karstopo
Well-known member
So what's the longest leader you've ever made/cast?
I think I reached my maximum at about 14'-15' yesterday really by accident. I decided to get a little casting in with the 8/9 weight Short Stix. The blood knot from the butt to the first mid section looked rough so I re-tied and decided to step down with another mid-section and then tippet not really paying any attention to how long each section was.
I tied on a heavy tungsten beaded shrimp and went out on the dock and just couldn't cast to save my life. At first I thought it was because I hadn't picked up that rod in ages, then I realized how long the leader was. I cut off the heavy shrimp and put on a much lighter little crab and that made a big difference. I also took off a bit more tippet on the change, 3" of the tippet section, that was over 4', so the leader overall was now closer to 14' feet. A grass carp made a timely appearance for some live fire drills and while I couldn't get the eat, I got to where I could control the cast well enough to put the crab where I wanted it.
One of these days, I'm really going to test the maximum length a leader can be made and still be cast well enough to sight or structure fish. My test range on the dock requires that I cast sidearm because of the tree canopy so I can't really play around with the casting too much or I catch the limbs. I kind of like my test range as it forces me to really pay attention to where I send the rod tip. Lack of good control means sending the fly into the branches or prematurely hitting the water.
Why would I want to know how long a leader can be made? I don't know, seems like it might come in handy where fish are showing at the edge of dropoffs. A long fluorocarbon leader might serve as an intermediate tip to help get the pattern down with the drop off contour. Sometimes, it just fun to know just what the limits are for no particular reason.
What's the longest leaders you fish the salt and why do you fish them?
I think I reached my maximum at about 14'-15' yesterday really by accident. I decided to get a little casting in with the 8/9 weight Short Stix. The blood knot from the butt to the first mid section looked rough so I re-tied and decided to step down with another mid-section and then tippet not really paying any attention to how long each section was.
I tied on a heavy tungsten beaded shrimp and went out on the dock and just couldn't cast to save my life. At first I thought it was because I hadn't picked up that rod in ages, then I realized how long the leader was. I cut off the heavy shrimp and put on a much lighter little crab and that made a big difference. I also took off a bit more tippet on the change, 3" of the tippet section, that was over 4', so the leader overall was now closer to 14' feet. A grass carp made a timely appearance for some live fire drills and while I couldn't get the eat, I got to where I could control the cast well enough to put the crab where I wanted it.
One of these days, I'm really going to test the maximum length a leader can be made and still be cast well enough to sight or structure fish. My test range on the dock requires that I cast sidearm because of the tree canopy so I can't really play around with the casting too much or I catch the limbs. I kind of like my test range as it forces me to really pay attention to where I send the rod tip. Lack of good control means sending the fly into the branches or prematurely hitting the water.
Why would I want to know how long a leader can be made? I don't know, seems like it might come in handy where fish are showing at the edge of dropoffs. A long fluorocarbon leader might serve as an intermediate tip to help get the pattern down with the drop off contour. Sometimes, it just fun to know just what the limits are for no particular reason.
What's the longest leaders you fish the salt and why do you fish them?