Leader to hand is a method that allows enhanced presentation to be achieved for both nymphs and dries whilst allowing casts from 10 to 45 feet to be made with precision.
Leader construction.
For this you will need 8 metres of stiff 0.50 mono (I use Stroft ABR), a standard 9' tapered leader, 0.20 mono or bi coloured line if you want to add an indicator section and then your normal tippet.
Measure out the 8 metres of 0.50 or similar mono and attach to the fly line Cut back the butt of the tapered leader until the diameter is just less than the 0.50 mono Knot the butt and tapered leader together with a double grinned or figure of 8 knot Trim the tip of the tapered leader back until the tapered part is 2.5 metres in length, as what we want is a short but steep taper down from the 0.50 to around 0.23. Next add 18 inches of 0.20 bi colour or level mono Then add anything between 7 to 14 feet of your chosen tippet material and attach the droppers that you require.
This leader is not intended for large flies so size 14 and down it will handle ok, weighted or unweighted and even dries can be fished effectively.
Tackle & Casting
The leader works best on 10 foot 2 or 3 weight soft tip rods, as this aids the casting element
Gink up all the leader except your tippet and you will find it will float adequately all day. Cast as you would a normal fly line, except with this technique no fly line should be outside the tip. Any distance from 10 feet to 45 feet can be fished, just put out the length of line you need for the water you are fishing. I find that a smooth pick up and stop with a longer than normal pause, allowing the leader to fully extend works best. It takes a bit of practice if wind is present. With perseverance accuracy and presentation is excellent, just remember no fly line is required outside the rod tip and distances of 12 metres are possible, longer if you lengthen the level section of the line, but be warned it does get more difficult to control past 10 metres. But I find that is more than enough distance for most rivers, streams or lakes.
I hope some will try it and feed back their findings as it all helps to improve the method and leader construction. Also post any questions and I will try and answer them.
Regards
Merv
Last edited by mervam on Sun Jan 27, 2013 7:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.
|