7 ft. leader ???

[Loren]

Jeff

When I purchase a 9 ft knottless leader, I find it's 9 ft long, including tippet.

Loren

[Woolly Bugger]

If you are catching fish with your 4ft + tippet then you are doing it right!. I often find that I need a little longer leader so as not to spook the fish. But if you are able to sneak up on them and cast/flip out your leader and catch them then you are doing it exactly correct. The Classic Curtis Creek Sneak!

[Jeff Jones]

I often read and hear that 6 and 7 ft. leaders are needed for freestone streams. I find that when I use a 7ft. leader,I seldom get all of it out of the tip-top. This is prob. due to the fact that I rarely fish anything except small streams. In a larger river I guess I wouldn't have problems. Is there a reason to use a 6 or 7 ft. leader on a small stream ? I usually have my leader trimmed to 4 or 5 ft. at the max, with a 2 -3 ft.tippet. When folks say a 7 ft. leader are they talking about " leader AND tippet" ? Thanks.

[Drifter]

Jeff

If your leader and fly are not turning over properly, you may have a leader too heavy, and a fly too light, etc. I tie my own leaders and have reached a point where I can tie up a 9 foot leader in about 5 minutes. I usually use Orvis Super Strong material beginning with 3X to 4X to 5X to tippet(usually 6X or 7X depending on water clarity). All this is attached to a 3 foot braided butt. The handtied leader consisting of Orvis Super Strong and braided butt does not have a memory, and seems to be more supple than one piece tapered leaders.

If your fishing a caddis dry or mayfly dry, you want the fly to gently land on the water. If your fishing a terrestrial like a hopper or beetle, you want the fly to "plop" onto the water's surface much like a natural. You can make it "plop" by checking (stopping) the line just before it loses its forward momentum when shooting the line.

Hope this helps,

The Drifter

[Loren]

Jeff,

If I read your question correctily, you are asking about convention when referring to leader length.

I'm currently learning to tie my own leaders and not too long ago requested formulas on this board for leaders. All of the replies used the total length (leader and tippet) in response. So, again, a 7 ft. leader includes the tippet length.

Loren

[KB]

I tend to use a short leader in small steams because to me it is easier to drive the fly underneath the overhanging bushes. If I come accross some flat water I then tie on some extra tippet for a soft presentation.

KB