Hyper-Compleat Principles of Leader Design Article provided by Steven B. Schweitzer www.globalflyfisher.com Home Articles Forums When I started out tying my own leaders, it was purely out of interest in the "how-to" and not the "need-to." I wasn’t interested in saving money by tying my own and I wasn’t ready to invest the time to learn another facet of this increasingly complex sport called fly fishing. Plainly speaking, I just was curious. But, as my interest grew, my frustration began. I practiced plenty of patience searching for bits and pieces from books, magazines, friends and internet resources. So, as I found them, I realized that comprehensive resources on tying leaders were few and far between. There are lots and lots of general articles, but none that had all the information I needed to really understand leader design and mechanics. I began to collect them…and over a two-year period, I amassed a collection of tips, guidelines and formula variations not worthy to keep…to myself. In essence, it is my hope that this document and the accompanying leader calculation tool, LeaderCalc , will help you to understand the method behind the madness of tying your own leaders. At the same time LeaderCalc will help you easily sort through the seemingly infinite leader formulas to find the specific leaders that will work in the fishing situations you encounter most often. This document focuses on the basic techniques and tidbits associated with non-braided, tapered, mono-filament leaders for freshwater and basic saltwater applications. The LeaderCalc tool does not presently include: big-game leaders, or specialty leaders for toothy saltwater critters. Nor does it include shooting, running, double-taper or straight-line mono leaders. Why Hand-Tied Leaders? [top] Vintage hand-tied and machine-tapered leaders from Abercrombie & Fitch, Orvis and Wanigas Rod Company; circa 1960's. Hand tied leader formulas offer the angler an unlimited portfolio of leader options. There have literally been thousands of hand-tied leader formulas developed and published over the years, all of which are based upon the fundamental 3-part principle of butt/taper/tippet. Hand tied leaders cost pennies per inch when compared to commercially machine-tapered leaders, which is a big incentive in itself for tying your own. Hand-tied leaders also offer you the flexibility of designing tapers that best fit your own personal needs, thus not limiting you to the tapers of commercially available leaders. It’s also easier to modify a hand-tied leader on stream to meet your exact requirements by adding or removing some tippet material. But the biggest advantage to tying your own leaders is the "success factor". That’s where using your own hand-tied leader and your own hand-tied fly successfully fooled and hooked your quarry. There’s no feeling greater than knowing you had 100% complete control in presenting the business end of the fly line to your fish. Think back to the first fish you caught with a fly you tied. Amazing isn’t it?! The economics of tying your own fly leaders are another appealing notion. Quality, machine- tapered leaders go for $3.50 US each. A typical leader kit sells for around $32 US. There are 10 - 13 spools in each kit, where each spool has 20 to 30 meters. Let’s assume there are 10 spools of 25 meters: that’s 250 meters of material in our example kit. At $32 US for 250 meters, that works out to be $0.13 per meter, $0.11 per yard or $0.04 per foot! If we use a 9 foot leader (2.7 meters) as our standard, that works out to cost us $0.35 for a 9 foot leader (2.7 meters). Compare that to paying $3.50 for a machined tapered leader! You’re paying 1/10th the price for a customizable leader! The Leader Concept [top] I’ll give you the bottom line now: No matter how experienced you are in fly fishing, don’t neglect the leader! It pays to know as much as you can about how your leader affects your cast and the presentation and drift of your fly. Just knowing the basics will give you more confidence in your ability to put the fly in front of the fish’s nose. During a day of tough conditions in fly fishing, your choice of leader style can spell the difference between success and failure. Tapered leaders, when designed properly, will present a fly in a stealthy, life-like manner to your quarry. Proper selection of leaders for your fishing environment is the single-most important element in fooling fish to the take. Leaders serve several purposes: Providing a nearly invisible connection between you and your