Take me to your leader - no1
- Jan 29
- 7 min read
The leader is probably the most overlooked or misunderstood part of the fly casting system. It is impossible to do the subject any justice in one blog; therefore, I will parse it out (3 blogs). This part covers various generalities on leaders.
Intro
Much is written on leaders in fly fishing. A Google search - "fly fishing leaders" - yields millions of hits. It's impossible to chew through. Some pieces are, of course, excellent, and others are less so. However, leaders are often made out to be very complicated when they are not. Remember, the leader is a continuum of the fly line that happens to be clear. The front taper of the fly line tapers down to dissipate the energy of the cast but should leave just enough energy to turn over the leader and the fly. That's the leader's function (dissipate energy - turn over fly) - there is no mystery. The standard leader is 9' long, starts with a thick butt end, and ends after tapering, in the now thinner tippet end. That's it - that’s all there is to it.
When a fly line is cast without a leader, it kicks. The surplus energy in the line has nowhere to go, so the wave returns up the line and it kicks. When we have a leader attached to the line, this does not happen. The leader absorbs the energy and bleeds it away. How does that happen?
The top leg of the line moves forward and has momentum. We know the formula for momentum. Momentum (p) is mass (m) times velocity (v), and the momentum is preserved.
p = m x v
When the line turns over and the moving part shortens, the mass decreases in the top leg, then the velocity must increase. The same law applies to the leader, of course. The moving leader turns over, sheds mass, and the velocity must increase. Of course, drag is acting on the moving fly line and absorbing energy. However, when you double the velocity, then the drag quadruples. That’s how the leader bleeds the energy, and we temper the power of our casts so there is just enough energy in the leader to turn the fly over.
Casting abilities
When ruminating on leaders, we must make clear that they are caster-dependent. The longer they get, the better you must cast, and the more delicate leaders require better casting. Casting ability is always a part of the leader design. So, remember the leader you use must match your casting abilities. Those who recommend a certain leader should also state for whom it is intended. If a leader is very long and delicate, it is for the savants of fly casting, but they do not need any help for sure. Our recommendations are for beginners and average casters.
The leader you use for trout fishing is also dependent on the general visibility of the day. A calm day with no cloud coverage and clear water means good visibility for the fish and calls for a little longer leader. On a dark, rainy day, the leader can be a bit shorter. The mass of the fly used is very important. Small dries can be cast with delicate leaders, whereas a big, weighted Wooly Bugger needs a much more powerful leader.
Leader and tippet
Leaders and tippet are made from nylon, and we call that mono or fluorocarbon, which is called fluoro. These substances have slightly different properties.
Mono - is derived from the word monofilament, but the word mono in our communications denotes nylon. Nylon leader and tippet is an excellent material for our purposes. It is manufactured by several companies with many breakstrengths, stiffness, and even colors. In nature, it breaks down in 500-600 years, so it behooves anglers not to leave it behind.
Fluoro - leaders and tippet material is also manufactured from fluorocarbon. Its breakdown in nature is reported to be 5 to six thousand years. We should absolutely not discard fluoro. Fluoro has a slightly lower refractive index than mono. So, fluoro is supposedly less visible in water than mono. The refractive index was a big point in its marketing strategy. Now, I invite you to put the same diameter a mono and a fluoro strand in a glass of water. I don’t see any difference.
At the end of the day, these substances are broadly comparable, but because of the price, stiffness, more difficult knotting than mono, and the breakdown time, I do not use it anymore.
Leader types
A commercial leader comes in one piece. The thick first part is the level butt, then we have the mid-section or the taper, and finally the level tippet. The leader starts out level, then tapers down, and then levels out again. As you change your flies, the tippet or terminal portion of your leader gets cut, and the leader shortens. Therefore, you carry a spool of mono of similar diameter to the tippet and tie in pieces to lengthen the leader again. Mono just means single-stranded, but the term has drifted to mean nylon in fly fish speak. Fluorocarbon (also mono) is also used as tippet material, often just shortened to fluoro.
Tippet - The rule of eleven
The tippet material is loaded onto spools and marked with its breaking test - 5 pounds or 10 pounds, etc. - and the diameter of the tippet, which is far more important. Then there is something called X, for instance, X, 2X, or 5X stamped on the spool label. This X system is used to indicate the diameter of monofilament lines. This X denotation comes from the past, like so much in our sport. Leaders were made from silk worm guts. The segments were then drawn through dies that shaved off a little bit every passage. 3X had been 3 times through, etc. The higher the X number, the thinner the tippet.
