Tippet Preferences

F

Flydog

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Joined
Dec 1, 2006
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What is your favorite tippet? And Why?
 
5X....

Not what you meant? OK, then whichever one is cheapest is my usual purchase, but I favor Orvis' standard because I like to get 100 meter rolls. Other than that, I usually end up with Scientific Anglers. Bottom line, I'm not that picky.
 
I used to be a dyed in the wool Orvis Super Strong fan till I got hooked on fluorocarbon. I still use Super Strong but not for tippets, just intermediate sections.

Now my favs are:

#1 - Seagur Fluoro
#2 - Varivas Fluoro
#3 - Rio Fluoroflex Plus
#4 - Orvis Mirage Fluoro

They all are VERY strong for their diameter which is the biggest reason I use them because I do fish light tippets a lot.

The price on all leaves a lot to be desired though the Orvis is the best bargain for the $$$.

BTW the worst I ever used was Umpqua Fluorocarbon. I couldn't give it away!
 
JackM made a good point....Thanks! I am looking for your preferred brand. I am also curious the difference between a $3.95 spool and a $12.95 spool. By the way.....I know there is a $9.00 difference. Ha Ha beat you to the punch! :lol:
 
I rarely use fluorocarbon due to the price, knot strength and stiffness. I'm still undecided on Froghair and use most brands of tippet mono - usually whichever is cheapest. For butt and mid-section I buy plain old spools of Stren cheapo spinning line and it works fine for a fraction of the cost of brand name tippet spools.
 
I've been using Orvis super strong ever since it came out and have really found nothing better yet.
I tried the flourocarbon when it first came out, and definitely had more breakoffs with it. I've read that they have improved it since then, and probably should try it again. I should also point out that I 've always used improved clinch knots to tie on my flies, - and there are stronger knots that I should probably use.
I did try the Froghair, and don't care for it either
 
Rio & DaiRiki Dynamic for mono

Froghair for Flouro.

Just my personal prefeence.
 
Dear Flydog,

For trout I use Orvis Super Strong, mostly because I got a good deal on one of those tippet holder thingies full of it that hangs down from a "D" ring on my chest pack.

For warm water fishing I use nothing but Maxima. I prefer the Chameleon but I'll use the Ultra-Green if I can get a better deal on it.

I never tried fluorocarbon and I never will.

Regards,
Tim Murphy :)
 
Guide Spools of Frog Hair and Frog Hair Flouro for trout
Cant beat this stuff hands sown great for nymphing perect balance of stiffness and flex and superior abrasion resistance and the rite amount of stretch ....

For Steelhead---- Sea guar grand max flouro , sacrifice flex for abrasion resistance ........
 
I got some free spools of froghair once. I would have never paid that price just out of curiosity. But even the mono was super strong. The rep did tell me not to mix flouro tippet with mono leaders, though, as they tend to cut thru the mono. I'm like Jack though. I go with whats cheapest.

If I lose a fish its not because I was using cheap tippet, its because I probably tied a crappy knot.
 
My current favorite is Orvis Superstrong. Before that my favorite was Dai Riki. Both are good. Umpqua is OK too.
The only stuff I really don't like at all is Sci Angler. The other's mentioned are all close to each, but I thought the Sci Angler stuff was very weak.

I've often wondered if you couldn't just use Stren and save a lot of money, but I haven't tried it yet.
 
a albright knot eliminates knot slippage
 
Orvis Super Strong for trout--it seems to hold up very well to abrasion.

Maxima for smallmouth because when I first started building leaders for bass that is what I bought -and I still have some.
 
I use the new Dai Riki with the open ring. However I find the knots slip out more in the heat of summer, so then I switch over to airflow florocarbon. I have never had a problem with it and my knots RARELY break. Also, the dai riki 6x and 7x break extremely easy, even though teh lb. test is rated high?????
 
I like Orvis Super Strong.

Joe E
 
MKern wrote:
I use the new Dai Riki with the open ring. However I find the knots slip out more in the heat of summer,... Also, the dai riki 6x and 7x break extremely easy, even though teh lb. test is rated high?????
Click to expand...

I've had the same experience with Dai Riki. I'm told there is a new version with improved knot strength. I don't know when I will have the chance to check it out. So until then, I'll have to jump on the Orvis Superstrong band wagon.

Orvis SS has good strength and knot strength. It also has a nice "consistancy" for casting. That's to say, it turns over nicely and doesn't puddle. It doesn't turn over in a straight line either like a really stiff mono (Maxima chameleon) would.

I tie my own leaders and use Maxima Chameleon for the butt down to about the 60% of the length. The final 40% and tippet is Orvis.

I have little faith in flourocarbon for dry fly fishing, since it is the displacement of the water that the trout sees. If you do a lot of nymphing, you should give it a shot though. Like others, I would warn you away from mixing flouro and mono. Not only that, but try to avoid mixing brands of tippet. Or if you do, recheck the knots from time to time until you gain confidence with the match.
 
Seaguar flourocarbon. Sometimes it makes the difference between steelhead and no steelhead. Occasionally I've gotten a bad spool and had to throw it away. And it is expensive. When I'm not using flourocarbon I like the maxima.
 
Padraic, what is the advantage of tying your own leaders? And what type of formula do you use in determining the length of each section?
 
I'll let Padraic field the rest of your questions, but here is a link to a program that runs as a macro in Microsoft Excel that I find useful for tying leaders. If you don't have Excel or even if you do, there is a PDF file here also with numerous formulas:

http://www.flyfisherman.com/skills/brleadercalc/
 
I am a frog hair fan. 2 reasons. It works for me very well and it is a product of a pittsburgh, pa company. I like the fact that I can support a local company just as much as I like how it turns over for me.

I also tie my own leaders. I do this for several reasons.

1. I always have leaders- one less reason to stop at a store
2. I like having the ability to tie leaders for various situations like dry fly fishing, nymphing and rod length. I also find that they turn over better for me than the extruded leaders.
 
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