), a tapered section (approx. 20%) and a tippet section (approx. 20% or around 21") that is a level section of the total leader that is the diameter or size of the leader you purchased, say a 9ft 5x leader ends with 5x tippet.
What is this section of level line called tippet needed for? Well it is there to assure your fly has as little force exerted on it as possible so it will float naturally and it is needed to help fool the fish that the fly is not connected to something that looks unnatural to it, so you use as large of a tippet as you can get away with and still fool the fish. As an example if you tied a #18 dry fly on 1x tippet, and only 21" of it to boot, you would get a bad drift because of the stiffness of the thick tippet would not let the fly float naturally plus the tippet could deter the fish from bitting just by it seeing the thick tippet floating. Underwater, such as in nymph fishing or streamer fishing you can get by with thicker tippet, say 2x or 3x vs using 5x or 6x for a dry fly.
Now there are two main reasons you carry extra tippet material. First as you tie flies to your tippet section of your leader you use approx. 3" of tippet to make this knot. Now after you have changed your fly pattern 5 times you have used 15" of your 21" tippet, which will not allow the fly to move naturally whether on the surface or subsurface. So as you can see as you use up your factory tippet section you will need to replace your leader with another one, or with a spool of tippet material you can simply tie tippet to the leader you are using and get it back to factory specs/length.
The second and most important reason to carry tippet material is to lengthen the factory tippet from is standard 21" or so to as much as 48" to 60" of tippet. Why would you do this you may ask? Well so the fly will float more naturally and give you a better chance of fooling the fish. For fishing in a freestone stream with broken water and stocked fish a 9ft standard leader will work under most circumstances. The problem with the standard length tippet/leader is when you are fishing for wild trout in streams with very clear water and varying current breaks between you and the fish. In those conditions a standard 9ft leader with only 21" of tippet lays out on the water a little too straight to give you a good drift for your fly. To avoid this you lengthen your tippet to 36", 42" to as much a 60" of length. Now when you make your cast that long tippet section will not lay very straight when it hits the water but will be laying on the water with waves and turns in it. Now those waves and turns in that tippet allow your fly to float naturally for a longer period of time before the varying currents between you and the fish start pulling the tippet straight and dragging your fly unnaturally.
This is the jest of what tippet is and why you need spools of it.
Sorry to be so long winded, I have not typed this much in years.
I would suggest you read about leaders and leader construction and you will then understand tippet. Now do you need spools of tippet? Yes you do.
A typical 9ft factory leader has a butt section (approx. 60% of the length), a tapered section (approx. 20%) and a tippet section (approx. 20% or around 21") that is a level section of the total leader that is the diameter or size of the leader you purchased, say a 9ft 5x leader ends with 5x tippet.
What is this section of level line called tippet needed for? Well it is there to assure your fly has as little force exerted on it as possible so it will float naturally and it is needed to help fool the fish that the fly is not connected to something that looks unnatural to it, so you use as large of a tippet as you can get away with and still fool the fish. As an example if you tied a #18 dry fly on 1x tippet, and only 21" of it to boot, you would get a bad drift because of the stiffness of the thick tippet would not let the fly float naturally plus the tippet could deter the fish from bitting just by it seeing the thick tippet floating. Underwater, such as in nymph fishing or streamer fishing you can get by with thicker tippet, say 2x or 3x vs using 5x or 6x for a dry fly.
Now there are two main reasons you carry extra tippet material. First as you tie flies to your tippet section of your leader you use approx. 3" of tippet to make this knot. Now after you have changed your fly pattern 5 times you have used 15" of your 21" tippet, which will not allow the fly to move naturally whether on the surface or subsurface. So as you can see as you use up your factory tippet section you will need to replace your leader with another one, or with a spool of tippet material you can simply tie tippet to the leader you are using and get it back to factory specs/length.
The second and most important reason to carry tippet material is to lengthen the factory tippet from is standard 21" or so to as much as 48" to 60" of tippet. Why would you do this you may ask? Well so the fly will float more naturally and give you a better chance of fooling the fish. For fishing in a freestone stream with broken water and stocked fish a 9ft standard leader will work under most circumstances. The problem with the standard length tippet/leader is when you are fishing for wild trout in streams with very clear water and varying current breaks between you and the fish. In those conditions a standard 9ft leader with only 21" of tippet lays out on the water a little too straight to give you a good drift for your fly. To avoid this you lengthen your tippet to 36", 42" to as much a 60" of length. Now when you make your cast that long tippet section will not lay very straight when it hits the water but will be laying on the water with waves and turns in it. Now those waves and turns in that tippet allow your fly to float naturally for a longer period of time before the varying currents between you and the fish start pulling the tippet straight and dragging your fly unnaturally.
This is the jest of what tippet is and why you need spools of it.
Sorry to be so long winded, I have not typed this much in years.