tippet ring or swivel is there a difference?

[flipnfly]

as reading from another post about the book dynamic nymphing im just wondering about this i have used a swivel in salmon/steelhead setups but never a tippet ring or either for trout and i am curuois what the advantages and disadvantages of each are .... .

 

[Biggie]

I would guess the tippet ring would be lighter and smaller than a swivel. I just bought some tippet rings and used one on a small brookie steam. So far so good. I want to see if it will affect the dry fly fishing.

 

[1wt]

Biggie,
The tippet rings float pretty good. I use the small black 2mm and with mono leader, the ring will float!! It won't even pull a dry midge under.
I use tippet rings for everything. I hated tying the stinkin' triple surgeons or the blood knots.
With a tippet ring, you can use a leader for a long long time.
Swivels on heavy gear is OK. Especially the heavy ball kind when you need a lot of weight for winter steel.

 

[Volksnurse]

I've had no problem with the tippet ring sinking (itself or the fly). It also makes adding tippet much easier for those of us with really clumsy fingers.

 

[greenlander]

I keep meaning to buy some of these, to make my leaders last a bit longer, but I've been worried about the leader turning over poorly because I imagine it hinging at the tippet ring.

Have those of you that use them found this not to be the case?

Although, this won't do anything about the fact that I've also been ditching leaders because the thingamabobbers are making huge kinks in them as well. Might go to yarn.

 

[zenherper]

greenlander wrote:
I keep meaning to buy some of these, to make my leaders last a bit longer, but I've been worried about the leader turning over poorly because I imagine it hinging at the tippet ring.

Have those of you that use them found this not to be the case?

I am not a great caster, so take this for what it's worth. I have been using the FeatherCraft furled leaders with the tippet rings, and to be honest, my casts are turning over better than they were with regular tapered leaders. I find that the transfer of energy is more evenly distributed, even through the tippet ring. I have even had longer tippet sections than I probably should have, and gotten away with it.

 

[zenherper]

greenlander wrote:

Although, this won't do anything about the fact that I've also been ditching leaders because the thingamabobbers are making huge kinks in them as well. Might go to yarn.

Another thing I find about the furled leaders is that they have little to no memory. When I use a thingamabobber on the furled section, there are no kinks left when I remove it.

 

[WildTigerTrout]

Biggie wrote:
I would guess the tippet ring would be lighter and smaller than a swivel. I just bought some tippet rings and used one on a small brookie steam. So far so good. I want to see if it will affect the dry fly fishing.

The tippet ring will NOT effect your dry fly. I use them all the time. You'll see.

 

[Deuterium]

I have also had good luck using a tippet ring. I am using it for all applications except for fishing weedy water where knots are a focus for snagging debris.

 

[wgmiller]

All of my furled leaders have a small, black tippet ring on them. I've been using them for several years with no issue.

There was an article in the February MAFFG by Lefty about using tippet rings and barrel swivels. He appears to be a big proponent of them. In particular, the use of barrel swivels for flies that induce twist into a leader (streamers, etc.).

I've always use just a straight leader for my heavy streamers, but may explore adding a barrel swivel to see how they perform. In particular, for bass fishing with poppers, Clousers, or other flies that can easily induce twist.

 

[greenlander]

I suppose I had completely forgotten that I used to fish furled leaders with tippet rings. I no longer use them because I found I didn't feel they turned over well enough. They're just too soft in the butt section, in my opinion. I really loved the convenience of them, though.

Maybe I'll snip the tippet rings off a few and give 'em a try on the leaders I tie now.

 

[Chaz]

You don't need them. Sheesh, just another gimmick.

 

[just_jon]

I began using 2.25mm tippet rings in my nymphing leaders at the end of my sighter. Im finding them to be very convenient in that i can get bavk in he water faster after breaking off. So far so good. Only complaint is price.

 

[greenlander]

Chaz wrote:
You don't need them. Sheesh, just another gimmick.

Sure, you don't need them, but they preserve leaders longer.

When the 4x or 5x section of my leader starts getting eaten up, and it's time to tie a fresh piece to my 2x section, I have to eat into the 2x section when tying a fresh dbl surgeon's. After this happens a few times, the 2x section becomes too short.

If I could tie a tippet ring at the end of my 2x section a leader would last ALOT longer.

 

[greenlander]

just_jon wrote:
So far so good. Only complaint is price.

I remember reading somewhere that tippet rings are just repurposed pieces from jewelry making that are marked up. Buying them as jewelry making parts supposedly slashes the price significantly.

I've never verified any of this though. And I bet that, if I went looking, that "somewhere" that I read about it would turn out to be here.

 

[Squaretail]

I have found the Spro barrel swivels to be helpful with twisting flies like the san juans and some streamers. I also find them helpful with attaching flouro to mono when I go to Erie. No reason for the rings to me. Blood knots just arent that tough to tie.

 

[greenlander]

What's wrong with double surgeon's for tying leader pieces together?

I can see the point of a blood knot if you're tying a leader for tarpon or other bigger fish, but is the strength of blood knot really necessary for trout?

 

[Stevie-B]

Why not just tie a loop at the end of you leader then use the loop to loop connection to attach you tippet? Been using it for years and have had no issues.

 

[Swattie87]

Stevie-B wrote:
Why not just tie a loop at the end of you leader then use the loop to loop connection to attach you tippet? Been using it for years and have had no issues.

+1

This is what I do, or some variation of it usually. My standard set up is to loop to loop an 8-10" piece of 3x to my furled leader, then taper with double surgeon's knots as necessary from there.

 

[FlySwatter]

+2