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If a leader is . . .
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The Trouble(s) With Leaders
What are some of the common difficulties in dealing with leaders? Leaders are easy to work with and use once you get familiar with them. However, as with any item in any fisherman's arsenal, they do have problems or get "fouled up" from time-to-time; here are some of the more frequent problems and what to do about them. 1. the leader gets too short . . . fly fishers are constantly changing flies, or are cutting back on leaders to shorten them, which eventually leaves them too short to perform correctly; the solution is to either re-construct your leader, or tie on a completely new leader; DON'T: keep fishing with a leader that is too short: your catch rate will likely plummet. 2. "wind knots" show up . . . knots
caused by nasty wind conditions or nasty casting performance (you often won't know where
knots come from) leave a leader weakened and inefficient; the solution is to
cut off the
offending section and retie down to the tippet; or, replace the entire leader; DON'T: keep fishing with a leader with knots in it; you may be
okay for awhile, but
eventually the leader will "break off."
3. the fly won't "turn over" easily . . . this condition indicates an imbalance somewhere: often the fly is too large for the leader; (or the leader is too small a diameter for the fly); or your casting stroke is out of synch; or the leader is not constructed properly; the solution is to first see that your tippet (diameter or "X") matches the size fly you are using; if your tippet is too thick, tie on the next diameter smaller tippet; if it is too thin, cut back on the leader about 8" & try again; DO: see if you can cast a more "closed" loop in your fly line (meaning that you are generating more line speed.) 4. the leader "hinges" . . . i.e., either due to weakness or improper construction, energy in the cast "poops out" and the leader collapses under its own weight; this condition suggests that the transition between leader segments is too abrupt: the solution is to remove the leader segment from the point at which it collapses, and either replace correctly tapering segments from that point to the tippet, or put on a new leader; DO: the correct way to tie or repair tapered leaders, without sacrificing strength or fluidity, is for each section to not exceed .002" diameter difference than the adjoining segment. 5. the leader breaks when playing fish . . . this likely means you failed to eliminate other existing problems beforehand; occasionally, even when your leader is in top order, "breaking off" fish does happen; this means: (a) you caught a BIG fish (& that's good), or (b) your leader materials are too brittle, too old, or just plain weak, or (c) the drag on your fly reel is improperly set to too much restraint, (d) you attempted to "horse" the fish. 6. you get "hung up" . . . this happens all the time; your fly gets caught on rocks, trees, stumps, shoreline vegetation; back of your head, etc.; the solution is to check your leader after each such hang up and repair any resulting sections where abrasion, knots, "kinking", etc. have occurred. 7. the leader sinks . . . most fly fishers prefer their leaders to sit "in" the water (actually, in the surface film), rather than "on" it, as less shadows are cast to fish below, and a less visible leader results; however, unless you want the leader to actually sink (& there are times when you do), just keeping it clean and free of debris, dirt, etc, should allow it to perform adequately; if you want it to float higher, or sink further, application of dressings (or weight) for such purposes is required. 8. it scares the fish when it hits the water . . . this is indicative of (a) a leader that is too thick &/or too short for the conditions or the fly being used, or (b) a caster who is not attentive to proper presentation; the solution is to be sure the leader length & tippet balance with the fly you are using; DO: when fish inspect but reject or ignore your offerings, and things get tough, one axiom to remember is to "go smaller": a smaller fly, longer leader and a thinner tippet. 9. the leader "kinks up" . . . modern leader materials are less prone to kinking/coiling than those of "yesteryear", but it still happens; the solution is to stretch your leader, from butt to tippet, before starting fishing, and periodically as needed; DO: it is a recommended "routine" to stretch out or pull the leader through a piece of soft rubber (carried on/in the vest) to dampen this "memory" effect. This should be done when the leader is first affixed to the line and/or is unwound from the reel. 10. it's hard to cast in the wind . . .
fly fishers have a constant and frequently encountered nemesis: wind; the solution is not an easy one, but as some of our youth have been
known to utter, ". . . deal with it"; DO: shortening your leader is one
step to take to combat this ever-present menace to fly fishers.
11. it creates a "wake" on the water . . . this "wake" is what fly fishers call "drag", the most lethal cause of fishless casts; it is the result of the fly being pulled by the leader as the two are affected by water/current flows; the solution is to try a longer, thinner tippet, and perhaps a smaller fly; DO: observing and avoiding the problem of drag gets the experienced fly fisher's constant attention, and learning how to "mend" a fly line (subtle upstream flips of the fly line) is crucial to this endeavor. |
