2X leaders

[Travis C.]

I have several 2X leaders in my pack but just realized I ran out of 5X & 6X leaders.

Is there a conversion to where I can just step down the 2X to use 18"s and 20"'s without having to buy more leaders. At one point they were going to be used to fish streamers but never ended up on the rod.

I have plenty of mono that I can use 2lb, 4lb, 6lb etc. Also have the tippet just for some reason ran out of leaders.

[dbradyh]

You should be able to step down with those sections. Just eye ball your leader material and fine tune as your test casts dictate.

[toddro]

How long are they?  I would just cut back the 2x about 18", and then tie in a section 6lb and then from that try to go to the 2lb.  If the diameters are way off, you can either add in some more sections to help the transitions, or just use a triple surgeons knot to secure the material (instead of a usual double surgeons knot).  You may end up with an ugly looking leader, but if your tippet is long enough it will cast ok and it will catch fish - and I doubt you'll be in danger of breaking anything off if your knots are good.  Your knots will be at least as strong as the 2lb. tippet, even if the diameters are way off.

[Travis C.]

How long are they?  I would just cut back the 2x about 18", and then tie in a section 6lb and then from that try to go to the 2lb. 

They are still in the package 9ft tapered mono leaders.

[Travis C.]

I guess I could just get some if it will be a casting problem.

or

I could get my self made furled mono leaders back out but I am not as fond of those as the premade tapered. They put a twist it seems in my fly line. I wonder if I knot off just below the top loop on those if it will cure that. Right now they aren't knotted except for about two thirds down where it changes diameter.

[TWiles]

Tie in 3ft of 4x fluoro, then another 3 ft of 6x tippet to the fly.  Size 6 shot above the knot, and indicator above the 2x knot.  That's a very productive rig for me on deep water nymphing....especially when big browns are lurking in the deep holes behind the gravel shoals.

[Travis C.]

I came by this video looking for leader/indicator set ups.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyGWLjBNr_c

At 3:40 min mark he is talking about once a leader is used up to about the 7ft mark from 9ft he places a small swivel then runs tippet off of that.

I haven't ever heard of that... is it a common thing to do?

[grumpy]

Travis
Some folks will use tippet rings & either loop/loop tippet to it or tie the tippet to it using your favorite knot.
A lot of furled leaders have a tippet ring on them to add tippet.

Grumpy

[bd]

Forget all this stuff, Travis.  Buy more 5x leaders for trout and save the 2x leaders for next summer.  You will need them for carp fishing.

bd

[Travis C.]

Forget all this stuff, Travis.  Buy more 5x leaders for trout and save the 2x leaders for next summer.  You will need them for carp fishing.

bd

That sounds like a better idea. I have been wanting to try carp anyways. Will pick some up tomorrow while out.

[Travis C.]

I just put new SA line on my reel and nail knot my 30lb loop connector piece.

Is there a need to add a touch of glue to the knot so it won't wick up water? I don't plan on cutting off. That was part of the problem why I had to get new line. I kept cutting the line to change leader connections and it probably wicked too much water up in it causing the line not to float.

I'll add glue if need be but I don't want to create a problem with line float on this line.

[Curtis Martin]

Fold the fly line over on itself to form a loop at the end. Nail knot this loop with 12lb mono. If it makes you feel better, you can use two nail knots, but leave a little space between to leave it flexible. If you want to get fancy, then you can use heat shrink tubing to clean up the knots so they will slide in the guides smoother.

This should eliminate the water be pulled up through the core, but the tip may still sink below the film.

The way your rig is setup now is perfectly fine. If it bothers you about getting waterlogged, then put some aquaseal on it so it will remain flexible. I try to avoid hard knots created with crazy glues.

[bd]

That's a good tip about shrink tubing over the nail knot.  I prefer the welded-on loops that most of the newer flylines have, but a couple lines I like still don't have built-in loops.  For those, I do what most people do - I knot a piece of butt section onto the flyline with a loop to attach the leader.  Unfortunately, the nail knot or albright knot joining flyline to butt has a bad tendency to "stick" on the first couple line guides when I'm fighting a heavy fish and there's a lot of bend in the rod.

I'm going to try putting a little shrink tubing over the knot to see if that helps it slip through the line guides better.  Thanks for the suggestion.

bd