Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[c-pin]

Sometimes, I have difficulty getting the fly to "turn over". The butt section and the mid section turn over, but the tippet seems to stop, and the fly falls straight down.

An experienced fly angler told me to shorten my tippet, and he gave me a formula to figure out the length of the butt / mid / tippet. Unfortunately, I forgot the formula.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,  John

[HOOK]

is this for trout (lake) fishing or for river trout or salmon fishing ?

river:

salmon - i use 1 full piece of the same sized line, like a 6-8 foot 8lb for example

trout - depends on the size of the fish but usually its an 8lb 6foot piece then add my tippet from there

lake fishing - im pretty lazy and will run 10/12 lb for the first 2/3rd's of the leader then a shorter lighter section, this is where i will put a small swivel for leaders longer than 15' to help the leader sink, if shorter then this is the point where i just knot on my leader (i like the Albright knot) I never use more than 3feet of tippet material at a time, this leaves me alot of line for fly switchups before needing a new chunk

[DanJohn]

I only use tapered leaders, except for salmon fishing which I will do as Hook said, and use a single piece of mono (10 lb for me)

It depends on the flies you are using. A general rule of thumb for leader sizes is

Hook size, divided by 4 plus 1. So. Size 12 hook/4+1 = 4X leader. Say a size 10 hook/4+1 = Either a 3X or a 4X leader, your choice here. That is just a general rule of tippet size to hooks. I have tossed 5X and 6X for spooky trout with size 12 dries.

Another thing to consider is WHAT are you casting. Is it a weighted fly? Is it a really bushy streamer? If so, a larger tippet could be needed to get it turn over, although not AS important as when dry fly fishing. But that information will help us help you.

If you are speaking of actually making your own full leaders, then from your post I would assume you only need to adjust your tippet sections, as the butt and mid turn over. As I said, I only use knotless tapered leaders, but I will post a site that has some good info on making your own and section recipes.

http://www.flyfishusa.com/tackle-tips/leaders/about-leaders.html

[c-pin]

Thanks for the reply guys .....

I'm sorry, but I didn't initially advise you on the type of fly fishing.

I only flyfish for Salmon in the rivers and on the beaches. I am tossing streamer patterns in sizes 2 - 8. Some are bead head.

Cheers,  John

[DanJohn]

Yeah a 5-6 foot piece of 8-10 lb should do perfectly fine. If it is just the tippet section not turning over, then give a foot or two strip back, and bam, level line. Not super important in this situation since you will also need to allow the fly to sink a little bit as well, so that can take some slack out of the line. Another thing I thought of, you can, if you choose, to change your cast as well. It isnt efficient or anything, but I managed to toss a heavy marabou streamer with dumbbell eyes, size 6, on a 5wt, with a 9 foot 4X leader. It was hell to cast, but it caught fish! It was a completely different cast than an unweighted nymph, the timing was off and the plane of the rod never traveled in a straight like, to keep the fly from hitting the rod, but if you power through it, you can manage that, it does end up turning over. And it should be easier if you are fishing an 8 or 9 weight for salmon, with a heavier leader, tapered or not. Just takes a little practice. Or sometimes a lot. Depending on how good youre feeling that day!


Come to think of it, this video was when I was using that same type of fly. You can see the wide open loop on the forward cast, and the way i bring the rod around on the back cast.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0pc6Vgc-04


the fly in question

[Matt]

Sounds like your tippet is too light to turn the fly over.  Up your tippet size so that it is able to turn the fly over.  Use fluoro if you're worried about spooking the fish.  Build your leaders so that there is one step down at least every 4 feet if you're tying your own.

If you run out of thicker tippet on the river, aim the cast high and a little far of the target and as the leader is unrolling in the air, strip back an arm length of fly line to force the leader to turn over.

[c-pin]

Thanks for all the info guys !! Much appreciated.

Tight Lines,  John