Best fishing leaders & leader rigging according to redditors
We found 21 Reddit comments discussing the best fishing leaders & leader rigging. We ranked the 19 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
We found 21 Reddit comments discussing the best fishing leaders & leader rigging. We ranked the 19 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
Redington Crosswater combo ($132 with Prime)
If he likes smallmouth and catches them in his favorite creeks then get the 6wt. If he prefers trout then get the 9' 5wt option. This rod in a 6wt will also work for pond/lake fishing for bass. If he went to a bigger river then he would do fine with it as well, whether wading or in a boat.
He will also need a leader and some tippet. For $8.61 you can get him an individual leader, or for $16 you can get him the three pack. For tippet, if you get him the 8 pound leader then you should get him the 8 pound tippet for $7.57.
For leader longevity he will want tippet rings for $11.72. This will allow him to use his leaders for much longer rather than needing to re-buy leaders sooner. I know we're outside of your budget at this point past the leader, but if you can swing it then all of these things will provide what he needs outside of flies. Maybe someone else is getting him presents and could supplement the rest. Sometimes fly rod combos will come with leaders, but I didn't see it mentioned on the Crosswater combo. You'll notice I tailored it more to bass. If you find out he's more of a trout guy, then read on.
For $10.78 you can get a 3-pack of 9' 4x leaders. He can fish small streamers and nymphs with these, but would want a thinner leader for dry flies. For creeks he will probably fish small streamers and nymphs most of the time anyways, so this is a good choice (in my opinion). You'll still want the tippet rings listed above to make the leader purchase last a long time. For tippet, a spool of 4x tippet material for $11.43. The tippet prices seem high to me so you might want to dig around some more for options.
Other doodads to consider would be nippers and a zinger, hemostats, and a net. Teeth are a substitute for nippers, but biting through fishing line does wear your teeth. Hemostats aren't as necessary if he pinches the barbs on his hooks. You can get away with not using a net, but it is easier on the fish and the fisherman to use one.
Hopefully this helps and points you in the right direction. If you have questions just send me a message.
It's a broad and general question, so you are likely to get similarly broad advice.
I am assuming you are talking about spin-fishing rather than fly fishing. I'd say:
Get a spinning (not casting) rod, and a spinning (not 'baitcasting') reel. Match your rod to your fish, your reel to your rod, and your line to your reel. The easiest thing to do is buy a combo LIKE THIS because the components are matched already.
If you want to roll-your-own setup:
ROD The rod will say what "weight" it is: ultra-light, Light, ..., heavy). Trout are usually light or ultra-light depending on the size they grow where you are fishing. Unless you know the trout are > 2 lbs. in weight, go with "Light"
REEL The reel should match the rod, look for a 1000 series for Light, or an ultralite for UL. More important though, the spool of the reel will list the how much of which line it can hold in terms of pounds of test. and length. e.g. My ultra-light reel will hold 100 yards of 4 lb. line (still on Imperial measurements here in US). For a Light rod, look for a reel that shows 6 - 8 lb test. About 150 yards of 6 lb is a good target.
LINE Get what is listed on the reel. Monofilament is fine, don't worry about flourocarbon, coated or braided lines.
TIPPET Do get some flourocarbon "tippet" and the smallest barrel swivels you can find. Trout have excellent eyesight, and the tippet is much harder for them to see because it is smaller and flourocarbon is invisible in water. This makes your terminal tackle less 'spooky.' 5x tippet is a good match for 6 lb test. 6x for ultralight. Do this even if you bought the combo above.
RIGGING Generally you will put your main line on the reel's spool and out to a swivel, then a few feet of the lighter, more expensive tippet to your terminal tackle. e.g. My ultralight setup is 4 lb. mono main line to a size 7 swivel and 7x flouro tippet to the terminal tackle. You probably want 6 lb to 5x, and 8 lb. to 5x is totally fine if you buy a combo with 8 lb.
TERMINAL TACKLE For reservoirs you want to use floating bait, tubes/jigs, and lures (inline spinners and/or spoons) from shore. From a boat, same, but more emphasis on spoons. Lures are a blast, but will cost you a LOT of money to acquire a good variety of them. I recommend bait and tubes/jigs if you are just starting out.
