Ethan wrote:

Whenever I get out to the edge of a body of water, I'm all rigged up
and ready to make my first cast. I always seem to have this awkward
moment where I struggle with standing knee deep in water trying to get
the last foot or so of the leader through the last few guides and the
tip top. The connection of the leader to the fly line is a bit awkward
and pulling on the leader or tippet never seems to pull out enough line
to start a good cast.

Assuming you're using a 9' or 10' leader.....

When you rig up at your car, before walking to the water, instead of
putting the fly in the hook keeper, which is generally where the grip
meets the rod blank (and which therefore will mean you've got leader
rather than line going through the tip-top), do this:

With all of your leader and a couple of feet of line through your
tip-top, hook your fly in the stripping (the first and largest) guide of
your rod, (or in the foot of that guide, if it's easier), then loop the
leader carefully around the outer circumference of your reel, then
slowly reel up the slack until the whole business tightens. When you
get to the water, you'll be ready to go. Some reels, Ross for instance,
have a groove around the outside of their reels for just this purpose.

If at any time you *do* have to get the line-leader knot through the top
guides (after changing a fly, for example), some vigorous, rapid
swishing of the rod tip back and forth will do the trick, as if you're
doing side-to-side false casting (be sure you're holding the line in
your line hand such that there's no slack through the guides).

Other aids are 1) putting a smooth coating of Loon's Knot Sense on the
knot on your leader loop, or 2) using a Leader Link instead of what you
have now....

- JR