Simple Fly Fishing Leaders

Leaders for fly fishing can be complicated, but there is no need to get technical when you are casting heavy or large flies such as those used to catch warmwater fish. Unlike trout, bass and pike are not exactly leader-shy, so you don't have to worry about landing them on ultra-light tippets.

The leader follows the fly line, and the fly follows the leader.

Rather than purchase manufactured knotless, tapered leaders, try making your own. All you need is a spool of heavy monofilament, I use 30 pound-test Suffix Elite, and a couple of spools of lighter line. The 30-pound test will form the butt of the leader and the lighter line is the tippet. You should make the butt about two-thirds the length of the leader, and the tippet one-third. This will ensure that the fly turns over. For subsurface presentations I use 14 pound-test fluorocarbon, which sinks and is practically invisible underwater. For top-water presentations I use 8 pound-test monofilament. If you attach the thinner tippet material to the butt with an Albright knot, the tippet will break before the knot.

Custom leaders with a fluorocarbon tippet are perfect for casting and presenting Clouser Minnows.

If you are fishing a stream or river with heavy flies, try a simple length of fluorocarbon. Cut a piece that is about twice as long as the water depth. The thin material cuts through the water and will allow your fly to get down in a hurry. Don't worry too much about casting a heavy fly on a leader with no butt. When you cast heavy flies, you are really lobbing them more than you are "fly casting" anyway. Unless you try to cast it like a trout fly, your leader will straighten out.

Monofilament leader material is the right choice for top-water bass bugs.

 These simple leaders will get you through most warmwater fly-fishing situations. They are durable and, best of all, inexpensive. You can easily drop $3 or $4 on a manufactured leader, yet a few spools of monofilament and fluorocarbon will produce more leaders than you will probably use in an entire year. Try it out sometime.

Visit our ebay site today for the highest-quality flies!



This largemouth bass was lurking in the weeds--the perfect place to use a bass bug.