Take me to your leader
Here's some great information about designing and making a leader line as an addition to the fly line. Informative stuff that we should all atke note about.
Many articles have been written about leader design: taper, materials, length, etc. I want to approach the subject from a different perspective, a new premise about the concept of a leader.
A leader is a custom extension of your fly line. I like to think of a fly line as an incomplete piece of equipment that requires me to finish it by adding a custom termination. The design of the line has been carefully thought out by the manufacturer; equal thought should be given to extending those characteristics to the leader. Suppose for example that I that I want to use a WF3F line for dry fly fishing. I would select a line that has a gradual front taper, then add a 2.5 to 3 meter leader that would allow me to make a medium-length cast and a gentle presentation with some soft S-curves at the end. A George Harvey design would be just the right leader to use, whether I tied it myself or purchased it (Gamma Technologies). From the belly of the line on, the goal in this situation is to present the fly gently, with minimum line slap and enough transparency, length, and flexibility at the terminus to not frighten the fish or cause a refusal. The leader carries the concept of the line and the presentation of the dry fly to its final logical conclusion.
However, the above rig would not be appropriate for nymph fishing, for several reasons. The line is light and gradually tapered, and is not suitable for casting an indicator, weight, and one or more flies a short distance. For this application, I would choose a WF5F nymph taper line, one with a substantial belly and a short front taper for powerful turnover, then add a leader with the similar characteristics: a 2 to 2.5 meter leader with a substantial butt and a short transition section, leading to a short, flourocarbon tippet. Again, I have made the leader an extension of the characteristics of the line, geared to a specific fishing situation, one very different from my dry fly rig. I don't want the termination of my nymph rig to give a gentle presentation; I want it to "deliver the goods", to sink quickly, and to put me in direct contact with my flies (no soft curves here that might cause me to miss the strike). Everything from the line belly on is geared toward getting my flies down to where the fish are and giving me a solid hookup.
Take me to your leader
Great informative article by Jim Benenson
technorati tags:fly, fishing, about, leaders
