Handy tip if you don't want to fork out for a nymphing fly line and you have an old weight forward floating line, simply unspool the line and turn it around winding the weighted end on spool end. Strip the coating just using your fingernails and its ready to tie on the leader material.
Thanks for showing this. Specifically, leaving your materials on the spools while building your leader. So simple but absolute genius. Much appreciated!!!
I usually skip steps 1 through 500. Just buy my usual leaders and put a spot of fluorescent spray paint on about three and six feet above the tippet. No extra knots to weaken already lite line.
When I'm measuring a section of line for a blood knotted leader, I make the initial line crossing at 1.5 inches less than the length I want for that section. So for a 12 inch section, I start the knot at 10.5 inches, since I tend to get 1.5 inches extra when I cinch it. It probably varies for everyone, but I did a little experiment and that's what I came up with for my knot displacement. Love your videos, thanks. I'm still scared of knots in the guides after breaking a tip this summer when the rod was under tension.
Hi James, I really enjoy your videos. Given all the changes in leader and tippet material in the last several years, do you now have a favorite Euro leader system that can handle tight line nymphing as well as sporadic floating sighter conditions or is it better to just switch between the two rigs ? thanks much !
I recently I’ve moved to just 30ft of 4x bicolor to a ring which really isn’t great if I want to do anything other than nymph. Norm Maktima fished 10ft of 12lb Maxima Chamelon to 5ft of 2x to a tippet ring and this allowed easier conversion between nymphing and dry fly fishing. You can check that out on the newest video. Generally if I’m going to fish a river where I’ll be presenting upstream I’ll just stick with a thicker leader and fish a little heavier if I need to present up and across at distance. Hope that helps clear some things up. Thanks for watching.
It’s thicker at similar break strengths and makes it easier to grasp. It also builds taper into your leader for better turn over and castability if you’re dry fly fishing.
The Blood Knot was a bitch to tie until I had a friend tell me it is nothing more than 2 cinch knots tied back to back. A few mechanical adjustments and BOOM! Done! For a 71 year old it was a cinch
It’s all relative. Thick leaders are easier to cast and handle but sag way more. Thinner leaders are tougher to cast and are very hard to turn over dries with but very little sag and the ability to present a range of bead sizes at distance. I personally now just fish 30ft of 4x bicolor to a tippet ring, unless I’ll be doing dry, dry/dropper or greased lesser stuff.
I live in PA and have been fishing a Rio tapered leader but want to try tying my own leaders. This seems like a good place to start but is too long for me. What lengths of each material would you use for a leader under 18 feet?
It depends . Your tippet off the ring is going to factor into that. This video is a couple years old . I have since moved to just running 4x bi color to a tippet ring . River depth and how you rig ( depth to dropper or depth to point) will impact that . Off a euro line id start with 10ft straight 4x bi color to a tippet ring. You may go as long as 12 if your fishing shorter tippet. 4x is a pain to cast but once you get the hang of it you won’t go back .
@@AboutTrout interesting, I'm open to trying anything. I haven't been fly fishing long and switched to euro after a couple months of indicator fishing. I'm a competitive person by nature and knew I was doing to end up doing what competition guys spend the most time doing. Since I didn't spend a ton of time casting traditional weight forward line it was easy for me to transiting to euro line and oval cast. What are the benefits of going to the 4x sighter rig? Does this make it easier to see movement in the sighter?
Less sag and the ability to fish lighter flies at distance . Important especially on the PA creeks . I find it more sensitive plus at 4x you can dip the sighter under water if you need to go deeper . At 4x it won’t drag as much and impact the drift .
I do fish this on small creeks. Great leader for dry dropper and greased sighter stuff . My current leader is 10lb Chamelon 8lb amnesias and 2x sighter nylon. I like the thicker leader in this video for creeks because it turns over small dries well.
I saw a similar leader formula that said approximately .012 diameter sighter so I'm wondering if I can effectively use all I have at the moment which is 2x rio(.009) diameter. How important is using exactly .012 for this formula? Do you recommend I just go ahead and get .012?
@@alexargyros7186 I’m currently editing that video for tomorrow . If you’re purely nymphing 4x is the truth , if you’re pivoting between different techniques I like a slightly thicker leader tapered down to 1x or 2x. If you watch my last video on “finding wild fish in a stocked fishery” it’s all 4x
@@AboutTrout I appreciate your answer. Now, could you tell me if you tend to feel or see strikes when fishing a 4x "line?" If you see, then what do you see? I ask because with such a thin line, I have a hard time leaving any kind of curve or "C" in the line, resulting in most strikes felt rather than seen.
