Another Leader + tippet question

[skeeter bite]

People tell me that the ideal leader for nymph fishing would be a fluorocarbon leader because it sinks better than a traditional nylon leader and it's harder for the fish to see. The nylon leader would likely be better for fishing dry flys I guess. Changing out leaders on the stream seems like something I'd like to avoid if I can work around it somehow. I have both nylon and fluorocarbon leaders in 7.5' and 9' and tippet in 4x & 5x in both nylon and fluorocarbon.

Can I rig up a 7.5', 3x nylon leader, add a couple feet of 4x fluorocarbon tippet, tie on a point fly (nymph) then another 12-14" of 5x fluorocarbon off the hook bend of the first nymph and tie on a smaller second nymph? I mean I know I can do it but would it be an appropriate nymph rig? The benefit to me if it works would come when I wanted to switch to a dry fly. Then I could simply cut off the fluorocarbon tippet and change to nylon tippet. I'm thinking that I'd get the benefit of the fluorocarbon (sinking and invisibility) near the nymphs without needing to swap out leaders.

I guess a more appropriate question might be can good knots be tied joining fluorocarbon and nylon (monofilament) together?

 

[tomgamber]

People tell me that the ideal leader for nymph fishing would be a fluorocarbon leader because it sinks better than a traditional nylon leader and it's harder for the fish to see. The nylon leader would likely be better for fishing dry flys I guess. Changing out leaders on the stream seems like something I'd like to avoid if I can work around it somehow. I have both nylon and fluorocarbon leaders in 7.5' and 9' and tippet in 4x & 5x in both nylon and fluorocarbon.

Can I rig up a 7.5', 3x nylon leader, add a couple feet of 4x fluorocarbon tippet, tie on a point fly (nymph) then another 12-14" of 5x fluorocarbon off the hook bend of the first nymph and tie on a smaller second nymph? I mean I know I can do it but would it be an appropriate nymph rig? The benefit to me if it works would come when I wanted to switch to a dry fly. Then I could simply cut off the fluorocarbon tippet and change to nylon tippet. I'm thinking that I'd get the benefit of the fluorocarbon (sinking and invisibility) near the nymphs without needing to swap out leaders.

I guess a more appropriate question might be can good knots be tied joining fluorocarbon and nylon (monofilament) together?

They can but you risk the fluorocarbon cutting the nylon and breaking the knot. I've done it and nothing and/or that exact thing happen. Maybe someone devised a new knot since then.

 

[turkey]

If it were me, I'd employ a tippet ring to join a nylon butt to fluoro tippet. I guess just a couple other notions,

I'd get more comfortable with changing leaders. I think (if I'm understanding) I can relate to you, that if fish are feeding on top you'd like to fish dry flies. If nothing is going on, nymphing is your approach. I carry 2 reels - one with a nymph rig and one with a Harvey dry fly leader or similar. You could do that with one reel and multiple spools too.

 

[KeviR]

I agree that fluoro sinks better than nylon. It also is more abrasion resistant than nylon. Not everyone agrees that the visbility is different enough to matter. At the end of the day it's impossible to know why a fish rejected your fly, but I suspect that any difference in visibility is not a major factor.
With all that said, I very rarely use fluoro for nymphing because I get good results with nylon and I have way higher confidence in its knot strength than with fluoro. In my experience tying fluoro to nylon with good breaking strength is problematic. I have never found a knot I have confidence in with that transition. When (rarely) I use fluoro, I attach it to a hook bend as a dropper off the end of another fly. That way you don't need to tie nylon to fluoro. As suggested earlier, a tippet ring would do the same thing. But with that said, even when tying to steel, the breaking strength of fluoro knots is not nearly as good as similar sized nylon. I don't like it for that reason.
I completely avoid fluoro with dry flies. It sinks too well - and dunks them after a much shorter float than you would get with nylon.
These are just my findings - things to watch for as you gain experience.

 

[falcon]

It seems to be that flouro is considered more abrasion resistant than mono. I recently watched a video of a controlled comparison test using sandpaper between flouro and the same diameter Ande mono. Ande came out ahead and it was not even close.
I think it was Youtube and the title was "Salt Strong". Interesting.

 

[skeeter bite]

Thanks,
I love the level of insight I get on this site when I ask a question, it's enormously valuable to those of us trying to learn this sport.

 

[afishinado]

It seems to be that flouro is considered more abrasion resistant than mono. I recently watched a video of a controlled comparison test using sandpaper between flouro and the same diameter Ande mono. Ande came out ahead and it was not even close.
I think it was Youtube and the title was "Salt Strong". Interesting.

I saw that video. He tested nylon right off the spool. Nylon absorbs water and looses strength and abrasion resistance when fished.

On the stream, my own experience along with many other FFers affirms that flouro tippet is much more abrasion resistant than nylon tippet.

 

[Bamboozle]

Skeeter:

I ditched mono leader material about a decade or more ago for fluoro because I hated the way mono flat spots when drawing up a knot (unless you are careful) or if it gets wrapped around something.

I have other reasons I prefer fluoro but what I have discovered over MANY years of using both mono & fluoro:

All mono and all fluoro is NOT alike. Don't scrimp on fishing line. Buy good stuff!!​

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Mono works just fine for nymphing & streamer work. It's all I ever used for decades.​

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Fluoro works just fine for dry flies. Light tippets barely have enough mass to pull a dry fly under.​

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When I used both, I never had a probable knotting one to the other. Just make sure to lube your knots and draw SLOWLY.​

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Fluoro is more abrasion resistant but don't take that for granted. There is no excuse for NOT examining your leader (mono or fluoro) occasionally for wear.​

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Mono has more stretch than fluoro if that matters to you, it doesn't to me when fly fishing.​

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Fluoro is more expensive and the full word and abbreviation are harder to spell. (It's fluoro, NOT floro or flouro. 😉 ).​

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Bottom line, use either or both and don't worry about it.

Have fun!!