"Danl" wrote in message
...

"riverman" wrote in message
...

Leaders have a 'sweet spot' where the length is just right to turn over a
fly, present the fly well, and keep the fly far enough from the flyline
to
not spook the fish. New tapered leaders are usually quite a bit longer
than
that sweet spot, so you have two choices with a brand new leader: either
fish it as is until you have cut it back a few times and it is at the
sweet
spot, or else just cut it back to the sweet spot immediately. People do
both.


[snip]

//ShowMyIgnorance = 1

I did not know that. Here I've sat... skinny, dumb, and happy....resting
easy in the knowledge that somehow the tapered leaders that I buy are
designed and manufactured to be more or less perzactly the correct taper
and
length to turn over a dry fly properly after one adds a couple of feet of
tippet (allowing for some sensible calculation of tippet size vs. fly
size).
Myron, you're upsetting my world view vis-a-vis flyfishing tackle. Please
'splain how one finds said sweet spot.

Damnit...cain't trust nothin no more.....

//ShowMyIgnorance = ......aw hell, let's just leave it on.......

Danl

Your experience could very well be correct, Danl. The 'optimal' leader
length will vary a LOT depending on rod length, stiffness, how hard you
cast, how much line you are casting, what fly you have on, the conditions of
the water, the wind, the type of water you are fishing, etc. But in the
simplest sense, a longer, stiffer rod with more line out and with a more
forceful cast will keep more leader appropriately airborne, and will have
enough left over energy to appropriately turn it over.

I fish mostly a 8.5 foot 4wt, medium rod, and I do not have a particularly
powerful foreward cast. As a result, a typical 12 foot 5x leader is a bit
long for me, and doesn't really turn over well until I've lost about 18
inches off the end. At that point, its like a guitar that has been tuned: my
casts become very precise and easy, the leader turns over sweetly, and I can
drop dry flies within a few inches of where I am aiming, even at long
distances.

Then, as I conitinue to change flies and the leader shortens another foot or
so, the whole thing slips back out of 'tune'....I start getting windknots,
or unintentional dumpcasts (where the leader lands in a spiral around the
fly), or the dry fly hits too hard. Then, I add another 2 feet of tippet,
and the whole thing starts to feel great again.

Of course, YMMV, but that's my experience.

--riverman