"George Cleveland" wrote in message
...
SNIP
Mike, by "O.K." do you mean as good as or better than knotless
leaders? If they are only as good as knotless ones I won't bother
expending the effort to whip some up.

g.c.

Not only cheap, but lazy too.




OK since you asked. In my opinion they are nowhere near as good or as
convenient as good knotless tapered leaders. Given the choice, I would go
for knotless leaders every time. I have a couple of mods for knotless
leaders which make them far more useful to me. They also last me a lot
longer, so the initial cost is not really a factor.

Over the years, I have tried hundreds of things, some work alright, some are
well nigh useless. In many cases, even trying them was really a waste of
time, but I learned a lot as a result.

I no longer bother experimenting much with leaders at all, as I can do
everything I want with the modified knotless leaders.

The modifications are quite simple as well. I use a needle knotted butt
section directly on my line, if necessary with two or more sections, to
obtain the diameter and taper I require, as the knotless leader butt
sections are usually of too small a diameter. I use a leader ring at the
end of the knotless leader, as I can then change tippet, or droppers etc
etc, with no fuss and bother, without shortening or otherwise damaging the
leader, and very quickly, and without wasting nylon. This is also much more
flexible in use than knotted leaders.

Often, such a leader will last me a whole season, ( even when I fished a
great deal). I merely change the tippet, droppers etc as required. With
three knotless tapered leaders in different configurations, suitably
modified, I can use practically any standard technique, and a few more
besides. I usually carry spares as well of course. But a total of six new
knotless tapers would normally last me a whole season, and often a lot
longer.

Nylon deteriorates, but the weakest point in a leader is always the tippet,
and I change this regularly.

The function is what I require, all the rest may be nice, ( or not!), but
usually superfluous.

TL
MC