looking for some ■■■■■■■■ from you flymen. my newest thought is to use a leader with mono butt and mid sections, but make the tippet flouro. rationale is the full length flouro ive been using is settling down into the grass and making it harder to work the fly through and to pick up on the backcast. mono should ride higher but i want the tippet section to sink so im going to stick with flouro there. i will cast this out to all of you tinkering types out there for thots and experience. one note, im always wading knee deep or so. this would probably not be quite the issue from a platform.
thanking you in advance,
hutch
ps i caught one but im afraid to say anything in the winyah section
hutch- i like exactly like you said…a mono leader with a fluro tippet…all fluro if bonefishn/pemit but the cost is just too high to justify “daily fishin.” since the casts are generally very short and accuracy is key, if the winds being a turd, a 6’ surf style leader with a little tip of fluro will shoot it in there with the best of em.
I like a mono backing with flouro tippet also. The only question is how to connect them. I like to use two perfection loops, it is easy that way. The only problem is in heavy grass you may get some debris caught in the loops. If you tie the mono to flouro you have to have a very good barrel knot or blood knot because these two lines tied together have more tendency to slip. What do others think about this?
Paul Sasser
Founder, GoFishSC.com
President, Long Bay Fly Fishers
two very small perfection loops is the ticket. you should be able to make them small enought that they will not hang up.
chris.
1802 Action Craft. 115 yamaha.
Loop knot on a 6ft peice of 20# mono tipped wiht a 2ft 12# flouro tippet works for me around here… I tried straight flouro and they always broke me off… used the mono as a shock absorber and have done much better
“Paddle faster boys… I hear banjo music!”
SC Chapter Coordinator- Heroes on the Water
http://www.HeroesOnTheWater.org
Charleston Director- SCKayakfishing.com
Tarpon 160os
ive always stuck with the ol surgeons know and trimmed er fairly close w/ very few problems…this knot can be tied drunk and whistled- in a rocking boat-at night- with fat stubby fangers!
whistled…nice.
I tie my own leaders and use all flouro cause I have a lot of it. 50% butt section (40-50lb depending on weight line), and then a couple 1.5ft sections stepping down to 20lb. That all lasts forever and I just keep replacing the last bit of whatever lighter flouro on the end. I don’t get all specific with it, esp around here.
quote:
Originally posted by scotty d…this knot can be tied drunk and whistled- in a rocking boat-at night- with fat stubby fangers!
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Not sure if Scotty is giving me a compliment or making fun of me?
Seems like I have read your reports and questions for a while and it sounds like you are putting in a lot of effort. And it looks like the great group of local fly fisherman are giving lots of information based on time on the water.
My thought(s) is(are) that the knot should match the man. I use the “blood” and “surgeons” based on my fat, drunken, stubby, ‘fingerness’.
I was taught fly fishing by guys that would practice tying knot in the dark, sitting on the crapper (on top of the lid), smoking cigarettes, preparing for a midnight start to a full day+ of fishing.
In other words… the knots and material should match the fisherman.
Loops don’t work for me at all. They just catch trash (because of where I’m always fishing) and I can tie a blood knot faster than I can thread two loops together. Remember… I practice tying knots in the dark. And mono v flouro… I use flouro while I tie up things over winter and switch up to mono in the heat of battle.
I also try to have a variety of knots available to meet the situation. i dont think that knots are the main problem although im sure that a streamlined connection of fly line to fly is critical in some circumstances/grass densities so i am playing with some furled leaders. i am trying to slow down my presentation at least with crab flies and i think that the 8 or 9 feet of flouro is settling to the bottom within the grass. then as i work the fly in it is winding through those stems and tending to hang up. as i said if you are above the water rather than knee deep and you are pointing the rod at the fly on the strip you are lifting it up somewhat. i am also tying up some weighted bend backs to see if that will help. found a pattern that uses a flouro wrap on the hook to weight it. tried one quickly in a pond and it seems to stay turned over very nicely. settles a little more subtly than lead wire and i may also try a glass bead although that goes back toward the profile of dumbbell clouser eyes. for me one of the great attractions of the fly world is trying to put together the optimum combinations of materials for the situation by analyzing and trial and error. unfortunatly good wading conditions are rare enough that i dont want to waste them on poor experiments. i really appreciate your thoughtful replies. this is by far my favorite forum. back to the lab, igor.
he’s pretty white for a fly guy
Hutch PM sent. We need to get together out there soon.
The mono really made a big difference. i used a furled one but i thing a 3 piece wud probly work too. the beaded bendback came through the grass very nicely. had a good walk with the cooker and clouser. cooker snuck one in at the buzzer otherwise they were very skittish. saw only one sure tail. may have been tossing at mullet a lot. hope to give it another go if the storms stay away. thanks for your comments.
he’s pretty white for a fly guy
In the murky waters around here it does not make much difference. There is no doubt that flouro is better for clear open water situations but I have never had a fish turn down any mono leader as if he saw the leader and didn’t like what he saw. The marsh is full of long stringy things that look like fishing line.
Loop to loop is the only way to fly. Trim it close and it wont snag a thing.
Cheers and Happy Friday!
im more concerned with the sink rate than the visibility. the furled mono really sat up on top of the grass nicely. im gonna put together a three piece single strand for next week. the fish were very skittish on the full moon. hope they will be hungrier on the new.
he’s pretty white for a fly guy
I make my own 5, 6, and 7 foot furled leaders. The 5 footer with 2 step downs works well for me. I put Shorb loops on each end of the leader for easy change outs.
Who’s Ready for a Sleigh Ride? www.KayakFishSC.com
I use a 9 ft. section of 20 lb.mono. No knots no loops. I don’t think there’s any difference vs. a tapered leader in getting the fly to roll over when you’re fishing in the grass with 95% short casts