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leaders for smallmouth ...

8K views 5 replies 4 participants last post by  DaveSimpson 
#1 ·
I'm a true noobie with many questions, :confused: but right now I'm trying to figure out which leader I need.

I spin-fish for smallies on small creeks to large rivers here in central KY, and last year I caught a trout on my buddy's fly rod and I've had the fever ever since.

For Christmas I got a 9 foot 6 weight Sage Launch w/ the intention of fishing largemouth, panfish, and of course smallies.

Question is, what kind of leader do I need if I'll be throwing #6 and #4 bugs, woolie buggers, etc?

Is there an all-purpose leader that is a good "middle ground" to cover everything short of the really huge bass bugs?

Any recommendations?

Also, will I be better served with just a tapered leader in lieu of tying up my own tippet sections?

How can I make this simple?

Thanks in advance for any input.
 
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#2 ·
A 6-9 ft leader will work well for most bass fishing. The butt section of most leaders is usually 20-30 lb test which is exactly what you need. The tippet should be a 0-2X size. I like to use tapered leaders and then tie on tippet to the end. If the water is clear, go towards the 9 ft end, otherwise, stick to a 6 ft leader. I also like to use flourocarbon since it's invisible under water.

If you go with the tapered leader, get one that's 9 ft and tie on flies right to the leader until it's 2-3 ft shorter than when you bought it, then add back 2-3 ft of tippet.
 
#3 ·
To make it simple...

1) Nail knot a short butt to fly line and tie a perfection knot or have the shop do it

2) tie a perfection knot in the butt of a tapered leader, loop to the short butt on the flyline

3) replace the tippet as needed using a blood knot or a surgeons knot

For really big bugs, cut off the tippet and put it in your pocket. Tie the fly to the leader. To go back to the wooly bugger, blood knot the tippet back on.

BTW - smallies on a fly ROCK!
 
#4 ·
teflon_jones said:
A 6-9 ft leader will work well for most bass fishing. The butt section of most leaders is usually 20-30 lb test which is exactly what you need. The tippet should be a 0-2X size. I like to use tapered leaders and then tie on tippet to the end. If the water is clear, go towards the 9 ft end, otherwise, stick to a 6 ft leader. I also like to use flourocarbon since it's invisible under water.

If you go with the tapered leader, get one that's 9 ft and tie on flies right to the leader until it's 2-3 ft shorter than when you bought it, then add back 2-3 ft of tippet.

Thanks Teflon. I'm assuming that 0-2X size on the end of that leader will allow me to cast most anything? I don't really think I'll want to be casting anything bigger than a size 3 or 4 bug anyway at this point, and at that point if I want to throw a really big fly I could just cut off the thin tippet and tie further back on thicker stuff. Thanks again.
 
#5 ·
juro said:
To make it simple...

1) Nail knot a short butt to fly line and tie a perfection knot or have the shop do it

2) tie a perfection knot in the butt of a tapered leader, loop to the short butt on the flyline

3) replace the tippet as needed using a blood knot or a surgeons knot

For really big bugs, cut off the tippet and put it in your pocket. Tie the fly to the leader. To go back to the wooly bugger, blood knot the tippet back on.

BTW - smallies on a fly ROCK!

Juro,

I'm familiar w/ the blood knot, but where can i find these other knots, are there descriptions somewhere on this forum?

Thanks!
 
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