My wife is interested in getting into flyfishing, so we both have aquired 8 ft. 6 wt. medium action fly rods. Based on the type of fly line, how do you determine the correct matching leader?
The leader depends on what you will be fishing for. If you're trout fishing, that will require a longer and more delicate leader than if you're throwing poppers for panfish and bass.
The x code of the tippet really depends upon the size of the flies that you will be using. As a general rule of thumb, take the hook size and divide it by 3 or 4. For example, a size 12 dry fly will be most suited with a 3x or 4x tippet.
The rest of the leader will need to be balanced in order to turn over the tippet. For a six weight line, you could probably get away with using as light as 16 pound leader for the butt, and then taper down in individual sections until you get to the tippet.
That general rule of dividing by 3 or 4 is a good one to get you in the ballpark.
Just buy a couple of 9ft tapered leaders of the tippet size you need. That and 2 or 3 different size spools of tippet material and you'll be good to go. 3X to 5X tippet will cover you for probably 90% of all your trout fishing needs. 6X and smaller is very light tippet and wouldn't be too well-suited for use with a 6wt rod anyway.
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