Leader Length

[wamartin]

Please tell me if there is an standard length for the leader. I notice the sexyloop website says 1.5x the legth of your rod. This would be over 13ft of leader which seems excessive.

Could someone please provide guidance on this?

Thanks

Ward

[maxwell]

it all depends on were u are fishing dude... usually the old rule would be 1.5X the depth of teh water you are intending too fish. the standard length for a leader on teh bow for nymphing would be 8-9 feet from indicator too your first fly.. if you are dryfly fishin gi usually fish a 9ft 3x leader with 3 feet of 4 or 5x.. with streamer fishing with a sink tip i will fish a 2 foot leader 3 at teh most if you have a floating line 9 feet of leader is the norm for streamer fishing.. hope that helps

[Brownstone]

for what type of fishing? I usually run between 10-13 feet of leader when nymphing and sometimes up to as deep as 15, rule of thumb is 1.5 times the depth of the water your fishing but I never paid much attention to that. I run much shorter when swinging streamers about 8 feet with a heavier leader. I would say for all around a 9-10 foot leader should be good as long as you handle it and cast it ok you may have to adjust length from time to until you find a length that your comfortable with and more important have confidence in.

[wamartin]

it all depends on were u are fishing dude... usually the old rule would be 1.5X the depth of teh water you are intending too fish. the standard length for a leader on teh bow for nymphing would be 8-9 feet from indicator too your first fly.. if you are dryfly fishin gi usually fish a 9ft 3x leader with 3 feet of 4 or 5x.. with streamer fishing with a sink tip i will fish a 2 foot leader 3 at teh most if you have a floating line 9 feet of leader is the norm for streamer fishing.. hope that helps

 

Wow..thanks Maxwell (and Brownstone)

My leader has been way too short...I am sure this has contributed to my poor production on the Bow.

 

[uvic69]

Wow..thanks Maxwell (and Brownstone)

My leader has been way too short...I am sure this has contributed to my poor production on the Bow.

 

I use a slightly different set-up than a lot of the guys here... I fish a sinking tip fly line w/o an indicator. On my 9', 4wt. rig, I am running a 8-9' leader of 6 lbs maxima monofilament. Thus far, I have had plenty of success nymphing and the entire set-up is very castable, which is great when the winds start to pick up! Having a 2-3 fly set-up on a 15' leader/tippet section, that's also got a strike indicator and split shot, just seems like WAYYYYY too much work for me!!!

[Guest JayVee]

I use a slightly different set-up than a lot of the guys here... I fish a sinking tip fly line w/o an indicator.

 

What type of sink tip...fast, slow, intermediate? I've been thinking about trying this setup myself, only with a polyleader.

 

[BRH]

Ward ... Max gave you some pretty good, standard info for leader length. One thing you should also consider is the depth of water you're fishing. 8 to 9 feet of leader when you're fishing 3 or 4 feet of slower moving water means you'll be continually cleaning flies of bottom debris. Fish aren't likely to eat flies covered with debris. Leader length is also affected by the type of flies you're chucking on a nymph setup and the configuration of those flies. In constrast to what others might tell you, given the water in the Bow right now, I'm 6 feet from strike indicator to the first fly. Have had some pretty good days of late with much shorter leader lengths than what might be considered to be standard. Having said that, I'll also adjust my leader length multiple times on a trip searching for the "right" zone. Provided you're using the "right" flies and presenting them correctly, it doesn't take much playing with leader length to determine the best length for the water you're fishing.

 

[Hawgstoppah]

Lately I have been starting on the "light" side of things and fishing about 4 and 5 feet with light nypmphs like pheasant tail and hare's ear. Fish them in closer to you than the big seam out there, a ton of fish hold right where most people stand to go fish the "sexy" water out there... once I've either caught all the ones I think are in close, or they simply arent around on a few fly changes... then it's time to add weight, and add length. Next stop for me is about 6ft / 7ft two flies still small stuff. then I go 8-9ft, bigger flies, and see if there in the real fast deep heavy current area of the run.

[fishfreak]

What leader length would you use for 1-2 ft of fast water? That's one depth I can't seem to quite figure out right now.

 

I'm almost thinking of using a smaller indicator, with ~4 ft of leader, and no weight. I've learned not to barge right in to start casting at the sexy water on the Bow, but I've come to realize that the 9 ft leader, big indy, and a couple of split shot just doesn't seem to cut it on the shallower faster water.

[BRH]

Cole's Notes version ... hopper-dropper setup.

 

If I "know" the trout are lying in 1 to 2 feet of water (fast or slack), one effective way to fish them with nymphs is using a hopper-dropper set. This does not necessarily mean the top fly is a hopper imitation, just that the setup is that of a hopper-dropper set. I might use a March Brown or Mouse imitation on top and you could even use an indicator is that's your preference. Depending on the time of year, I don't expect a take on the top fly ... only the nymphs dangling below. The idea is here is to limit the amount of bottom drag you're experiencing and covering the water columns. The other aspect of this that you should consider is the field of view the fish has in 1 to 2 feet of water and how much they are going to move to "take" a fly. In 1 or 2 feet of water the fish's field of view is reduced. The faster the flow the less they will move to "take". There is more to this in terms of fly suspension and offerings but that's another story.

[reevesr1]

To continue on Pseudonym's line of thought, I have had some success fishing in shallow slow water near the bank on the extreme inside of runs. Particularly early in the morning/late in the evening using lighter flies and the indi set such that the top fly just touches the bottom. Seeing the take is really easy! I have not done hopper/dropper in this setup (slow and shallow), but that is probably because I'm dense. It would certainly work as well.

[Hawgstoppah]

sometimes the water is a lot "spookier" than the hard fast chop out in the middle, so when your fishing 1-2ft use a small indicator (something about the size of a large pea if using corkies), 4ft leader, and 2 small beadhead nymphs or if your fishing larger flies go with unweighted larger flies (stone's etc). By using the small indicator you wont be making such a "splat" on the water... and we all know what happens when a fish in 1-2 ft of water hears a big splat on the water.

 

I have hit MOST of my fish this year on this system and carefull water selection, rather than throwing the huge weighted 9ft leader 2 flies split shot etc etc rig that everyone uses now

[fishfreak]

But I like the 9ft leader triple nymph double split shot rig! I can finally cast that thing without assuming the position as much.

 

Thanks for the tips guys. This gives me another skill to add to my arsenal. Can't wait to try it out!

[SilverDoctor]

You could also try fishing without an indicator. Last summer I stood on a pedestrian bridge over a popular run and watched large trout part as a large indicator drifted by. Food for thought

[jack]

A very, very knowledgeable flyfishing guru once told me: "If you're doing everything right and still not getting into fish, add 2' of tippet."

j

[SilverDoctor]

And if it still don't work kick back stream side, have a nice scotch and wait for the evening hatch.