A question many experienced and novice fly fisherman may ask themselves is Why tie my own leaders when I can by them at any sporting goods store or local fly shop? I am not sure if there is a right or wrong answer to that question, but for me it is a way to better appreciate, participate, and understand the sport of fly fishing.
I began hand tying my own leaders a few years ago for several reasons; the first reason was cost, commercially available leaders are just plain expensive, and when you consider the life expectancy of a leader, tying your own looks like an attractive alternative; the second reason was my inept ability at tying my own flies, perhaps my inadequacy in this aspect of fly fishing forced me to try another way to connect intimately withthe sport; the third reason was that hand tying my own leaders was a way to provide my fellow fishing partners with personal gifts for each trip we take.
So why would you tie you own leaders? Consider the following: Cost- Hand tied leaders cost very little, pennies in fact, compared to commercially available leaders.
It is easier and quicker to change and re-tie a hand tied leader when conditions change.
You can create leaders specific to the fishing conditions you fish in most often.
The personal satisfaction of catching a fish on a leader you created yourself.
Lets start with the basics, what is a leader and why is it important? A leader connects your fly line to the fly.
A leader acts as the medium to transfer the energy of the fly line to the fly during the cast.
A leader relieves the energy from the fly line and sets up the proper presentation of the fly during a cast.
A leader helps presents your fly in a life like manner, dead drifts for nymphs or realistic floats for dry flies.
What are the components of a leader? In order to start tying your own leaders you must first understand the three basic sections of a leader: Butt, Body, and Tippet.
The Butt is a very important section of your leader.
It is the section of your leader that begins the transfer of energy from the fly line to your leader.
The size of this section of your leader is an important consideration, most recipes call for a butt section with a diameter between .
020 to .
026.
A butt section that is too limp will cause the leader to not properly transfer the energy to the Body.
The Body is created with smaller diameter material and helps keep control of the fly for proper presentation.
The Tippet uses the smallest diameter material in your leader and are usually 16 inches to 24 inches long.
Your fly will be tied directly to this section of your leader.
Tippet material comes in many different styles and specialty material that will depend on your fishing circumstances.
What are the different types of leader material? Monofilament - Mono line is the most common leader material to use.
Mono comes in a variety of sizes, stiffness and diameters.
Most leaders are tied using mono because of the variety, diameters, stiffness, and stretch and abrasion resistance.
Fluorocarbon - A synthetic material that claims to be nearly invisible under water by having the same refracting index as water.
The debate is still going on whether Fluorocarbon is better then mono.
Fluorocarbon is good for the last section of tippet on a tapered leader.
Braided Super Lines - A synthetic line made by weaving thin diameter man-made materials to form a no-stretch, low diameter and very strong line.
Super lines are usually to limp for leaders, but I like to use short pieces of braided line with full sinking fly lines on short nymph leaders.
Knots: What are the best Knots to use when tying different sections of leader material together? The two knots I use most frequently when joining different sections of leaders are the blood knot and the surgeons knot.
You should become proficient at how to tie both of these knots, with a little practice you will soon master these and be on your way to creating your own leaders.
How long should my leader be and other considerations: Leaders can come in all lengths with different diameters in the Butt, Body and Tippet.
Your leaders should be built to suit the type of fishing you are planning.
For example if you plan on fishing for toothy predators such as northern pike or its smaller cousin the pickerel you need to consider using a tippet with cut resistant material.
If you are fishing delicate dry flies you should consider a long fine tapered leader.
If your quarry is Salmon or Steelhead your leaders should be abrasion resistant and strong.
Tools: What can I use to help me start creating my own leaders? I like the software program called LeaderCalc.
LeaderCalc has a nice selection of leader recipes for most fishing situations.
It also includes a nice feature that allows you to customize the label so you can quickly identify the type of leader, material used and purpose.
As with most things in life the best way to become better at creating your own hand tied leaders is to start tying and then use them when fishing.
You will quickly gain knowledge that only comes from experience and experimentation with different material, knots and lengths.