Leaders tied from tippet - no3
- Feb 18
- 5 min read
I have covered the ready-made leader in a previous post:
Now I'll have a go at the latter two leader types. When it comes to building leaders, you should be cautious. Numerous articles and guides exist on the subject, and many individuals claim to be experts. Don’t get overwhelmed by the extensive literature on leaders.
Focus on the three fundamental aspects of leader construction: the butt size, the tippet size, and the middle piece(s). By simplifying your approach, you can enhance your fishing experience and enjoy the process more fully. You can build a leader, even if it is totally unnecessary, without suffering a nervous breakdown. If you understand the principles, you can build one to fit all your fishing circumstances.
A functional leader can be built out of 3-4 (or more) separate mono strands of decreasing diameter. Just consider the butt end, the middle part, and the terminal portion of a leader, i.e. 3 variables. When you understand the principle, you don't need any recipes.
Now, the length of the three parts in proportions (%) can vary. Charles Ritz advocated 60/20/20 as a good proportion. That build is quite powerful. For a leader that is not too delicate and not too powerful, Bruce Richards suggests 50/30/20. If you want your leader to be very delicate, just increase the length of the terminal tippet. If a more powerful leader is desired, then shorten it. If you don't want to lengthen your leader, but keep it delicate, you just shorten the first segment (40/30/30 or 35/35/30 for instance). Ritz's and Richards's recipes are applicable to standard-length leaders (9-10 feet).
For longer leaders, the butt part needs to be longer. If you apply the 50/30/20 formula to a 15' leader, you get a butt that is too short, taper, and tippet that are too long for mortals to cast easily, thus 60/25/15 would work better. For very short leaders, the profile is less important. They are all used for streamers, so no delicacy is needed, and because they are short and the flies are big, there is always plenty of power.
Leaders built from mono
As you gain experience, you might start to build your own leaders. To build a leader from mono, you need knots. Obviously, now the connecting knots are the weak links. Two knots are the weakest links and must be strong (well tied): the one that ties the fly to the tippet and the one that ties the tippet to the rest of the leader. All the rest of the knots are tied in much stronger material; even if “weak,” they will be much stronger than the critical two. Most anglers would use blood knots to connect the mono pieces because they are the neatest and pass through the guides best. The last two knots will probably be something different for strength. There are certain types of knots for backing to reel, backing to fly line, fly line to the leader, leader to tippet, and finally tippet to the fly. A plethora of knots exist, and many types of knots do the job. Here is one of the sites that displays line-to-line knots.
Here again, the problem of choice rears its ugly head. So, which knots to choose? Actually, it does not matter much which type of knots you choose; just choose one for each job and stick with it.
For a floating line
When you are building a leader and the difference in the diameters of the pieces makes knotting difficult, then just add more pieces of suitably thick mono to bridge the gap. It adds knots but not in the critical part, i.e., the terminal tippet.
The leader you need is dependent on its intended use. You need more force to cast a heavy fly. The length of the butt section of your leader influences the force in your leader. Your casting abilities always matter. Beginners need more powerful leaders than elite casters. Weather also plays a role, and you need a more powerful leader on a windy day. The leader’s length is also important; it is more difficult to cast a long leader than a short one. I advise beginners to use powerful leaders - you can always dial down the power you use.
To put it super simply, the butt length decides the power, the tapering part helps bleed off the energy of the cast, and the tippet needs just enough energy left to turn the fly over.
For a sunken line,
Sunken leaders don't need to be very long, but must have enough mass to temper the line turnover. I recommend about 5 feet total, two feet of heavy butt (at least 0.026” diameter), then 1.5 feet of 0.020” diameter, then 1.5 feet of tippet, 10-12 lb. test at least.
Not elegant (elegance not needed), but works both for casting and fishing. Most people don't use butt sections that are heavy enough. Butt diameter of 0.026" is a minimum to temper the line turnover.
Level leader
Level leaders are only for savant casters for the reasons stated below. Those casters can use just about anything as a leader, but the rest of us CAN'T.
It is of course possible to use a level leader from the butt to the tip. We know that the butt part needs to be 0.7 of the diameter of the floating fly line diameter tip. Let us imagine that we need a tippet with 0.026'' for our saltwater line. Take a look at the table below for saltwater tippets. Now you are left with a whopping 50 lb. tippet. Perfect butt size, but few are interested in tying a 50 lb. tippet to a fly. The hook to be used must furthermore have an eye that matches the level leader.
Additionally, now the leader is the strongest part of the whole casting system, and that can cause a loss of the whole fly line. That is potentially unsafe if you need to break off a fish.
I have a #6 line called TROUT with a tip that measures 0.039 inches. Its diameter calls for a 0.027'' tippet. If I go with the 50 lb. tippet (butt diameter 0.026), the resultant knot could turn out to be bigger than the fly itself. The trout tippet lineup (above) has its thickest tippet at 0.013 or only half the diameter needed. Because of all those issues, I strongly advise against using level leaders. If you only have tippet material left and must use it, choose a diameter between the butt requirement and the fly size requirement. Like most compromises, it works, but not well.
Leader recipes
Unfortunately, most of the recipes found online are based on the break strength of the material used. However, remember it is the weight of the tippet that determines the functionality of a leader, not its break strength.
If you use old mono, the weight will probably be okay, but if you use the new tippet material that is considerably lighter for the same break strength, then the leader will become too light and will not work as intended.
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