offering Aiding in the proper presentation of the fly Allowing the fly to respond in a lifelike manner Transferring and dissipating the energy of the cast towards the fly The fly line is designed to efficiently transmit and maintain the energy from the cast. In contrast, the leader is designed to absorbs, disperses and transmits a smooth, but decreasing flow of energy to the fly. Types of Tapered Leaders & Their Characteristics [top] There are literally thousands of leader designs. They can be roughly categorized in the following manner: Dry Stillwater or spring creek leaders. Long, limp, wispy, thin Nymph Streamer - straightens very rapidly and offers immediate control of the fly. A short, large diameter design made with tough, stiff materials is the ticket. Bass/Panfish – relatively short and stiff Pike/Muskie - made for toothy fishes Steelhead/Salmon - durability and strength are key Saltwater – Stiff, strong and abrasion resistant, transparency is less of an issue. The length of the leader, the tippet size and the taper all play a vital role in the success of the leader "turning over" or delivering the fly to the target. Since a leader that optimally turns over a fly is the ideal goal, we can decipher that the taper is the single most critical element of the leader. But, like any puzzle, there are several solutions to an acceptable end result. To complicate the puzzle, there are many intangibles to consider when designing/tying a hand-made leader. Consider: Your casting speed and style The rod’s action (fast, medium, slow) Length of required cast Wind conditions Water surface currents for dry fly and nymph fishing Sub-surface water currents for nymphing Water clarity Water depth Water temperature (affects the "stiffness" and pliability of the leader material) Underwater structure that may nick and abrade the leader material The quarry you are after (size, "toothyness", fighting style, etc.) The characteristics of the leader material (stiffness, suppleness, color, abrasive-resistance, etc.) Given the many variables listed above and the countless variables in leader taper design, you can easily see where one could actually tie a leader for each specific pocket , run, riffle and pool in every stream you fish. Example: If I started upstream of a classic riffle/run/pocket/pool stream scenario where I wanted to fish dries, nymphs and streamers, I could theoretically be forced to use a minimum of 12 different leader combinations to fish that one stretch (4 streams sections, 3 ways to fish them each). But if I did that, I would spend more time tying on leaders and flies than actually casting to fish. Thus, the challenge to you is: it is your decision to find the optimum leader for your fishing conditions and styles. Is it possible to design a combination leader that serves many functions? Sure! Table 1 Recommended Leader Butt Diameters Line Weight (mm's) Butt Diameter (inches) Butt Diameter 3 .45-.50 .017"-.020" 4 .45-.55 .019"-.021" 5 .50-.55 .020"-.022" 6 .55-.60 .021"-.023" 7 .60-.65 .022"-.024" 8 .60-.65 .023"-.026" 9 .60-.70 .024"-.027"          Components Of A Leader [top] There are three main components of a leader: Butt, Taper (also called mid-section or graduation), and Tippet. The most common formula basis for the leader is 60% butt, 20% taper, 20% tippet. Other formulas such as double taper formulas offer 40%,20%,40%, but for the most part, formulas are derivatives of the 60/20/20 rule. Butt According to Charles Ritz in his book "A Fly Fisher’s Life", the diameter of leader butts should be 60% of the diameter of the end of the fly line. Other formulas indicate that 75% is the optimum butt diameter, but in either case, a leader butt of .017" to .022" satisfies most any formula. A leader butt of 60%-75% is quite ample enough to transmit and disperse casting energy downward to the tippet. Also consider the stiffness of the butt material. It should approximate the stiffness of the fly line. Use the Table 1 to guide you in selecting the correct leader butt thickness. Taper Again, Ritz reminds us that the ideal is to have the longest forward taper as possible while still remaining under control during the presentation. He subscribes to the 60/20/20 rule, where the 60% is strength, 20% is taper and the final 20% is terminal tippet. Tippet According to Ritz, suppleness in leader material is only necessary at the tippet, where, in his opinion, 20 inches is the ideal length. Other sub-parts of a leader are: Shock Butt, Shock Tippets and Wire Tippets. These components are geared