Slip-on Leader Butt

Slip-on leaders, including "braided leader butts" are an alternate method for affixing the leader to the fly line.

There are several types of manufactured leader butt accessories available on the market.  Some are 6-8" long . . . others are as long as 5' in length.  Made primarily of braided material, they slide over the tip of the fly line and are secured with a sleeve or adhesive.  The benefits of this system are that they are easy to attach, and more importantly, provide a smooth, knotless connection between fly line and leader.

Loop-to-Loop connections

Most of these products have a permanent loop in the end.  This enables us to affix a leader to this butt section using an interlocking loop ("handshake loop") connection.   Several fly line manufacturers now sell some lines with permanent loops in the tip of the fly line itself.

Many flyfishers find these loop connections to be faster and more flexible than tying a "Nail", "Nail-less" or "Needle" Knot to affix a leader to the fly line.  And, some prefer the longer braided segments in their leaders, claiming better performance characteristics.  If this system is selected, the use of the "Perfection Loop Knot" to form a loop in the butt end of your leaders and/or tippets becomes most useful.

For details on permanent leader butts, see the separate discussion: "Permanent Leader Butts" in this course.

This subject is covered in more detail in our Knots Course.