Hand Tying Leaders
- This topic has 17 replies, 15 voices, and was last updated Jan 24, 2008 at 1:32 pm by
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I was think about starting to tie my own leaders. The Frog Hair Kit looks interesting because of the setup for tying the knots. Do any of you tie your own? If you do what brand / brands are you using?
I tie my own for Bass / Striper fishing. I use Mason or Maxima (Hard Nylon) I use the Lefty Krey/ Bob Clouser chart found in Lefty’s book. It starts with #50 pound test so you might not want to use it for any fish that is leader shy. Dave Whitlock has a formula in the LL Bean fly fish book that is good for trout. I think Umpqua (sp?) sells a kit with Dave’s name on it. One thing I have noticed is that with the big #50 you can turn over a hamster or small cat into a big wind. I would think the Frog Hair kit would be fine as I have been told that the product is good stuff 8-)Dub…….
The guys over at Global Fly Fisher have put together an Excel spreadsheet with tons of formulas.
http://globalflyfisher.com/fishbetter/leadercalc/download.php
The PDF guide that you can download is good too.
I tie all of my own leaders, trout, steelhead, right angle, bass, saltwater etc.
My basic setup is all Maxima stuff and then I transition to flouro or others for the “business” end.
Stephen,
This is a good topic and we discussed it earlier in the fall http://www.itinerantangler.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1192473241/11#11
I started tying my own leaders recently with the help of some guys from this site.
Seafood (man I do miss Rodney Dangerfield, hahaha),
I struggled with the blood knot for a long time and had almost given up.
I have been using the blood knot for years, I can tie it really quick now but I use both hands and my mouth.
I’ve been tying my own for years….use blood knots also. I usually tie them while at the boat ramp, at the Waffle House, on the plane, around the campfire….anywhere but on stream where it cuts into fishing time.
Bob
I agree that there are some serious fishermen that use artificals with conventional baitcasting outfits.
I also add on to my store bought leaders until I have to through it away. I know hand tied leaders have their advantages and yes it is part of the addiction for me ::)
I start with a new tapered leader, then when it gets shorter from tying on flies, I tie a no slip mono loop at about 6.5′ and then add tippet just using a clinch knot. I will usually add several tippets before the leader gets replaced. I keep an eye on the bargain sections of Orvis, SierraTradingPost, and Cabela’s websites. I recently bought 30 Orvis tapered leaders for .29 each, and several dozen 7.5′ bonefish leaders for .75 each. I’m set for several years..
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