Time for a new hobby.

[ThreeRiversEsox]

The longer the leader that you have on an intermediate or sinking line, the less depth you'll get because the line doesn't have the chance to draw the fly down. With casting, keeping in mind you are essentially casting the flyline with the leader/fly being weightless, the longer the leader and heavier the fly the less chance you will get it to turn over. You need the fly to turn over for accurancy and maximum distance.

Lest you forget that once you put that flyrod in the boat, you will be cursed with 25-40 mph winds for the first few tries!! Glad to hear of the interest in fly chasing musky hunters.

[Red Childress]

Thanks for the reply!

Forgive my ingnorance, but if I use fluoro only instead of mono won't that help sink the fly faster since the fluoro sinks and mono floats?

In reading about what others are using for leaders, I noticed several guys using a long mono leader from the mainline and then tapering to fluoro/wire bite tippet........why have 4-6 feet of that 30-60 pound floating mono in front of the shorter, sinking bite tippet material?? Isn't there going to be a big knot to reel thru the front guide if using that longer monofilament leader in front of the bite tippet??

[ppalko]

Definitely will second the curse of the 40 MPH wind, however, in the case of using fly rods, the wind need only be 15 mph to drive you crazy and cause a few flies to act as scud missles near the boat on a cast. You'll be doing good if you only hit yourself in the head with a fly once or twice.... I use a floating line (which sinks a bit anyway) and about 6 feet of leader (40 lb maxima or so) and then attach a bit guard (about a foot to 18 inches long). The longer the leader, the harder to cast. I tend to go on the lighter side for a leader. I think a real stiff leader is going to be harder to cast. How is the leader being attached to the fly-line? There are a few options. If you use a nail-knot and coat it with epoxy, you can allow the leader to slide through the guides. I'd bet there a limts however on how heavy the line can get before a nail knot is impossible. Anything that can catch will be a diaster waiting to happen....you have enough of those with a fly rod already anyway.

It depends on my mood, but I'll pre-rig flies with a loop or leader or make a leader using a snap and swivel (heavy fluorocarbon..80 lbs or wire (I need to look up that titanium stuff) sometimes. You don't want changing flies to be an ordeal which is why I like a snap or loop. I'll bet the salt water guys have some better ideas how to make this work, especially those catching sharks.

Phil