"Tom Nakashima" wrote in message
...
Has anyone had success turning over flies with long tapered
leaders?
Currently I'm using 4x 9' knotless tapered leaders with 18"
5x tippet material and been having good success turning over
18-16 size flies. I'm now planning to try 12' leaders with an 18"
5x tippet material. I'm thinking however the leaders don't
necessarily have to be knotless.
Any good formulas for 12' leaders for delicate presentation?
Keep in mind I do want to use 18" tippet material.
thanks,
-tom



Tom:

More of a lurker than a regular here, but I think you have two good answers.
LarryL says to add to the butt of your 9' leader. I regularly fish leaders
of 12' and this is very good advice.

Hand tied leaders turn over much better than tapered (knots act as power
transmitters), so start with 3' of big stuff, go to 12" of the next size
down, then go down in 6" increments until you get to the section just above
the tippet. Use 12-16" there, just so you won't have to change it so often
as you lose little bits changing tippets. A simple fix it to add 3' of the
next diameter of line above what you are using to the butt of your leader.

Lazarus says that the reason to fish longer leaders is to create a "clump"
of tippet to defeat drag. This is the real reason to fish longer leaders.
If you do not have to deal with complex drag patterns, go as short as you
can. If you do have to deal with these situations, go long, realizing that
it may not look pretty but it will work. BTW, make sure to cast far enough
upstream to let the "kinks" in the "clump" of the leader to work itself out
before passing over the strike area.

Tight lines,

Patrick