Part One

This is the first of a two part series on leaders. Capt Unk considers your leader system at least as important as any of the other aspects of your flyfishing system.

First, consider some generalities about leaders. Use the shortest and largest leader you can get away with unless you're targeting a specific line class for a world record or personal satisfaction. Short leaders are generally easier to cast, especially in a big wind. Stronger leaders are usually easier on the fish, since you can hook, play, land and release in less total time than with lighter leaders. Spooky, inactive fish in clear water require longer smaller diameter leaders. If you can see the fish, or know they are there and are not biting or not biting aggressively, you should often change leaders before changing flies. If you have done your homework, you should usually change fly size before changing patterns. Leaders are hard to do right with cold, or wet, or tired, or slimy, or excited fingers. Tie them at home. A tarpon fly is not tied until the leader is attached. We pretty much use fluorocarbon for all leaders except leaders for topwater poppers, gurglers, or crease flies. Regular mono will not affect how topwater flies float. Fluorocarbon sinks nicely, therefore may cause some topwaters to sink into the surface film. It costs a bit more, but in the overall scheme of saltwater flyfishing, the additional price of fluorocarbon gets lost in the noise. Since fluorocarbon is harder to see in the water, we think we get fewer refusals, which means more hook ups. There are four basic leader systems for saltwater flyfishing. Each of these has a number of variations. They are all situation and quarry dependant.

First is the Basic Leader System. Not much to discuss but the most often used for backcountry, bays, estuarial saltwater fishing for usually (but not always) the smaller end of the saltwater fishery. Start with just five feet of 30-40# fluorocarbon, four turned blood knotted to two and a half feet of 15-20# fluorocarbon, double surgeon knotted to a foot and a half of 8-10# fluorocarbon. This system works great for species like trout, slot sized redfish, small jacks, bonefish and the like. For larger members like permit, above the slot reds, albies and the like, just bump the lower piece to 12-16# fluorocarbon.

Next, consider the Basic Leader with Bite Tippet System. It applies for small 'poons (up to 20 pounds or so), snook, etc (A version of it also applies for big ladyfish, Spanish and bluefish). It consists of a Basic Leader, normally nine to twelve feet (one you use for trout, slot sized redfish, small jacks, bonefish bonefish, permit, etc) which tapers down to 8-10 pound, to which use a double surgeons knot (not the loop) or a six turn blood knot (blood knots cost you nearly 50% of line strength...so if you use it on eight pound test, you're really fishing four pound) to a piece of bite tippet of length and strength commensurate with the size fish you're after. Use three to six inches of 20# for small bluefish, ladyfish, flounder, etc. Use 10 inches of that same 20# fluorocarbon for those baby tarpon and small snook (snook cut you off with their gill coverts, not teeth). With this rig we most often attach the fly with a Homer Rhodes or other good loop knot.

That should be a good start toward understanding saltwater flyfishing leader systems. You now know how to tie your basic leader and how to put a bite tippet on it. Next issue we'll discuss leaders for "big fish" like the IGFA Standard flyfishing leader system and the "Catch 'em" system. Tight lines and good tides, Capt Unk

End of Part One

LEADERS
FOR
SALTWATER FLYFISHING
By
Capt. Hugh "Unk" Smith

Part Two

This is the second of a two part series on leaders. Capt Unk considers your leader system at least as important as any of the other aspects of your flyfishing system.

In part one we discussed the basic saltwater flyfishing leader and then how to put a "bite tippet' on it in order to fish for some toothy critters. Those two leaders are designed pretty much for the smaller of saltwater fishes, say up to twenty pounds. This issue we'll discuss leaders for the larger saltwater fishes, say up to about the size that might eat YOU!

