Leader length

Right, it's nearly 18 months since I first picked up a fly rod. It's been a steep learning curve, and really enjoyable, to the point that I don't know when I'll pick up my coarse rods again.

Anyway enough of that. Leaders.....

I read all the magazines, and I've aquired a hundred or so back issues of Trout and Salmon. I've also read various books.

Leaders seem to be getting longer.

I've read of 24 and 25 foot leaders for fishing buzzers on reservoirs. Now, what is the problem with using a leader of a more manageable length? Nobody is going to convince me that a Trout, particularly a stocked one, is going to be so aware as to accept a fly on a 24 foot leader, but reject one on a 15 foot, or less, leader. They are taking the fly on instinct, because they are hungry. They can't reason that a thicker piece of line spells danger surely?

I only rarely fish reservoirs, I'm usually on the rivers. Even there, some are recomending leaders of 12 foot. Why? I now use one of about 7 foot, so the fly sits in the keeper ring, with the end of the fly line just outside the rod tip. You can then also land a fish without bringing the fly line past the tip ring. Has to be an advantage.

Have it got this all wrong??

Ric, if you're still catching fish then I don't see that anything is wrong.

On the river i use one around 9' on lakes 12'. My mate is lucky if it gets over 5' on both. Catches just as many fish.

As Adrian says if you confident with the length your using then stick with it.

I'd go with that...if I'm stalking fish I often go as little as 5'. Normal length is a rods length plus a bit....wherever the snips happen to cut.

I can't cast anything longer anyway...

Leader length has got nowt to do with fashion or anything like that.

I have used leaders between 3 inches up to 24 feet in my life. It's the circumstances that dictate how long your leader is going to be.

I think Ron's right. My guess is that they are using the long leaders to try to fish small buzzers deeper on a floating line.

Personally I'd use a carp hook buzzer on the point and a shorter leader, but I am a bit of a Philistine where trout fishing is concerned!

The man who was the master of the long leader on reservoirs was Arthur Cove. Arthur, in most cases, used a leader double the length of his rod (9 1/2 feet)

Fishing a long leader on a floating line takes some doing, make no mistake. You have to learn to cast a reasonable distance with an open loop. This means unlearning some of what you might have been taught about casting.

**** Walker wrote on several occasions that fishing a long multi-fly leader was beyond the skills of the average caster. Only anglers possessed of Covian skills would ever be able to master it.

But I did.

Mind you I have been casting a fly for over 40 years.

You are no Philistine at all Sean. Having a heavy fly on the point, helps your leader turn over, even against a breeze.

"**** Walker wrote on several occasions that fishing a long multi-fly leader was beyond the skills of the average caster"


And what did he know about it ???

Like Ron, I've used 25 foot leaders a few times, and not only with a floater. Boat fishing loch-style with a long rod it's not too difficult to get everything out straight when there's a wind and you've got the drogue out.

I suppose the idea is to get some distance between the splash-down of the fly line and the top dropper, and with top droppers set at maybe 12 feet from the point fly (which I've seen), you won't get away with less than 20 feet.

But it's whatever works. Bank fishing into a wind I sometimes wish I could use a six-inch leader...

I've used leaders up to 25 feet in length and theres no doubt they work well for nymphs fished deep in large waters. However on small rivers such as the Wylye, Nadder, Bourne in Wiltshire or the Tame and Ribble in Yorkshire/lancashire I use really short leaders, often as short as 5 feet (though more often around 7-8 feet) Otherwise you can find yourself with no fly line outside of the tip to cast with. I don't beleive the fly line scares fish that much, its no different to a bit of twig etc floating over their heads.