tippet length manada and stony

[kfly]

What length tippet would be best for manda/stony?

I would think with the shallow water you'd want something around 6 feet long.]

From what I read it sounds like you would want short leaders for deeper pools and long leaders for shallow.

I thought I posted this question about 4 days ago but I can't find my post anywhere.

 

[afishinado]

In general, longer leaders (9' and longer) are less likely to spook fish since the fly line and heavy leader butt is further away from the fly. Shorter leaders are easier to cast in and around tight cover and are easier to turn over. I usually use a 7-8' leader in small, tight streams when fishing a short (7'+/-) rod. In an average size PA stream my leader is usually 9-11', and and for the fussiest trout in fairly open water my leader may be as long as 12-15'. In Stony and other such streams I would probably use an 8'+/- leader.

Edit: I reread the original post. The above is overall leader length not tippet length. My tippet length for dries ranges from 24" to 48" on conditions and the fly I am using. For nymphing, I fish with all tippet below the surface and the length is about 1.5 - 2x the water depth.

 

[troutpoop]

I agree with afish. For stoney I use about an 8' length, longer than that is tough for the tighter areas encountered in that stream, simliar for Clarks.

 

[osprey]

Tippet being the last section on a tapered leader of 6 to 8 feet , on Stony this time of year about 8x=2lb. test about 24 to 30 inches should be about right on the money , Manada too although the special regs section fish get a little "leader shy" they see alot of fishers and flies and leaders and they get a lil wiser than in Stony.

 

[PaulG]

I use a 9ft leader with around 5ft 0f tippet, rarely going lighter then 5x. This seams to work well on Clarks and Manada!

PaulG

 

[gfen]

afishinado wrote:
In general, longer leaders (9' and longer) are less likely to spook fish since the fly line and heavy leader butt is further away from the fly.

Its odd that I need to augment your on point info, but you missed the best reason for long leaders: Less drag.

The more, and thinner, mono (et al) you have out the less likely you'll suffer drag. More to the point, when the last bit of your tippet sort of piles up on the water, you'll get that much more time before the current provides the inevitable fish spooking microdrag on your fly.

 

[osprey]

On Manada and Clarks by now i'd be down to 10x one lb. test , i get to hit a few and lose a few flies before i get tuned in and like gfen says if you oversize/length the leader it will collapse in a pile and give you some extra drag free drift , either a pile or coils or a nice long line of s's whatever the situation calls for. I always called the thinnest end of the tapered leader the tippet , the last section , the one you tie the fly to. Do you mean tippet or the whole tapered leader?

 

[Alpabuck]

The 10x thing is a joke right? No one in there right mind would use 10x?

 

[kfly]

Thanks for all or the replies.
I was talking about the last section that ties onto the fly.

Admittedly I was confused for a while since I have always called the piece of line that I tie the hook to the leader when fishing with a rod and reel for bass.

 

[Alpabuck]

here this site explains it pretty well
http://www.mnflyfishing.com/MinnesotaFlyFishing/Leader/tabid/815/Default.aspx

 

[troutslammer]

like osprey said 30 " is plenty , 4lb fluoro would probably work , with a size 12 elk hair with a beadhead midge dropped off it (maybe zebra midge with white bead) if water is low and clear !

 

[jdaddy]

kfly,

Are you talking about nymphing or dry fly presentations? Based upon your initial question it sounds like you are talking about nymphing. This will vary the answer quite a bit.

 

[osprey]

Alpabuck.........If you have a place close to you , before it gets too cold , a special regulations section where the trout really get pounded and are real fussy try it and you'll see why i'm not kidding. Spend a couple bucks and buy a spool of Maxima in one lb test and use that for a tippet , 3' at the most. The reason it works so well i think is they , the trout , get used to seeing the glint or flash or whatever you want to call it from the leader/tippet and that throws out the red flag and they just look and let it pass , if you can stand it and cut down on the tippet till they don't see that you'll get strikes like you won't believe but it takes awhile to get easy handed in settin the hook and fighting them but it's not rocket science , you'll be surprised at how big of trout you can land on one lb. test and in places that are full of trout that are used to seeing people and flies and leaders , places where the fish let you walk right up and don't spook just keep on rising but won't hit nothin you throw even when there is a hatch going on try cutting back on the leader/tippet size and you won't be sorry , I Promise This WILL work if you try it. GOOD LUCK , Let us know how you do. I caught 2 browns so far from the tailrace at Boiling Springs on the Yellow Breeches creek trib that runs from the lake 18" and those trout get pounded , folks just shake their heads at me when i tell them what i'm doing but IT WORKS FANTASTIC!!!!

 

[PaulG]

Mike

I guess I'm never going to catch any of those teppit shy trout, I would never even think about using 10x tippet. For one thing I'd never be able to see it, to put a fly on...you must have good eyes!

PaulG

 

[osprey]

PaulG........I used to have good eyes , i need flip focals now , those magnifiers you can clip on a cap , i always wear a cap fishing. If you try a lighter tippet than 5x , you don't have to go all the way down to 10x right away , you'll see a difference i guarantee it 100%. Those browns on Clarks , the ones that get right up in the shallow water near the bank , i love to "sight fish" for those fish and i usually do that all day , spot one rising and get a cast near them and if everything looks right to them the fight is on , sometimes you get a second or more chances sometimes you don't , shoot i'm not telling YOU anything except to go lighter on the tippet I guarantee it!!!

 

[WildTigerTrout]

I fish 6x nearly all summer on the nearby limestone streams. I go down to 7x when fishing the summer Trico's. It does make a difference. Osprey is right about those bank feeders and lighter tippet. That is my favorite way to fish a beetle. If all looks okay watch out the fight is on! I have caught many bank feeding browns in water that barely covers them!

 

[osprey]

If folks would just try it they would see and it's not that extreme as it sounds , 10x is onelb test or thereabouts , I'll put my money where my mouth is on this issue , 100% guarantee you will get more takes and land more fish if you step it down some. Go to 8x if you don't feel right about 10x and once you see the difference it makes i PROMISE you won't be dissapointed.

 

[kfly]

I was talking about nymphing.
Thanks.

 

[troutslammer]

4lb berkley 100% fluoro works in crystal clear i mean crystal clear water so 10x is out for me for sure !!!!

 

[jdaddy]

I'll put my money where my mouth is on this issue , 100% guarantee you will get more takes and land more fish if you step it down some

What would it take to prove this wrong because I would be willing to wager on this. How about during the summer we attach live terrestrials to various sizes of tippet material and see what the take rate is? I don't think we would have to test the landing issue because there is no way you could argue that you will land more fish with 10x versus 6x. I guess basically we just need to prove the theory that 10x is more effective than 6x right? I am 100% serious about this wager in a fair sum of money.

Just to complicate the issue a bit, I hold that your trout mortality rate will be higher due to your over playing the fish on 10x tippet. I see guys on the Tully and LL using 8x tippet during trico and fighting a 15" fish for 5 minutes and "being ultra awesome sportsman" and releasing a fish that has such a lactic acid build up that it will never recover due to the marginal temps associated with Summer time trico fishing. Let's face it, these high pressure Summer times is when you would "need" this 10x tippet. Exactly when the fish are most fragile.