The third system, and by far the most complicated, is the International Game Fish Association (IGFA) Standard Leader System. You must comply with these rules if you want your catch to be considered for a world record. The IGFA Standard leader consists of three distinct parts; the butt section that attaches to the fly line, the class tippet and the bite/shock tippet. Starting at the fly, use a snell or a loop knot to the bite tippet. The bite tippet will vary with how big the fish you expect to see may be. In Mexico when we're usually there, 20 to 60 pound tarpon are about as big as we'll see, so 40 pound bite tippet (again fluorocarbon) works well. For the big guys of Homosassa where 150 pounders are common and you might hook a 200 pounder, start with 90 or 100 pound fluorocarbon bite tippet until and unless "refusals" drive you to smaller (see the first paragraph of part 1). Guys in the keys with late season spooky fish go all the way down to 40# fluorocarbon just to get big fish to hit...then take their chances with a bite through. The bite tippet including knots and double line cannot exceed 12 inches.
Next comes the "class tippet". IGFA defines certain specific class tippets. The largest is 20 pound, which we often use for springtime west coast 'poons, because they're so big. The next smallest is 16 pound, then twelve, etc on down to two pound test. (Note: actually the IGFA official class tippets are described in kilograms. Americans usually round off to the nearest pound test below the kilogram specification when describing class tippets.)
By IGFA standard the class tippet must be at least 15 inches not including knots. To make up a class tippet, we'll take about 9 feet of class tippet material (Many guides use Hard Mason for 20 pound class tippet because it tests so accurately, and other brands for other class tippet sizes for the same reason). Put a 20-25 turn bimini twist in one end with 12-15 inches of double line outside the bimini. You're doing this to make a smooth and effective (90% or better knot strength) transition from 20 pound to 90/100 pound (or even 40 pound). No less than 15 inches up the class tippet (this will take some experimentation), put in another 20-25 turn bimini leaving a goodly length of double line outside that bimini. Cut the very end of that double line and make small smooth twists (about a half inch long) all the way up and put in an overhand knot to keep the double line from untwisting. So, now you have a fly attached to bite tippet and a 15 inch piece of class tippet with a bimini on each end. On the end of the class tippet with the short double line, tie a Huffnagle or Albright knot to join the class tippet to the bite tippet (I prefer the Huffnagle and have tested them both and the Huffnagle wins every time, wet or dry, small diameter or large...but the Albright is prettier and not much less efficient). Be sure to use only about 10 inches of the bite tippet 'cause the bimini and Huffnagle/Albright all count as bite tippet (which can be no more than 12 inches). At the other end of the class tippet, with the longer section of double (now twisted) line, tie a double surgeons loop. Make the loop large enough to get the fly through. Snip off the little overhand you put in to keep the double line twisted. The twisted length of line gives you some shock protection, which is often very handy with big jumping fish. Vary the length of this twisted double line above the class tippet by where you put the double surgeons loop so the whole leader (from fly line to fly) is about 10 feet. You attach your double surgeons loop using 'loop to loop' to a four to six foot piece of 50-60 pound mono (I use fluorocarbon). That 50-60 pound is attached to the fly line with a double improved nail knot and it stays with the fly line as you change leaders and flies. This system is basically the same for most large saltwater fish on a fly. The whole system should be about 10 feet long from the fly line to the fly. The bite tippet can be of any material (...log chain) so some use wire for kingfish, etc. You shouldn't perhaps use wire on any fish you expect to release (all of them?), it may cut up the fish's face. Please do not use wire on the noble 'poon.

Finally there's the Catch 'em System. If the water's not too clear, and the fish are not too spooky, I attach four feet of 50 fluorocarbon to that same six feet coming from the fly line...to the fly! Works OK on big poons except if you get 'em in the exact corner of the mouth, they will grind through the fifty. They will grind through almost anything eventually (...log chain) if hooked there. Purists will look down their noses at you for this set up though...many use the IGFA Standard because it's...well, standard.

Please do not consider the four examples above as the only systems to use. Make your own variations on these themes. Even the IGFA really only requires no more than 12 inches of bite tippet including knots and no less than 15 inches of class tippet inside the knots. Your leader has a bigger effect on your flyfishing success than you may know. My father, who flyfished nearly all of his eighty two year life once said, "If you're not hookin' up, change something." Very often the first thing he changed was the leader. Tight lines, Unk

BASIC LEADER

IMPROVED NAIL KNOT PERFECTION LOOP
TO PERFECTION LOOP 4-TURN BLOOD KNOT
OR DOUBLE SURGEONS KNOT HOMER RHODES

-------////--12" OF 40-50 #--////------------------5 ' OF 30-40#--------------////-------2 ½ ' OF 15-20#----///----18" OF 8-10#-------------
FLYLINE

BASIC LEADER WITH BITE TIPPET
IMPROVED NAIL KNOT PERFECTION LOOP

4-TURN BLOOD
OR DOUBLE SURGEONS KNOT HOMER RHODES

-------////---12" OF 40-50 #--////---------------5 ' OF 30-40#-----------////-----2 ½ ' OF 15-20#----///----18" OF 8-10#-----////-------------////
FLYLINE

CATCH 'EM LEADER
IMPROVED NAIL KNOT
4-TURN BLOOD
OR DOUBLE SURGEONS KNOT HOMER RHODES
OR SNELL
-------////--------------4'- 6' OF 60#---------------------------------------------------////------------------------------5 ' OF 50#--------------------------////
FLYLINE

International Game Fish Association (IGFA) Standard Leader Three parts:
Part One: (butt section)
IMPROVED NAIL KNOT PERFECTION LOOP
DOUBLE SURGEONS LOOP
OR 8-TURN UNI-LOOP
----------------------////-------------------------4'- 6' OF 60#--------------------------------------////
FLYLINE FLUROCARBON

Part two: (class tippet)
DOUBLE SURGEONS LOOP BIMINI TWIST (15" minimum) BIMINI TWIST
/////------------------------------///// -------------------------------------- ///// --------
DOUBLE TWISTED LINE SINGLE STRAND OF CLASS DOUBLE LINE
USED TO TIE HUFFNAGLE

Part three: (bite/shock tippet)
BIMINI TWIST to HUFFNAGLE/ALBRIGHT SNELL OR LOOP KNOT TO FLY
//////////----------------------------------////
----------------------12" maximum--------------------------------

Join the Perfection Loop of the butt section to the Double Surgeons Loop of the class tippet using "loop to loop." Join the bite/shock tippet to the class tippet with a Huffnagle just next to the Bimini Twist. Join the fly to the bite/shock tippet with your favorite loop knot or a snell.