toward specialty fishing situations like toothy fresh and saltwater critters. This document will not go into great detail in these areas. Table 2 Recommended Fly Sizes for Tippets (inches) Diameter (mm's) Diameter X-Rating Fly Size .003" .08 8X #20-#28 .004" .10 7X #20-#28 .005" .13 6X #18-#26 .006" .15 5X #14-#20 .007" .18 4X #6-#14 .008" .20 3X #6-#12 .009" .23 2X #4-#10 .010" .26 1X #4-#8 .011" .28 0X #4-#6 .013" .33 01X #8-#12 .015" .40 02X #4-#8 .017" .45 03X #1/0-#4 .019" .50 04X #3/0-#1/0 .021" .55 05X #5/0-#3/0      Types of Leader Material [top] Clear Monofilament Nylon Monofilament nylon, or "mono" as it is referred, is by far the most popular leader material in use today.  Extruded nylon and co-polymer nylons comprise the best leader materials today.  Stiffer mono, such as Maxima or Amnesia line offer great material as butt and taper sections.  Co-polymer, being softer materials, such as Orvis SuperStrong, Umpqua, Dai Riki Velvet and Rio PowerFlex, make for great taper and tippet materials. Fluorocarbon Fluorocarbon filament leader material was introduced around 1993 by several leading manufacturers.  Fluorocarbon material has several distinct advantages over standard monofilament materials.   It's much more dense than water, thus it will sink faster than standard monofilament leader material.  Fluorocarbon material also has the advantage of being more abrasion-resistant; which makes it a better choice for streamer leaders, nymph leaders and saltwater tippets.  Another appealing trait is it's near-transparent nature - moreso than standard mono. Fluorocarbon also has a few minor drawbacks, however.  It isn't nearly as strong as standard mono and you must be sure of your knots when using fluorocarbon material.   Fluorocarbon material tends to require more secure knots for sure-hold tippet section.  Try using a surgeon's knot with three loops versus the standard two.   I've found much greater success in retaining knot strength using a triple-loop surgeon's knot when affixing fluorocarbon tippet material to a leader section. What the Manufacturers Don’t Tell You – Stiffness Rating Manufacturers will tell you the diameter and pound test and maybe even the color, but they don't tell you a stiffness rating.  Mason mono is hard, we all know, and Orvis SuperStrong is soft, but you couldn't tell by the names or the packages. A simple method to determine if the stiffness of the leader material matches the stiffness of your fly line is to bend a section of each in half with your fingers and "feel" the approximate stiffness of each. You’ll easily be able to feel the difference in the resistance to the bend. If you use a butt material that is too flimsy, you’ll experience the "hinge" effect when you cast. The leader will not turn over properly and hinge where the fly line and leader connection is made. Get over this hurdle and you’re well on your way to a designing proper leader. Leader Pound/Test Formula [top] While each manufacturer of leader material boasts a different pound test rating, they all generally are within a predictable range. For example, most 8x tippets are around 1.2 lbs test. Likewise, most 0X tippets approximate 12 lbs test. I’ve developed a formula to approximate the pound test of the average Monofilament leader material. The formula is based upon the tippet diameter having a direct relation to the pound test a tippet can withstand. Specifically, the formula is ((diameter x 1000)2 ¸ 11) + (diameter x 100).  Knowing that this formula is cumbersome to remember, a quick method formula can replicate similar estimation results. The Quick Formula is: ((diameter x 1000)2 / 10).  The formula is compared to a dataset of 15 different leader monofilaments showing the high test rating, the low test rating and the average test rating.  As you can see by the wide variety of diameter-to-pound/test ratings, there is no industry standard...or even industry average. The formulas I've developed try to 'even out' the playing field and fairly estimate with some degree of reasonableness, pound tests for a given diameter of leader material. The tables below show calculations for 8X through 08X tippets. Table 3a. Monofilament Pound Test Estimations - 08X through 01X Tippet Designation 08X 07X 06X 05X 04X 03X 02X 01X Tippet Diameter 0.019" .55mm 0.018" .50mm 0.017" .45mm 0.016" .40mm 0.015" .38mm 0.014" .35mm 0.013" .33mm 0.012" .30mm Schweitzer lb Test Formula 34.7 31.3 28.0 24.9 22.0 19.2 16.7 14.3 Schweitzer Quick Method 36.1 32.4 28.9 25.6 22.5 19.6 16.9 14.4 Hi Value in