How to make custom fly fishing leaders

The fly fishing leader is a vital connection between fly line and the fly. The fly leader must be properly constructed for each fly fishing condition to present the fly to the strike zone in an effective manor
A properly designed and well-made fly leader serves as a vital connection between the fly line and the fly. When fly-casting, the energy of the fly line is transferred through a tapered leader to turn the fly over in a presentable manor into the strike zone. Of course, the long fly leader also keeps the fish from seeing that there is a fly attached to the fly line.

In the modern world of fly-fishing, there is a need for specialized weights and lengths of fly leaders for the wide variety of fish species that are now being sought. For example, if you are dry-fly fishing a clear lake on a calm day, you may want to have a very long leader; one that is perhaps 12 to 16 feet long with a very fine tippet that does not scare off feeding fish. However, if you are fishing a river or a lake near the bottom, using a sink-tip line or sinking fly line with a nymph or streamer, you may need a 5 to 6 foot leader that will help to hold the fly down longer in the strike zone. Dry fly fishing rivers for trout usually requires a 9-foot leader with a soft mono tippet section and a soft mono tippet. Dry line, or grease-line steelhead fishing requires a stiff butt section, and stiff tippet section, to help turn over larger steelhead flies. Most saltwater fly-fishing requires special, hard stiff monofilament, leaders that are designed to turn over salt-water flies in very hot and humid climates where abrasive sand and warm salt-water conditions exist.

There are many leader formulas to be found in the fly-fishing community, and the following is one that was given to me by my friend Mr. Ramón Aranguren, a past Argentinean fly-casting champion. I have used this leader formula over the years, and it has also worked well for many of my fly fishing associates. This leader has a long stiff butt section that will turn over those big bushy dry flies, weighted nymphs, steelhead flies, and will help you to drive a fly into the wind. I call it the 60/40 and here are a couple formula variations of it for different fly-fishing situations.

First, take a piece of notebook paper and draw an 8-inch line. This will be used for writing down your marks and figures for the layout of the 60/40 tapered fly-leader and should be saved for future reference. Starting from left to right at the 5" point or about 60 %, make a short vertical line that is above and below line. Therefore, everything to the left of this vertical line will be the butt section or 60 percent and everything to the right of the vertical line will be the tippet section or 40 percent of the 8" line.

Lets say you want to make a 9 ft. leader or 108": Take 60 % of 108 and you get about 65", that is how long the butt section will be, so write 65" above the 8" line and left of the vertical line on the paper. The butt section will consist of two sections. Take 60 % of 65" and you get 39"; this is the length of the first butt section, which will be, .019" diameter leader material. Make a short vertical line below the 8" line to separate these two sections. The second section is 65 minus 39 or 26" of, .018" diameter leader material. Write down these figures under the line on your paper for the 1st and 2nd butt sections.

The tippet section is also broken down into the 60/40 formulas: Subtract 65 from 108 and you get 43". This is the tippet section; so write 43 above the line on the right side of the vertical mark on your paper; this is 40 % of the line. Now take 60 % of 43 and you get approximately 27", which is the length of the first section of the tippet section. Mark this with a short vertical line below the 8" line. The first section will be divided into three 9" pieces of leader material .015" diameter, .014" diameter and .012" diameter. Write in these figures under the 8" line for reference. The second section is the tippet, which will be 17" of .010" diameter Write these figures under the 8" line. If needed, you can add extra length to the tippet, or tie on an additional 20" of a smaller size tippet if so desired.

If you need a leader that will present a smaller fly very nicely, here is variation of the 60/40: Draw out the 8" line on your paper but this time, make your vertical mark at the halfway point.

In this example we will make a 10 foot or 120" leader. Therefore, each half will be 60", write this figure on each side of the vertical mark above the line. Now, the 60/40 for the butt section: 60 % of 60" for the 1st section will be 36" of, .019" diameter leader material. The 2nd section or 40 % will be 24" of, .018" diameter leader material, write these figures under the 8"line for reference.

The tippet section will be slightly different; divide it into the 60/40. The first section of the tippet section or 36’ will be divided into three segments: one 12" of .014" diameter, one 12" of .012" diameter and one 12" of 010" diameter leader material: these are the three segments of the 1st tippet section. Mark and write these figures under the 8" line on the paper. The tippet will be 24" of.009", mark and write these figures under the 8" line on your paper.

Now that you have some leader formulas, what is next? The rule of thumb for making a leader is that the first section of the butt section should not be any stiffer than the end of the fly line. Don’t put a 40-lb butt section on a 4 or 5 wt. fly line; it will not turn over properly. However, a 40-lb butt section would most likely work on a 9 or 10 wt. fly line. Your goal is to make a tapered leader that will smoothly and effectively transfer the energy of the fly line to turn over the fly.

Select the sizes of leader material you will need depending on the number of sections in the leader and tippet size for your type of fishing. Try a discount sporting goods store for bulk spools of the heavier monofilament in different sizes and colors and your local fly shop for a wide range of sizes and types of tippet materials that you will need to make your own custom leaders.

