poly leaders......

[crobarr]

i have yet to use a poly leader, but i have recently become interested in them. i have tried to read up on them, however i am getting different and conflicting information about them.

is a poly leader actually tapered?

how much do they weigh?

is there any problems turning them over with a light floating line?

can you get more depth using a poly leader on the end of a sink tip, or is it better to just use a faster sinking tip?

sorry for more probably silly questions. thanks in advance for any information you all may give.

[t_richerzhagen]

are tapered. The weights are posted at the manufacturers sites. I can send Airlfo as an excel sheet. The weights vary depending on length and sink rate. In my experience the floating and intermediate turn over very well and have not been a problem down to 7/8 midspey. The higher sink rates often require some cutting on the front taper to get the best turnover. Fred uses a 3' section of maxima between the floating line and the poly leader to get better depth. There is no reason not to use a poly leader off the front tip of a sink tip. That would fit in with a recent thread on using 30' of #8 sinking shooting head off a floating belly.

As a practical matter longer tips, are more difficult to get out of the water for the set up and forward cast.

The RIO copmonsator is an intermediate section that replaces tip two on a tips line and gives a longer effective sinking tip, gets the faster sinking tip deeper, yet gets our of the water fairly well.

You will have to play with the different combinations to see what works best for you.

[wilson]

I used a 12' Type II on my floating line last year in Gaspe for almost the whole time I was there. I was fishing some big tubes and just wanted to get them under ASAP (no weighted flies allowed). Fished fine, never knew it was there. Just had to lift a little higher and it was as good as a floater.

You'll have to check the specs on all of them but I have the whole set and will use them with my floaters. I first got interested in them when I met some folks from Denmark who were using intermediate or intermediate sink tip lines in combination with the sinking leaders. They were deadly effective and hated fishing behind those guys. They could go through a run a few times at all levels depending on the line/leader setup.

-Chris

[fredaevans]

TR's correct about my using a 'shot' of 25-30 pound test (Maxima main line) between my full floating line and the poly leader. Hinging is not an issue; if it is, just use 'stiffer/higher pound test' Maxima.

The 'added beauty' of this set up is the mono acts just like a RIO compensator allowing the thin sinker to drop right down through the water collum without having to drag the floating line behind it. Down faster and stays there longer. Both "good things."
Fred

[crobarr]

thanks folks!

looks like with everything i have going on with mike, i've also gotten my dad worked up a little bit.

*story time*
i remember as a kid, he told me about how he used to hike into several places with his buddies and fly fish for trout when he was in high school. my dad also taught me how to tie a royal coachman (ok, he told me what went where ). he just went by memory after he picked out the materials i would need. in retrospect, it was probably his storys that sparked my interest in flyfishing in the first place. i'll have to thank him next time i talk to him.
*end story*

anywho, he asked if i had a spare flyrod light enough for trout he could borrow. i only have my favorite 6 wt., so i'm sending it with a box of trout flies so he can ply the waters of tillimook county for trout until he decided if he wants something lighter, the same, or maybe something heavier (i'm telling him a 7 wt. is a good thing in case a summer stelhead hits). seems his old cane rod has already seen it's last day as a fishing rod.

so i was thinking maybe a poly leader might be good too send along also. he can be my guinea pig.

[fredaevans]

CB, not to worry about using a 6wt for summer runs; in lower water here on the upper Rogue I even use a 6 wt spey 'switch rod' for winter runs. A total gas!!

If you really want to give him a tickle look at R B Meiser's web page and his 'switch rods.' GREAT STUFF and a hoot to fish.
Fred