Dataset 45.0 26.4 35.0 25.0 28.0 17.6 21.0 18.5 Lo Value in Dataset 17.6 12.0 13.2 25.0 10.0 17.6 7.0 6.0 Average of Dataset 29.5 21.5 23.3 25.0 17.9 17.6 13.7 9.8 Table 3b. Monofilament Pound Test Estimations - 0X through 8X Tippet Designation 0X 1X 2X 3X 4X 5X 6X 7X 8X Tippet Diameter 0.011" .279mm 0.010" .254mm 0.009" .229mm 0.008" .203mm 0.007" .178mm 0.006" .152mm 0.005" .127mm 0.004" .102mm 0.003" .076mm Schweitzer lb Test Formula 12.1 10.1 8.3 6.6 5.2 3.9 2.8 1.9 1.1 Schweitzer Quick Method 12.1 10.0 8.1 6.4 4.9 3.6 2.5 1.6 0.9   Hi Value in Dataset 15.5 13.5 11.5 8.5 6.4 5.2 3.8 2.5 1.8 Lo Value in Dataset 4.4 4.0 6.6 5.7 4.8 4.0 2.8 1.9 1.0 Average of Dataset 9.8 8.5 8.3 6.9 5.4 4.3 3.2 2.2 1.4   Leader Design Principles [top] As mentioned above, the leader absorbs and disburses the energy created by the cast. It is the goal to control energy absorption as best as possible. Given that, we can decipher that the taper is the most single important aspect of a leader. A taper that is too short or stiff will snap your fly over during the presentation and a taper that is too long or supple will "hinge" and not turn over at all. Additionally, a leader that turns over nicely on a short cast, may be too supple to turn over on a long cast. As you can see, there are many things to consider when designing a leader. This article will not go too deep into the theory of leader design, but will consider the following principle rules-of-thumb when designing your own leader tapers: Leaders don't increase the amount of energy from the cast, thus there is no need to use leader material that is capable of transferring more energy than the flyline can develop. 9 foot leaders accommodate 80% of fly fishing situations 4X or 5X tippets accommodate 80% of all freshwater fishing demands Leader length equals rod length Extreme Length: leader length equal to 1 ½ the length of the rod Start with the Ritz 60/20/20 rule and modify from there Butt diameters should be roughly between 60% and 75% of the diameter of the fly line ( .017" - .022" ). 2/3rds is a good rule. The butt stiffness should approximate the stiffness of your fly line. Exceeding more than .002"- .003 difference in material diameters between each section is a good rule-of-thumb. However, .it is quite acceptable to reduce your leaders by 60% of the preceding leader section. Think of it this way: If it is OK for your leader butt to be 60% of the diameter of your fly line, it’s certainly OK for each of your leader segments to follow suit! Line Clarity = personal choice Abrasion resistance = the least amount needed as typically abrasion-resistant materials are less supple. Use blood knots for the butt and taper Use a surgeon’s knot for combining tippet sections Design rapid tapers and long tippets where they transfer casting energy more quickly and smoothly Smaller diameter or softer materials are less efficient at energy transfer than larger diameter or stiffer materials. The shorter the leader section, the more casting energy is carried forward. More casting speed is required for long and light leaders Slow casters should use short tapers, fast casters should use longer tapers Typical freshwater shock tippets are 10"-12" of 25-30lb mono. Fluorocarbon is much more transparent than nylon and copolymer leader material. Fluorocarbon is not as strong as nylon and copolymer leader material. Fluorocarbon material is more dense than water and will sink. It’s not the best for dry fly leader tippets unless it is greased, and the grease will decrease the stealth by making the leader more visible. Discussion of Proper Leader Length [top] Clearly, one of the looming debates that has never been solved through the ages is "What is the proper leader length for a given circumstance".  I can give you the answer right now: It's the leader length that you will use and have confidence to catch fish.  So, what I am saying is, after you have assessed the circumstances surrounding catching your quarry, you'll tie on the leader you know you can cast and present the fly in the best possible manner.  Let's explore a few opinions from masters of the art. George Harvey, Gary Borger, Ray Bergman and others have become advocates of longer leader lengths, especially for dry-fly fishing.  The belief is the longer leaders will deliver the fly and allow it to drift as though it weren't attached to anything.   Others believe longer leaders extend the distance from the fly line to the fly making the connection less obvious. However, longer leaders require longer casts to be effective.  