Floating Bait If you are shore-fishing, this is going to be your friend. Get some floating bait (real worms, dough, nuggets, etc.) and set up a Carolina Rig. Real worms are the best bait IMO, but they do not float naturally. You have to put air in them with a hypo. If you are just starting out, the artificial baits are fine. Rig it up, throw it in, take the slack out of the line and wait for the lunkers to come get some.
Tubes & Jigs These take more skill, but can produce a lot of fish. If you are fishing snaggy, moving water like rivers I recommend these as the top way to fish (lures are expensive and easy to lose in rivers.) Get a Trout Magnet or Crappie Magnet kit and you have everything you need.
Lures Inline spinners like Panther Martins (esp. the black/yellow dot & yellow/red dot) and Mepps Algias crush Sierra trout, not sure what their Eton comrades prefer. Keep the weight between 1/16 oz. and 1/8 oz. unless the trout are big (match the lure weights that are often listed on your rod) Good spoons here include the Acme Kastmaster, Thomas Bouyant and Super Duper. The rule here that the heavier the lure, the better it casts and the more potentially off-putting it is to a smallish fish like a trout.
Lure Selection The specifics of lure size, color and action can have a big impact on whether you get bites. What works one day may not work the next. This is how you can end up buying a LOT of lures. In general, you want to use light/bright colored lures in clear water and/or bright days and dark lures in turbid water or dimly lit days. THIS THREAD as well as THIS OTHER THREAD has some more detailed info on lure colors, sizes and brands I recommend.
You may also want to check out Fly and Bubble fishing which lets you use a spin rod to cast flies. It's a hoot and pretty effective: Get some adjustable spin floats, some flies and start fly and bubble fishing. Elk Hair Caddis sizes 12 - 18 are good, as are nymphs, and Mayfly imitations. Talk to local fly fishermen to see which bugs are good for your reservoir.
GETTING THE STUFF THAT WORKS Talk to the fishing outfitters near where you fish. They will tell you how the bite is, what the fish like, and where to do your fishing. Invaluable advice to prevent buying the entire world to cover all the bases.
HOW TO FISH This is super situational, but in general trout want to ingest more energy than they expend, i.e. they don't want to die. They like cold water near sources of food (bugs) and cover (rocks, brush, etc.). If you are fishing moving water, take the time to learn to READ THE WATER. Trout use moving water as a conveyor belt that brings them food. In reservoirs, you want to look for spots that are shallow enough to support plants and bugs, with deep water and/or good structure/cover nearby. Trout here will generally be cruising slowly or hanging in the water. Ideally, you will put your bait or lure near enough to entice without spooking them. If the trout are jumping or rising through the surface, they are eating insects from the surface film (emergers or fallen fliers), this would be a great time for the fly and bubble technique mentioned previously.
Generally THERE ARE TONS OF VIDEOS that cover whatever specific scenario you are going to pursue.
The most important technique is getting good at SETTING THE HOOK. It's hard to catch fish if you are bad at this.
FISH HANDLING
Trout are covered in protective slime:
Mash the barbs on your hooks if you are doing catch and release.
Hemostats/forceps are the easiest way to remove hooks from fish
Turning the fish upside-down will make them less frantic in their flopping.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I hope that helps, have fun!
I'm headed out for a two week bike tour through southern Wisconsin and plan on hitting a few creeks, rivers, and ponds along the way. From the DNR site it looks like mostly Brown, Brook, and Rainbow are in these areas.
I prefer my strings be strong, but as tiny/invisible as possible. Maybe something like this 100lb test invisible fishing line.
Especially when you're fishing bigger streamers... (3 inches is probably what I'd start to qualify as "big").... don't worry about getting a tapered leader.
Just use about a 2'-3' section of 40lb Butt material attached to your line here!
tied to about an 18'' - 2' section of 12-10lb test leader material here!
That's usually all you need and will help the fly turnover. You can also use a standard tapered leader that's bunged up and cut it back to 5' or 6' depending on the thickness and that will work as well.
