Weamer

englishprof

englishprof

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recommends 12' leaders - 6x with dries, 5x with nymphs and wets for fishing the Upper Delaware system. Great book, but is this a little extreme?
 
Not extreme for that river. Early season maybe you can get away with 4 or 5x. But often times it's 7x and a perfect drift.
 
First post. Thanks. Caught fish last year in August on 9', 3x with nymphs. It's really the 12' I find to be a little overkill.
 
http://www.amazon.com/Fly-fishing-Guide-Upper-Delaware-River/dp/0811708799/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1307247379&sr=1-1
 
Thanks Fred, but I have his book..... probabaly first edition. If there's new information, I'd be shocked. Nice way to make more money though. But, as I wrote, great book.
 
englishprof wrote:
First post. Thanks. Caught fish last year in August on 9', 3x with nymphs. It's really the 12' I find to be a little overkill.

Didn't I see Spectorfly on here yesterday?
 
englishprof wrote:
First post. Thanks. Caught fish last year in August on 9', 3x with nymphs. It's really the 12' I find to be a little overkill.


prof,

For nymphing I use a 12' - 15' leader with 3-5x. Heavier (3x) with big flies in the riffs, but typically 4x overall. Maybe 5x with smaller nymphs in slower, clear water.

The longer leader gets you down to where you want to be. If the water is say 5 or 6' deep, you'll need 9 or 10' of thin line at the end of your leader to reach them + the butt.

I like flouro for nymphing since it tends to be more abrasion resistant when flossing the rocks on the bottom. I use the butt of the leader with colored line or strike putty as a sighter, more Euro style. Even with an Indy, the longer leader helps get you down. A 12' leader is a good starting point.

For dries, I typically use at 12'-15' leader and usually 3-4x for larger flies like drakes, but typically 5x for most dries. I try to avoid using 6x, but I have at times.

HTH.
 
Thanks A,

I'll go with the 12' though I haven't used anything longer than 9' in a long time. Do you use weighted nymphs or add weight to your leader? I'm also against indicators, just a personal thing, but seems to be the way to go up there.
 
I hardly fish them silly under water bugs on the D but for for dry fly fishing I fish 3x for every thing other then olives and the little.sulphurs for those I use 5x. Reach and feeds and pile cast, not lining fish, and not dragging the fly are much more important then what size tipped you have on. I would love to see someone try and throw a size 8 three x long Drake on 6 x
 
Didn't I see Spectorfly on here yesterday?

It's been over 4 years Tom. It's cool but let it go. BTW, I still fish with 12' and like it .
 
I fish 12' (and often longer) with dries on big water. It's hard to tie a harvey slack leader much shorter than 11', and that's about all I use.

Fade, you seem to really concern yourself with leader length. Long leaders aren't hard to cast, and they give you a LOT of breathing room with drift. The only real exception is with really big flies. Give it a try.

Edit: Oops. This was the prof, not fade. I recall fade making similar comments before.
 
Weamer's statement was just a blanket statement. In a book or that sort, or any, it is hard to explain the best technique for every given circumstance. It really depends on the bugs, time of day, time of year, and the type of pool you are fishing. 12' is the safest bet in general, however 9' is probably ok up there 75% of the time. We used nothing but 9' this past weekend and slayed them - reason being, didn't matter b/c good flow + bugs and fish everywhere.. idiotproof, well almost...

Tight lines.
 
I don't think you'll need to go below 5x except for the smallest flies. Don't be afraid to toss a long leader. We commonly use leaders of 18-20' for dries up there.
 
spectorfly wrote:
Didn't I see Spectorfly on here yesterday?

It's been over 4 years Tom. It's cool but let it go. BTW, I still fish with 12' and like it .

I know...but it was the first thing I thought of when I read his post. I kind of forget how you are the only one on here without a sense of humor. My bad.
 
I've never heard that 12' leaders are extreme, just strongly recommended on certain rivers. Doesn't mean you can't catch fish without them though. I've not seen 7x recommended for Upper D fish. Heck, to me using 7x is kind of a joke.
 
afishinado wrote:

prof,

For nymphing I use a 12' - 15' leader with 3-5x. Heavier (3x) with big flies in the riffs, but typically 4x overall. Maybe 5x with smaller nymphs in slower, clear water.

The longer leader gets you down to where you want to be. If the water is say 5 or 6' deep, you'll need 9 or 10' of thin line at the end of your leader to reach them + the butt.

I like flouro for nymphing since it tends to be more abrasion resistant when flossing the rocks on the bottom. I use the butt of the leader with colored line or strike putty as a sighter, more Euro style. Even with an Indy, the longer leader helps get you down. A 12' leader is a good starting point.

For dries, I typically use at 12'-15' leader and usually 3-4x for larger flies like drakes, but typically 5x for most dries. I try to avoid using 6x, but I have at times.

HTH.

This is solid.

Prof I note that like Fade, you tend to get tied into one line thought ie "I don't like indicators". I would suggest opening up to various techniques. In fast water and riffles your non-indicator/high sticking is great but when you are fishing big water and much further away needing to get line out you should likely consider an indicator.
 
Depends where you're fishing on the D as well. I prefer the cruising bows in Bard Parker or Lake Lenore. Need a pretty fine tippet there.
 
The best leader I have fished is the George Anderson 14.5' leader in 5X and 6X for big rivers. That leader turns over extremely well and drops a fly on the water very delicately. The leader was suggested in Ed Engle's book Fishing small flies and it is a great leader IMHO for fishing small flies on big waters.


7X for the D is crazy. I wouldn't ever go below 6x and that is only for midge and summer sulphur fishing when the bugs are a size 20 and 22.
 
Care to share that leader formula? I did not see anything come up on a Google search.
 
George Anderson owns Yellowstone Angler. You can purchase the leaders here. They are excellent. Don't know about the 14.5'. I'm sure the 12' could modified fairly easily.
 
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