Enter William C. Black. William C. Black, however, subscribes to the theory that leader length is mis-interpreted, mis-used and over-hyped.  In his book, "The Art of Flyfishing Smaller Streams", Black writes "Theoretically, the longer and thinner the leader, the better the camouflage.  Among flyfishing intelligentsia there is a tendency to regard the length of an angler's leader as commensurate with his degree of skill and sophistication."  Black further reduces his concept to casting requirements.   Using long leaders for short casts of, say, less than 25 feet, is futile.   "Whipping near pure monofilament about (referring to long leaders and only a few feet of flyline) is very much like whistling in the breeze.  Thus, the length of your leader has increasing impact on tackle performance as casts grow shorter."   Reducing Black's opinions then, tells us to be smart about using long leaders.   If you have short casts, where there will be very little flyline to load the rod, there will be very little energy to turn over a long leader.  Shorter casts require shorter leaders, longer casts can activate longer leaders.  Incidentally, Black typically uses leaders from 4 to 9 feet and may use longer slack-line leaders for bigger water where a drag-free float is required. Symptoms of Poor Leader Design [top] Leader doesn’t turn over at all & lands in a curled-up pile? = Leader butt too light. Not stiff enough, or middle taper too stiff or thick. Leader slaps the fly on the water = slow your cast down or use a more supple leader formula. Leader 'hinges' - doesn't turn over well? = Several items to check:  fly too heavy?, casting too slowly?  Leader sections more than 60% difference in diameter size?  Using soft leader material for butt section? Leader turns over OK except for the tippet section? = Tippet is too supple or light for the fly selection. Leader breaks at a knot? = check your knot tying skills! Do fish come to your fly and turn away at the last second? = Your tippet is causing too much micro-drag. Lengthen the tippet segment to allow for a small S-curve or go to a smaller diameter tippet. Hand-tied leaders in packaged form after using LeaderCalc formulas and LeaderCalc's Custom Label Generator. Leader Knots [top] (For complete tying instructions for the following knots, refer to any quality fly fishing book. These are standard fly fishing knots and are illustrated and discussed in most quality fly fishing books.) According to extensive research done by Jim Vincent of RIO, the blood knot and the triple surgeon’s knot prove the strongest knots to use when combining leader material. He recommends using the blood knot for tippet diameters greater than .007"/0.178 (4X) and the triple surgeon’s knot for tippet sizes less than .007"/0.178 (4X). I tie a 3/3 blood knot on my leader butt material, a 4/4 blood knot on my taper material and a combination of a 5/5 blood knot and a surgeon’s knot for my tippet sections. For bass, steelhead and salmon leaders, I tie all blood knots. (a 3/3 blood knot means there are 3 twists of leader material on either side of the knot and so on…) Discussions of the Perfection Loop There is some rhetorical concern that the perfection loop affects casting energy transmission. My personal feelings are that it may if the connecting loops are quite large, allowing for plenty of "slop" in the connection. I try to keep my perfection loops as small as possible. Surgeon’s knot This is a quick and easy knot to tie. A double surgeon knot is ample for most tippet to taper connections, however a triple-surgeon’s knot adds an extra insurance against slippage. Blood knot This is the standard knot used to connect butt to taper and taper to tippet in all leader construction. It is a cumbersome knot to tie manually at first, but after only a few leaders, you see how easy the blood knot is to tie. Discussions of the Blood Knot There are two schools of thought regarding the tightening of blood knots: A quick-draw or a slow-draw. In either method, thoroughly wet the area with saliva or mineral oil. Grasp both ends of the leader connection and pull them in opposite directions. You might hear a small "frog chirp" indicating the knot has tightened. If you hear the "chirp", you didn’t lubricate the knot connection well enough. The controversy of the blood knot revolves around the element heat caused by friction during tightening. Is more friction developed with a quick-draw or a slow-draw? Heat from friction weakens leader material. The debate remains, it’s your call. Wind knot Reduces line strength by an estimated 50%.  