There are many different types of knots that can be used to connect the leader sections together, but perhaps the most popular is the blood knot. It is quick and easy to tie, and you will not waste a lot of material tying the knot.

If you are going to use fluorocarbon leader material for your leaders or tippets you may find that the triple surgeon’s knot will give you better knot strength than the blood knot. I also recommend using the Double Uni knot to tie fluorocarbon tippets to your fly.

Use a nail knot to make the connection between fly line and the leader butt section. If you want to make a loop-to-loop connection, cut the 1st. butt section about 8" below the nail knot and tie a perfection loop knot in both cut ends and loop them together. This will give the angler an easy way to change leaders or replace broken or damaged leaders quickly while on the water.

The following is a list of leader material breaking strength and thickness in thousandths of an inch, because each manufacture’s product varies, these values are only approximate: 4lb.= .005", 6lb.= .009", 8lb.= .010", 10lb.= .012", 14lb.= .014", 15lb.= .015", 20lb.= .018", 25lb.= .019", 30lb.= .020"

By Stanley Stanton Published: 2/17/2007

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Fly Fishing For Beginners - How to fly fish

Fly fishing is a fascinating sport. Here are a few pointers for fly fishing beginners.
Fly fishing as a hobby has been growing in popularity by the day. Anybody can learn the techniques of fly fishing, regardless of their age. In fact, fly fishing has been around for a long time. According to historians, there are records of it dating back to the 2nd century AD, in Mesopotamia, a region which lies between the Tigris and Euphrates, a part of which is now known as Iraq. Rooster feathers were used to make the flies which were cast using a pole measuring six foot in length and a line about as long. Fly fishing today has not changed very much basically, although, of course, there has been progress in terms of the materials that the rods, lines and flies are made of.

So what is so unique about fly fishing, you might well ask. No, it is not about catching flying fish and neither is it about catching flies! When you fly fish, in contrast to other types of fishing, you do not use any bait that is organic, whether dead or live. Instead, artificial flies, such as string, ribbon, feathers, hair, etc., are used as lure to catch fish. First, the fly fisherman attaches the artificial flies to the hook and line. Then he/she casts the line into the water and shakes the fly in jerky movements on or just above the water's surface, making the fly mimic the movements of an insect. The first and most important factor, if you want to learn to fly fish, is knowing the different kinds of artificial baits that are used.

Another distinguishing aspect of fly fishing that differentiates it from other types of fishing is the way in which the line is cast. While in other types of fishing you need to cast the line and rely on the bait to attract fish, in fly fishing you will need far more expertise in order to lure the fish. It needs a lot of skill to cast the line and mimic insects, skimming just the top of the water, even sometimes dipping it under the water's surface, and then finally managing to entice a fish to take a bite at it. And this is also a major part of why fly fishing is so engrossing and such fun.
The fishing rod is the most important tool for fly fishers, as this is what is used to cast the fly line and then to control it. In the beginning, it is recommended to use a hollow fiber glass rod instead of a bamboo rod. Fiberglass rods are lighter and far more flexible, and require less maintenance. Plus, they are relatively cheaper and do not need to be stored as carefully as bamboo rods. Once you gain in experience, you could switch to a graphite rod. Not only is a graphite rod stronger, but being thinner and lighter it is far more maneuverable, hence the line can be cast far more swiftly and much further away.

Usually, fly fishing rods are longer than the usual fishing rods. The reel is also fairly simple, as it is usually used only to recover the hook and the lure – perhaps with a fish caught at the end of it! Before they cast the line, fly fishermen generally loosen it, pulling some of it from the reel, to create slack. This helps in casting the lure freely to the area the fisherman has targeted.

The fishing line used in fly fishing is also quite different compared to those used in normal fishing. The fly fishing line is larger in diameter and is therefore completely visible. Some of them are designed to float on the surface of the water, while others sink under the surface. A tippet is attached at the fly line’s end, which is what actually does the fishing. This is about 6 feet in length with the lure being tied to the end of the fly line. This contraption is the reason the fish are unable to catch sight of the fly line and fools them into thinking that it is a real insect that they are seeing.

The next thing that fly fishing beginners need to familiarize themselves with is the lure. While it is true that the lure is supposed to mimic insects like flies, but these days, they have become much more specialized. With the evolution of this sport, fly fishing buffs now are going in for lures that mime the exact prey of the fish they set out to catch. Hence, once you learn the basics of casting and using the lure, in order to refine your skill even further, it would be helpful to learn about the specific feeding habits and baits of a variety of species of fish. The main kinds of flies that you will find in a shop dealing with fly fishing gear are emerging bugs and dry flies, wet flies, streamers, nymphs, saltwater flies, panfish and bass flies, and steelhead and salmon flies. However, modifications can be made to the basic flies according to any kind of fish, and there can be nearly endless combinations and color patterns that can be designed.

As is quite evident, fly fishing is a fascinating sport. They best way to gain expertise in it is to seek instructions from an experienced master. He/she will not only tell you more about lures, reels, rods and lines, but also give you information about the best spots for fly fishing.
By Rita Putatunda
Published: 9/12/2007

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