Louisiana Fly Fishing

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A leader is the monofilament bridge between the fly line and the fly. Typically it consists of 3 sections: the butt, the midsection, and the tippet. The butt connects directly to the flyline and is usually at least 2/3 the diameter of the fly line tip. The tippet is tied directly to the fly, and has the smallest diameter of all the leader sections. The midsection connects the butt and the tippet, andis smaller than the butt, but larger than the tippet. It can be one piece of mono, or several pieces of different diameter mono tied together to form a tapered section.

The purpose of the leader is to efficiently transfer energy from the more massive fly line (more mass carries more energy) to the finer tippet which holds the fly. This is especially true for fishing surface flies and wind-resistant flies such as Dahlberg divers and Seaducers. However for nymph fishing, in water 3 or more feet, it is not necessary to have a butt or midsection - an entire leader of tippet diameter will suffice. In fact, some guides say it works best because it gets the fly down to the bottom faster.

Leaders as a whole are necessary because the fly line is too large for most hooks, and even if it were not, the fly line would be very obvious to the fish. Even monofilament can be seen by a fish. However, the question we should really ask is, "Does the fish notice?". You probably don't notice the plate you eat dinner off of, but if the servings were the size of a dime, you certainly would!

For that reason, when selecting tippet material, you should go with the smallest diameter that will do the job. Mono diameter is often referenced via the 'X' number standard adopted by the AFTMA. To remember what the relationship between the 'X' and the actual diameter is, we have the 'RULE OF 11'.

0x = .011 inches
1x = .010 inches
2x = .009 inches
3x = .008 inches
7x = .004 inches
01x = .012 inches
03x = .014 inches

As you can see, the Rule of 11 states that 0x is 11 thousandths of an inch. Add 1 to the 'X' number for each thousandth smaller, add 1 preceded by a '0' to the 'X' number for each thousandth larger.

Obviously, not all flies can be fished with a 8x. Large fish break these tippets just looking at them. Large hair bugs would break off every cast. So the tippet requires the right balance between obscurity and strength.

Some well-experienced fly fisherman discovered that such a balance could be calculated based on the flies hook size. His formula is known as the 'Rule of 4'.

optimum 'X' tippet size = 1 + (size of the hook / 4)

As an example, a size 8 stonefly nymph can best be fished on a size 3x tippet. This is the best combination of obscurity and strength. Of course, there are exceptions to every rule. If a 4x tippet material has the strength found on most 3x tippets, then a 4x might suffice. However, when using wind-resistant flies, the diameter is also needed to transfer energy. The 'RULE of 4' is the best solution .