Different types of leader material?

• Monofilament - Mono line is the most common leader material to use.  Mono comes in a variety of sizes, stiffness and diameters.  Most leaders are tied using mono because of the variety, diameters, stiffness, and stretch and abrasion resistance.

• Fluorocarbon (polyvinylidene fluoride) – A synthetic material that claims to be nearly invisible under water by having the same refracting index as water.  Fluorocarbon has its advantages and disadvantages. One advantage is that it is less visible than nylon in water, so it is used when fish are known to be "leader shy." Another is that fluorocarbon is significantly more abrasion resistant that nylon. For those that fish for steelhead or salmon and drag weighted flies across boulders and other stream-bottom debris, this is an obvious plus. Also, being a somewhat more dense material than nylon it will sink a bit faster. The biggest disadvantage is the relative cost when compared to nylon monofilament. Fluorocarbon leaders and tippet material can cost up to 4 times as much as monofilament.

• Braided Super Lines – A synthetic line made by weaving thin diameter man-made materials to form a no-stretch, low diameter and very strong line. 

What are the sections of a fly fishing leader?
 Each leader consists of a butt-section, a mid-section and a tippet section. 

• Butt Section, heaviest portion of the leader, attached to the fly line end.

• Mid Section, part of the leader forward of the butt section.

• Tippet, thinnest or lightest line strength segment of a tapered leader.

Leaders taper from their heaviest section (the butt) to the thinnest or lightest section (the tippet). The nature of that taper (severe or gradual) and the relative lengths of each of the three sections determines the behavioural characteristics of the leader. For example:

• Shorter leaders, which are inherently more powerful but less delicate, work well in windy conditions.

• A long leader can still be made to turn over if it is properly designed and carefully constructed.

• Longer leaders tend to have less power but provide more delicacy and are appropriate for conditions which require subtle presentations and absolute dead drifts.

• For more power, lengthen the butt section and/or shorten the mid-section and/or tippet.

• For more delicacy, lengthen the mid-section and/or tippet.

Bite or Shock Tippet, short, heavy section of a leader between the tippet and the fly. The material used can be large diameter monofilament or wire (braided or a single strand). A bite tippet is used where fish have sharp teeth or may abrade through a tippet during the battle.

Quality leaders are readily available or you may build your own leaders as well. Over-the-counter, packaged leaders are typically manufactured to a taper formula which consists of about 60 percent level butt section, a 20 percent tapered mid-section and a 20 percent level tippet. For most general-purpose leaders this formula will "turn-over" the fly most efficiently.

Leader Strength

When we talk about leader strength we are talking about the strength of the tippet. The tippet is the weak link in the backing > fly line > leader chain.

Tippet strength is stated in two ways: 1) in the pound test or 2) by assigning an "X" size to specific tippet diameters; X, designates the tippets strength.

Using the formula below you can determine that a nine-foot leader with a tippet diameter of .008-inch is called a "9 Foot 3X Leader" and is labelled as such on the leader package. The system of labelling is the same regardless of the leader manufacturer.

It is important to understand that nylon can frequently be of slightly different strengths for the same diameter, however, if you want to know the approximate strength of a tippet, subtract the X number from 9 to get the strength of the tippet. For example, a 5X leader subtracted from 9 means about 4 pounds test, and a 2X tippet subtracted from 9 means a tippet strength of approximately 7 pounds.

Leader Diameter

To determine the correct diameter of an X designation, use a micrometer to measure the section of leader and subtract the X from .011. For example, a 5X leader subtracted from .011 should measure approximately .006. A 3X leader subtracted from .011 means that a 3X leader should have an approximate diameter of .008.

Leader Lengths

The most common leaders are 7-1/2 to 9-feet long but can be anywhere from 3- to 20-feet long depending on the kind of fish you're after and/or certain water conditions. The chart below will give you an idea of the more common leader lengths and the conditions they are best suited for.

What Leader Strength Should I Use?

The narrative will give you an idea of the type of fly fishing leader may be used for different species of fish:

• Saltwater fly fishing – Relatively longer with very good transparency.  Strong and durable.

• Northern Pike and Musky fly fishing – Short, strong with cut resistance tippet section with bite or shock tippet,

• Dry fly fishing – Long and fine tapering leaders.

• Streamer fishing – Longer heavy butt section to turn over heavier flies.

• Salmon and Steelhead fly fishing – Abrasion resistance and strong.

• Bass fly fishing – Short and strong for thick cover, heavy butts and shorter lengths for turning over big flies that catch a lot of air like divers.

This system of labelling is as follows and is the same regardless of the leader manufacturer.

Things to consider if you are thinking about building your own leader:

• What type of casting do you like to do such as your cadence and rod length? Do you use fast actions rods or medium action rods.

• What are the weather and water conditions such as wind or river current?

• Is the water very clear or dingy and off colored?

• Are you fly fishing deep water or shallow?

• What type of fish are you fly fishing for?  Northern pike and musky have very sharp teeth, so a wire or thick mono tippet would be needed.  You might need a good shock resistance leader for Smallmouth bass that are hard hitters.

• What is the structure or cover like?  Using a highly abrasion resistance line will help around rocks and wood that can very hard on leaders.

There are many leader tools and leader calculators that try to help you figure out what the best lengths should be for you, like LeaderCalc. Most leader calculator tools and programs start with a base for lengths and tippet diameters. Some leader calculators do offer recommended lengths and line diameters for certain species of fish and/or type of fly fishing.  The best knowledge still comes from experience.

What knots do I use for tying different leader sections together?
The blood knot or surgeons knots are good for quickly joining two sections together.

The Uni-knot-to-Uni-knot is one the strongest knots to tie, but takes a little more time to tie.  The Uni-to-uni knot keeps two sections of leader material in a more straight and natural line.