Tippet size selection

[jmh159]

Jay, I see where you're coming from, but there are certain situations where I personally cannot bring myself to use heavier than 6x or 7x. The ditch at Big Spring for example, I have seen those fish follow my tiny midge for 15 feet, 1" from the fly and just turn up their nose and reject my offering. When dealing with fish like those, and using such small flies, I feel that, while 7x might still be noticed by the fish, it will at least look a bit less unnatural than say, 5x. Now I'm not gonna be throwing beastly streamers with 7x, but when making a presentation to tricky fish on technical streams, lighter tippet can help IMO.

 

[njk3395]

IMO, the only time tippet size really matters is in stillwater.. When i fish for trout in lakes i use 6X a lot, and I believe it does help to fool a lot of fish.

As for blood knots, I thought they were the biggest pain. Then, i started holding the the line you put through the loop in my teeth, then just wrapping the other side. Makes it 100x times easier.

 

[jayL]

I have used lighter tippets before, and still carry some. If you enjoy using it, cool. I just think that a lot of beginners don't realize that they can get away with heavier tippet most of the time.

 

[jmh159]

I agree with you in that you should use the heaviest tippet that you can get away with. Just figured I'd throw my 2 cents in. Its kinda funny though because while at the ditch I use 6x and 7x, (possibly 8x) but I rarely go lighter than 4x on the entire stream below the ditch and have done fairly well. The ditch is like a complete different beast than the rest the stream.

 

[DGC]

I didn't know using tippet too small was a common beginner issue--example of too much information in the internet age I guess.

If so things have come full circle. Used to be beginners went too big because they didnt know much about tapers and tippet. They just kept hacking off their leader when they changed or lost their dry fly, and dries were where most beginners started, and often stayed. Then there was that nasty couple of new knots (nail, blood) to tie.

[color=0000FF]Rule of 3 [/color](or 4) is sound policy most of the time, as already mentioned.

 

[pcray1231]

I agree with Jay pretty much 100% on this one.

And no, I don't think heavier tippet increases the "spook" factor. I believe it was George Harvey did some experiments by short pieces of tippet on live beetles as well as flies and throwing them in the water, not connected to a rod or real. The conclusion was that its drag, not tippet that they see.

I did want to add one thing. Mono vs. fluoro tippets. Flouro is stiffer! From a drag perspective, 6x flouro might be equivalent to 5x mono. Flouro also sinks more, so it creates even more drag on dry flies. Further, it offers no visibility advantages when it is on the surface. It has its uses, for instance subsurface fishing on big fish that can truly be line shy, like steelhead, where it not only adds visibility advantages but abrasion (teeth) advantages as well. But those uses are exceptions rather than the rule.

 

[David]

I, as most, agree for the most part. I don't think, however, beginners should shy away from smaller tippets when the situations calls for it. While I don't believe tippet adds to the "scare" factor, it can certainly make a difference in the presentation of the fly. A heavier tippet affects the drift....sometimes it matters, often it does not.
My advice to beginners is to start on the higher end of tippet size. If you are confident in your fly selection and have made several passes over a fish, it is appropriate to try a lighter tippet. Microdrag can absolutely cause refusals.

 

[troutslammer]

real small flies require small tippets (24 midges =7x) the fly supports the tippet , not the tippet supporting the fly , plus you can't get big heavy tippet through small hook eyes anyway , i think line diameter creates shadow on the surface , when the water is gin clear , small tippet = less shadow , but i also agree with jay use as big as you feel you can without hindering the end result "FISH ON "

 

[pcray1231]

Troutslammer,

I generally use 6x with size 24 tricos and midges, and typically do just fine. I don't even carry 7x with me.

As was said, if your getting too many refusals, and you suspect microdrag, extend the tippet, change angles, change the cast, etc. There's also a difference between tippet brands. For most trout fishing, go with the limpest material you can find. I generally use rio powerflex, and it is good, but I can't say that there's no better.