@@alexargyros7186 4x let’s you fish lighter beads at distance with ease and also improved the sink rate of lighter beads as less mass is pulling back on the flies . I still see 90% of my bugs but I also fish lots of 2mm-2.8 on that leader
If your beads and tippet rings are in metric units, why do you use imperial units for the leader lengths? If it's really EURO nymphing, shouldn't your leader lengths be in meters?
mike rapeer absolutely. You can even blood knot the amnesia to a pre existing tapered leader . I like chameleon because it’s stiff and helps when fishing dry flies on this rig.
Handy tip if you don't want to fork out for a nymphing fly line and you have an old weight forward floating line, simply unspool the line and turn it around winding the weighted end on spool end. Strip the coating just using your fingernails and its ready to tie on the leader material.
jasonblogs thanks for sharing
Great video James! I'm going to have to tie one up. Thanks for the info!
Thanks for watching !
Thanks so much. I'm trying to learn this technique and your videos have been the most helpful resources on the inter webs.
Thanks for checking it out!
Thank you, Matt damon!
Thanks for showing this. Specifically, leaving your materials on the spools while building your leader. So simple but absolute genius. Much appreciated!!!
this is my go-to leader setup now. thanks for sharing.
It’s so versatile , I use it for everything . Double dries to streamers!
I usually skip steps 1 through 500. Just buy my usual leaders and put a spot of fluorescent spray paint on about three and six feet above the tippet. No extra knots to weaken already lite line.
Thanks for the great instruction!
When I'm measuring a section of line for a blood knotted leader, I make the initial line crossing at 1.5 inches less than the length I want for that section. So for a 12 inch section, I start the knot at 10.5 inches, since I tend to get 1.5 inches extra when I cinch it. It probably varies for everyone, but I did a little experiment and that's what I came up with for my knot displacement. Love your videos, thanks. I'm still scared of knots in the guides after breaking a tip this summer when the rod was under tension.
Great tip! Thanks for checking this place out.
Hi James, I really enjoy your videos. Given all the changes in leader and tippet material in the last several years, do you now have a favorite Euro leader system that can handle tight line nymphing as well as sporadic floating sighter conditions or is it better to just switch between the two rigs ? thanks much !
I recently I’ve moved to just 30ft of 4x bicolor to a ring which really isn’t great if I want to do anything other than nymph. Norm Maktima fished 10ft of 12lb Maxima Chamelon to 5ft of 2x to a tippet ring and this allowed easier conversion between nymphing and dry fly fishing. You can check that out on the newest video. Generally if I’m going to fish a river where I’ll be presenting upstream I’ll just stick with a thicker leader and fish a little heavier if I need to present up and across at distance. Hope that helps clear some things up. Thanks for watching.
Thanks for the quick response. Have you made it up to the Conejos ? It and the San Juan are my two favorite wading rivers.
Cool video man! Yeah do a review on those rods there is not a lot of reviews on those 2 rods.
Thank you for watching. Here's my take on the Echo Shadow II family of rods. ua-cam.com/video/B-9inpUx0ks/v-deo.html
Thanks for the review!
Thanks made me feel better to see someone else screw up a blood knot
Whats the point of the Chameleon line? Its practically the same size as the sighter line?
It’s thicker at similar break strengths and makes it easier to grasp. It also builds taper into your leader for better turn over and castability if you’re dry fly fishing.
The Blood Knot was a bitch to tie until I had a friend tell me it is nothing more than 2 cinch knots tied back to back. A few mechanical adjustments and BOOM! Done! For a 71 year old it was a cinch
Devin says to use 20 lb. chameleon in one of his books. Is 15 lb better and if so, why?
It’s all relative. Thick leaders are easier to cast and handle but sag way more. Thinner leaders are tougher to cast and are very hard to turn over dries with but very little sag and the ability to present a range of bead sizes at distance. I personally now just fish 30ft of 4x bicolor to a tippet ring, unless I’ll be doing dry, dry/dropper or greased lesser stuff.
Thanks James, one quick question, how is Amnesia differnet than Maxima of the same test ?
Thanks very much
It’s more supple.
