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[ALBA CHIEFISH]

hi guys.

just wondering what everybody uses for leaders attached to there sink 7 lines in the cable pool?

I had a few feet of 25lb mono for a butt section and then 5 feet of 10lb fluorocarbon and the whole leader sank in a funny way.

do you feel you need a tappered leader and do you feel you need fluro carbon?

Thx

[MetalAndFeathers]

I dont think it matters how the leader sinks but rather your fly. Sometimes if the line goes down faster than the fly it will spook the coho so a bead headed fly can help. I run 5-10 feet of 8 fluorocarbon.

[clarkii]

Never do a tapered leader with a sinking line, as it affects the sink rate of the fly.  For starters, you have mono (floats where flouro sinks) in 25lb test.  25lb test is very large diameter, which will sink slower due to more resistance on the line.  Combine this with it being mono, that portion of your leader will be higher in the water column then the flouro portion of the leader.

As the mono portion is being held higher in the water column, this will effectively hold the 10 lb flouro up and prevent it from sinking as quickly as it should, leading to holding up the fly.  this will not only make the whole set up sink longer, but makes knowing your depth a lot harder.

I think it would also impact the action of the fly, causing unweighted flies to be pulled up (rather then "swim straight") and weighted flies to also be pulled up but sink slower.  Again depth is being impacted.



Am I correct in assuming that your fly line sunk faster then the butt section causing an n like shape?

[RalphH]

tapering a leader on sinking line isn't really necessary. Just nail knot however many feet of 8 or 10lb line you want and go from there. Fluoro or mono it's your choice. For the most part it makes little difference. FWIW coho are very insensitive to tippet diameter. I usually use 10lb maxima.

[ALBA CHIEFISH]

yes clarki, it causes an n shape.

Thanks RalphH. what is FWIW coho?

[RalphH]

FWIW = For What It's Worth

no doubt someone may disagree with what I said about tippet diameter and coho.

[Knnn]

The only advantage to tapering your leader in this circumstance is to help turn over the fly when casting.  if you fly fish regularly this will not be an issue.  I tend to use a a 4-5' section of 8-10 UG mono and then a similar length of 6-8 lbs flouro, depending on water conditions.  The lower lbs line under very clear and slow water conditions.

Does any1 have an opinion as to the length of the leader, when fishing a full 6-8 ips sink line?  I am presuming, people keep them relatively short so that the fly is down at the same depth as the line?

[RalphH]

I don't have much experience using fast sinking lines for coho. Overall the general wisdom short leaders with fast sinking lines. However lots of people insist on long leader 7 to 9 feet for coho and also in still water. I generally use 5 or 6 feet with clear intermediate sink lines when fishing coho. Usually a long leader with a fast sink line sort of defeats the purpose of the line as the fly will lag behind the sinking line and up welling currents pushing the leader and fly can raise the fly almost straight up above the line. I've seen flies rise to just a foot below surface while the sinking line is 4 to 5 feet below. you'll needed a weighted fly in such conditions.

[Knnn]

Thanks RalphH. 

I suspected as much, a short leader makes a lot of sense, similar to fishing heavy sink tips on a spey rod.  It just feels unnatural after using 9-12' leaders all my life (dry fly fishing).  Presumably out in the estuary where I tend to use a slime line and depth is not such an issue a longer leader may be of benefit?

[clarkii]

Leader length is one of those things that is dependant upon fly weight.  For beadhead flies, longer leaders are not much of an issue as the bead itself sinks.  longer leaders in this case might help out fly action as the fly is allowed to sink on pauses, causing a nice swimming motion.  Unweighted flies, shorter leaders would be preferred to prevent what was mentioned above.  The same principle applies to buoyant flies like Tequila Boobies and Deer hair Gomphus patterns as they float, so shorter leaders then the unweighted flies are required.