Now the standard is set so that 0X is 0.011 inches thick. Subtract the number prefix to the X from 0.011 to find the diameter of the tippet - for 1X we go 0.011 - 1 = 0.010 etc. Take the 2 numbers, add them together = 11. Another way to explain this is to say the X rating plus the diameter in thousandths will be equal to 11. (5 thousandths (.005”) + 6X = 11. 3X + 8 thousandths (.008”) = 11). Now, the various sizes can be found in the table below. Of course, the diameter of the tippet is also stated, making the X system redundant, but the "trouters" love it and therefore it stays. The "salters" only pay attention to the breaking test of their tippet when they should be paying attention to the diameter too.
Mass not break strength
The effectiveness of a leader depends on its weight, not its strength. Therefore, the diameter of the leader - indicates its weight - is the most important when building leaders from tippet but not the break strength.
Suppose you cast several leaders that have the same break strength but various butt diameters (diameter indicates the weight). You will find that the leaders behave differently. The leader that has the same butt weight as the fly line and turns over easily will be the best to cast. Now, we cast leaders with the same butt weight as the fly line’s end but with various break strengths. They all work. Thus, it is clear that the smooth transition of energy from the line to the leader is dependent on the leader’s mass. It is clear that the energy flow is optimal when the line’s end and the leader’s butt are the same weight.
Tippet material has evolved and become very strong. Now, for instance, you can get tippet material with a 0.011'' diameter that has an impressive 16 lb. break strength (diameter of "old tech" 16 lb. Mason Hard mono is 0.020"). Its density has not increased - it is still the same. The mass of such a piece of tippet is therefore smaller than the "older" tippet. However, the turnover of the leader is dependent on the MASS of the leader, NOT the break strength of the tippet. Therefore, the diameter (indicator of mass) of the tippet is the all-important factor, not the break strength, when building leaders or adding tippet to a leader. We should emphasize that the tensile strength of sections of leaders is unimportant EXCEPT for the tippet, the weak link. Pay scant attention to the tensile strength of butt and taper; it will lead you astray. The mass/diameter rule is the important one!
Leader’s Butt size for a floating line
Approximately 70% of the diameter of the tip of the fly line is the goal for the butt's leader. We arrived at the 70% figure by dividing the relative density of the floating fly line tip or 0.85, with the relative density of 6/6 nylon or 1.2 - 0.85/1.2 = 0.70. This applies only to floating lines. The relative density of the tip of sinking lines is much higher. Therefore, open up your loop to minimize the kick when casting sinking lines. So, it follows that the meatier lines need leaders with thicker butts. You can easily measure the tip of the fly line with a micrometer. The butt diameters of ready-made commercial leaders are now generally of the right size.
Purpose of leader
What's the purpose of the leader? To deliver the fly and dissipate the energy of the cast. That's best achieved by tapering the leader, ensuring just enough energy to turn over the fly. Ready-made leaders start level, then they taper down and level out again. If you are casting as hard as you can and can't turn over the leader, you need to shorten it and/or use a lighter fly.
You shouldn't use identical tippet on the Banger and the Collie Dog. It's kind of obvious.
The leader ends where we tie in the fly. Not rocket science exactly. But it is obvious that we can't tie a very thick tippet to a small Collie dog. Conversely, we don't tie a 3 lb. tippet to a eight-inch fly. Therefore, it is clear that the tippet size must match the hook size to an extent. You can also divide fly size by 3, and that's your X size. Adjust up or down 1 size depending on conditions. The recommendation for the tippet size and hook size is more fluid than the recommendation for the butt size, but you'll get the idea. As you bumble along, you get a feel for the size of tippet to use with the various hook sizes.
Light lines can't cast heavy flies
Some fish (bonefish and salmon, for instance) take flies that could easily be cast with light rods. However, you do not want to deal with a salmon equipped with a four-weight rod. The same goes for bonefish. The bonefish flats are wind-swept, and you just need heavier lines because of that. If the fight gets prolonged, a shark will eat the exhausted bonefish for sure. It is super important to remember that you can cast small flies with heavy gear, but can't cast big flies with light gear.
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