I live in PA and have been fishing a Rio tapered leader but want to try tying my own leaders. This seems like a good place to start but is too long for me. What lengths of each material would you use for a leader under 18 feet?
It depends . Your tippet off the ring is going to factor into that. This video is a couple years old . I have since moved to just running 4x bi color to a tippet ring . River depth and how you rig ( depth to dropper or depth to point) will impact that . Off a euro line id start with 10ft straight 4x bi color to a tippet ring. You may go as long as 12 if your fishing shorter tippet. 4x is a pain to cast but once you get the hang of it you won’t go back .
@@AboutTrout interesting, I'm open to trying anything. I haven't been fly fishing long and switched to euro after a couple months of indicator fishing. I'm a competitive person by nature and knew I was doing to end up doing what competition guys spend the most time doing. Since I didn't spend a ton of time casting traditional weight forward line it was easy for me to transiting to euro line and oval cast. What are the benefits of going to the 4x sighter rig? Does this make it easier to see movement in the sighter?
Less sag and the ability to fish lighter flies at distance . Important especially on the PA creeks . I find it more sensitive plus at 4x you can dip the sighter under water if you need to go deeper . At 4x it won’t drag as much and impact the drift .
@@AboutTrout thanks I appreciate the info. Do some more videos with Ben I hear he's also a huge fly fisherman! Maybe a euro vs dry dropper showdown?
Amnesia! No memory fishing line.. no memory = amnesia It finally clicked! Stay Huge
Are you fishing this same leader on small streams and creeks?
I do fish this on small creeks. Great leader for dry dropper and greased sighter stuff . My current leader is 10lb Chamelon 8lb amnesias and 2x sighter nylon. I like the thicker leader in this video for creeks because it turns over small dries well.
What lb is the indercator
You look more like chris pratt tbh
I saw a similar leader formula that said approximately .012 diameter sighter so I'm wondering if I can effectively use all I have at the moment which is 2x rio(.009) diameter. How important is using exactly .012 for this formula? Do you recommend I just go ahead and get .012?
Honestly I’ve been fishing just straight 2x to a tippet ring recently . It’s great for lighter bugs .
@@AboutTrout How do you feel about the micro-thin leaders (all 4x sighter material, for example) that many accomplishment Euro-nymphers are now using?
@@alexargyros7186 I’m currently editing that video for tomorrow . If you’re purely nymphing 4x is the truth , if you’re pivoting between different techniques I like a slightly thicker leader tapered down to 1x or 2x. If you watch my last video on “finding wild fish in a stocked fishery” it’s all 4x
@@AboutTrout I appreciate your answer. Now, could you tell me if you tend to feel or see strikes when fishing a 4x "line?" If you see, then what do you see? I ask because with such a thin line, I have a hard time leaving any kind of curve or "C" in the line, resulting in most strikes felt rather than seen.
@@alexargyros7186 4x let’s you fish lighter beads at distance with ease and also improved the sink rate of lighter beads as less mass is pulling back on the flies . I still see 90% of my bugs but I also fish lots of 2mm-2.8 on that leader
From a total tightline nymphing noob, why use a tippet ring and not just a blood knot?
The tippet ring keeps your leader length so you don’t have to cut into it every time you need to add tippet .
If your beads and tippet rings are in metric units, why do you use imperial units for the leader lengths? If it's really EURO nymphing, shouldn't your leader lengths be in meters?
You caught me . Such a rookie move
@@AboutTrout Yeah the trout will know and refuse to bite 😊
Pa. Is strict on leader length?
For fly fishing only streams yes
That reg has changed. No more 18’ max length on mono for fly only waters.
Love it...
Not Matt Damon-2
If I just wanted to use the amnesia will just the 12lb be ok?
mike rapeer absolutely. You can even blood knot the amnesia to a pre existing tapered leader . I like chameleon because it’s stiff and helps when fishing dry flies on this rig.
Thanks for the input. Does it maker what color amnesia I use? I was just at the fly show and only found the red in 12lb
mike rapeer Red is perfect , taper and diameter are more important . I actually prefer red because my eye picks it up better. Hope that helps!
Haha the intro
Why waste money on the bicolor if it won’t show both? Just buy red sunset.
Vladimir Makarov amnesia isn’t as supple and you sacrifice break strength in the thinner diameters of sunset. Hope that helps!