I don’t I swear by the FG Knot tool, best investment I’ve made for a stream side tool when chasing big browns. Holds the perfect tension and not putting line in my mouth. If you don’t hold tight tension it could come lose the tension it creates. Kind of like a Chinese Finger Trap. I have the Tan version though want to order the Black version as it will match all my gear.
https://www.amazon.com/Daiichi-Assist-Braided-Leader-Connection/dp/B007WI10CU
You can buy 6' leaders that are perfect for small streams.
Bozeman flyworks have good prices. I use it and it works just as well as any I have used. 55 yards for 9 bucks...cant beat it. https://www.amazon.com/55-yards-Bozeman-FlyWorks-Fluorocarbon/dp/B015461VVQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1496855647&sr=8-1&keywords=bozeman+flyworks+tippet
I used to fish in W NC quite a bit. If I were going to give a beginner a box of flies to start in that area, they would be: elk hair caddis, bird of prey caddis, prince nymph, little black stones, hares ear, yellow sally, parachute adams, PMD, mayfly emergers, a few hot spot jig nymphs with heavy weight, a couple of simple streamers, and terrestrials. I've had banner days in NC with just a #16 adams (or haystack, similar mayfly pattern but takes about 30 seconds to tie). You could give her a box of flies and a little pack to hold those with 4X-5X tippet and some hemostats. Throw in a couple of leaders too, 9 foot 4X for the bigger rivers like the Nantahala, New, or Hazel Creek, and 7.5 foot 4X or 5X for the small mountains streams like the stuff you find in the Smokies. Good luck!
If you go the loop route like AlmostCutMyHair and BabylonDrifter suggested, check these out: http://www.amazon.com/Cortland-Slip-Leader-Loops-Color/dp/B00030A1VA
Those slip through the guides and almost act like a makeshift strike indicator for nymphing. Ignore that review, that guy didnt heat the shrink tubing enough.
Down on the OBX Surflon micro ultra is popular. It's more flexible than regular Surflon and other SS wires.
This would look pretty clean. I'd go with this but also add in a square/stepped picture rail molding on the bottom 1/3 of the pine board. This will allow you to hang pictures and paintings without having to drill/nail into the wail. Plus you can move/adjust at will. Have these in my place and can't imagine not having them.
I use basic molding hooks with 90lb nylon-coated stainless steel leader wire attached via aluminum crimp sleeves. Thread the wire through a spring loaded picture hanging hook that attaches to a painting via a single or double screw D rink or its hanging wires. Once you have the right materials, it is easy to put up a picture and painting. Plus you can effortlessly and endlessly move laterally and vertically.
Here's a diagram of various hanging options. Prefer A for smaller paintings and B for larger ones as I like the clean lines.
this is the lanyard: https://www.amazon.com/Mountain-River-Lanyards-Lanyard-Fishing/dp/B006UM0B38?ref_=fsclp_pl_dp_3
this is the lumbar bag i'm using today: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076QN3ZYF/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_VZDxCb25AXS9G - i don't use the sling strap or little tool patch right now, but for wet wading i might wear it that way for comfort. i'm still struggling with my net retractor on this bag, i have it on the orange grab handle at the top (shown better in the 2nd photo on amazon), i'll try using their net handle sleeve the next time i go to see if it's comfortable picture
Everyone's budget is different, so I'll leave that decision up to you. Having said that, tying my own leaders is something I've entertained in the past. I purchased this Maxima kit last summer. I finally got around to using it last night to repair my little 6x leader. I'm glad I had the kit on hand.
If you're really set on building your own leaders you'll need a good tippet gauge, a solid proficiency in tying a blood knot and a few good formulas to follow.
Most folks grab a few tapered leaders and spools of tippet and call it a day. Depending on how much you fish that should last you a good while. Tying in a tippet ring will extend the life of your tapered leaders even longer.
Crab snare is a must have for nor cal. Great activity when you're soaking some bait. http://www.amazon.com/Danielson-CSNR-Crab-Snare-Small/dp/B002QFY3IM
Can never have to many leaders http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B003D912MA/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1415251396&sr=8-1
My favorite storage solution http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00FPQRHV4/
Get something like this and get extra clips to use on the other end of the line.
You don't need $300 to get into fly fishing.
That's $86 USD, and you have everything you need to start.
YouTube videos are free, but the Orvis Fly Fishing Video Lessons are even better, and cover everything from first day on the water, up to advanced fly fishing techniques.