leader tying?

hi lads looking for advice on fly leader conctruction.
for fishing a size 1 or 1/0 deciever in shallow water (6'-) is 8' of 40lb connected to (looped) 4' of 12lb ok? thanks

Sounds a little long I try to keep my saltwater leaders at 9ft or below. Long leaders can be very hard work as it gets windy. Getting a good balance can be a bit of trial and error. Tie up 2 or 3 different leaders and try them out and see which one suits you best. I would suggest 4 foot and 5 foot as a good place to start. There are also good tapered leaders that can be bought from the shop. I normally pick up a few pike leaders and cut the tippet away and attach some quality fluorocarbon.

Tight Lines,

Kev

As said dont go too long,i usually use a length from the tip ring to the fly keeper ring at the butt grip,an over long leader is prone to wind knots,ive caught trout and bass on leaders as short as 3 foot,(me being lazy and not tying on a new leader after a snag),a long leader is also pain in the hole if its windy and keeping the fly up during the back cast which leads to damaged or lost flies on the ground behind ye

As the lads said don't go too long . I usually use six foot as i use a fast sinking line which alloys me to cast easier . I'd normally use a 15 lb mono like Berkely triline as i find it rarely knots on itself during casting. All be it crude I've caught plenty of fish this way . Its trial and error as the action of your rod and your line will differ from others.

thanks for help lads shorter is better ok.

Reduce the 6’-0” section to 4’-0” – add in a middle bit of say 25lbs length 3’-0” – then tie on 2’-0” of you 12lbs – and stretch it all before fishing

The jump from 40lbs to 12lbs in your current leader may be causing you a few problems, if you are fishing reasonably shallow water it may be no harm to increase the length a little if you can manage it.

Something like 5’-0” of 40lbs – 3’-0” of 30lbs – 2’-0” of 20lbs and then your tippet of 1’-0” – a lot depends on the material you are using and the rating of the line you are casting, it doesn’t need to be too scientific and try what’s best for you – longer can be more difficult no doubt.

Jim has hit the nail on the head there. The rapid drop in diameter might be causing your problem. This can cause the loop to collapse somewhat and then your fly snags the leader / or fly line and is prone to knotting. 3 and 4 section leaders will turn a fly over a lot better. Personally I tend to stear away from them if possible as there is more to go wrong. Most takle shops will have a pike fly leader. If you cut the final 2- 3 feet off this leader and attach your Flurocarbon tippet it would be a better way to go & easier

I do similar for my trout fishing now as well.

Kev

thanks for that jim i've tied up some decievers in white and white and chartreuse and also some rays flies are these ok in the surf?
thanks again

Try a white deciever with a yellow wing,use small red sequins with a black dot for eyes ,or trim a large one to size,when their epoxyed up they look good,an effective fly for bass and easily tied,good in slightly stained water

thanks for all the help lads

Hi Sb

The Rays fly during spring can be deadly especially through April and into May - sometimes during periods of extremely clear water on sunny days when you get a lot of follows, drop to a sparsely tied rays and bingo -

The white or white and chartreuse deceiver is a brilliant pattern - probably a 'go to' fly for me - if fishing shallow rocky ground try a variation and go to a bucktail deceiver (popovic)- tied a little more 'heavy' and increase its buoyancy - tied sparser and it fishes deeper - or play with type of hook.

enjoy