tieing your own leader?

What test pound correspond to around .21 to .25? That seems to be what
the butt size will be for my leader. What is that, 20 - 40 pounds

That will vary with brand and material (there are many different types of
nylon). Why not just get yourself an inexpensive micrometer and measure it?

"steve sullivan" wrote in message
...
What test pound correspond to around .21 to .25? That seems to be what
the butt size will be for my leader. What is that, 20 - 40 pounds

We use 25# - .021" clear Hal Janssen Leader Control mono for butts sections
on the average (4, 5 and 6) size trout floating lines.

There are several ways to decide what size mono to use for a butt section on
any given fly line.

Al old rule is 2/3 the diameter of the business end of the fly line. I think
many use this rule.

Some use a rigidity test or flex test. After you needle nail knot on the
butt section you can hold the butt in one hand and the line in the other and
make a small circle. This will allow you to see how stiff the mono is in
relationship to the end of the fly line. If the circle is not round, one of
the materials is stiffer.

Many believe that a stiffer butt is needed to turn over a long leader or big
bug. I think I read that Lefty now believes it is actually the diameter and
he uses limper mono now.

If you are using a large 9' 2x knotless tapered leader, it might have a
..024" butt so you have to use at least .024" mono for your butt section. On
those big butt leaders I just needle nail knot them on to the fly line
directly.

I first measure the end of the fly line with a micrometer and cut back some
of the "point" (level line before reaching taper) if it is too long. this
can help turn over the leader especially on bigger size flies.

There are lots of great formulas for building your own leaders.

--
Bill Kiene

Kiene's Fly Shop
Sacramento, CA, USA
www.kiene.com

"steve sullivan" wrote in message
...

What test pound correspond to around .21 to .25? That seems to be what
the butt size will be for my leader. What is that, 20 - 40 pounds