We all get them, especially when fishing long, wispy dry fly leaders! A Handy Tip: Pick up a copy of Orvis’ "Waterproof Vest Pocket Knot Booklet" by Doug Truax. It not only has clear diagrams of tying over 10 basic fly fishing knots, but it also contains tips on tippet selection/care, a hook size chart and some basic leader formulas. (the formulas are included in LeaderCalc ) Knotless leaders… …offer one major advantage over hand-tied leaders: no knots! If you are fishing a weedy lake or cress-filled spring creek, a knot with the slightest of tags will catch anything, and I mean anything floating in the water, including the leader itself. But there is a way to minimize the pesky effect of knots. A little drop of clear acrylic fingernail polish or head cement, layered on a couple of times forms a nice smooth finish the shape of a football over the knot. Climax offers a similar product specifically formulated for tying leaders. It is offered as part of their leader kits. Final Notes on Knots The knots in a leader, according to Ritz, reinforce the rigidity of a leader which assures greater precision in presenting the fly. "Suppleness is only necessary in the point, where a length of 20 inches is, in my opinion, the ideal compromise", writes Ritz. Non-typical Leader Designs [top] Straight mono There is nothing overly complicated or special about straight mono leaders. Just knowing the length of line desired and tippet thickness will get you by. In the Midwest USA, straight mono leaders are useful for salmon and steelheading. Straight mono leaders are also used in slow water nymphing and streamer fishing. Convex/Concave Convex and concave leaders, sometimes referred to as weight-forward and double-taper leaders, mimic to a smaller scale the popular concepts of fly line design. The LeaderCalc tool doesn’t lend itself easily to presenting these specialty leaders, thus they are presented here in table format. They are ideally suited for a 4 or 5 wt. rod. Since they are thicker in the middle than either end, they follow the popular, but somewhat unconventional leader design rule of 40/20/40. Table 4. Two Styles of Concave Leaders inches/ mm's .017" .40mm .019" .45mm .021" .55mm .017" .45mm .015" .40mm .012" .30mm .009" .23mm .007" .18mm .006" .16mm 10-ft. Convex all-purpose 8" 20cm 16" 41cm 16" 41cm 8" 20cm 8" 20cm 8" 20cm 8" 20cm 16" 41cm 32" 80cm 17-ft. Convex nymph 18" 46cm 32" 81cm 40" 102cm 20" 51cm 16" 41cm 12" 31cm 12" 31cm 12" 31cm 34"-42" 86-107cm   The Accompanying Tool: LeaderCalc [top] A snapshot of the main screen in LeaderCalc. The LeaderCalc spreadsheet is a tool to calculate the length and diameter for each segment in a hand-tied leader. It is the most comprehensive tool available. LeaderCalc contains 70+ of the most common and popular leader formulas ranging from delicate dry fly fishing to stout bass popper fishing. The development of this tool encompasses over 2 years of research, programming and the countless contributions of many of my internet friends. LeaderCalc is simple to use! You choose three design elements: Metric or English measurements, the leader length and the tippet diameter. LeaderCalc does the rest. Print the LeaderCalc spreadsheet, save it in a notebook, and you have ready reference to your favorite leader formulas. LeaderCalc also contains a Leader Label Generator so you can professionally create leader labels to slip in little plastic leader ziplock bags. An added feature of the Label Generator is a place for you to store your own notes about the leader formulas contained in LeaderCalc . You can even choose to have your notes printed on your custom leader labels. LeaderCalc is unique and unparalleled in leader design tools! LeaderCalc Support [top] LeaderCalc is warranted for use as developed and tested.  Developed on a 100mHz Pentium processor with 96Meg RAM, using Excel 5.0+. NOTICE: Direct all user comments, feedback and problem reports to: leadercalc@mwflytyer.com.  Due to volume of emails received via this site, S. Schweitzer and The Global Fly Fisher cannot respond to all emails.  Problem or error reports will take priority. Distribution & Use Policy [top] LeaderCalc, this article and associated help files (Files) are copyrighted property of S. Schweitzer and The Global Fly Fisher (GFF), 1999.  The Files are designed for personal use and are distributed free-of-charge for a single personal use installation.  At no time will the Files be made available or packaged for resale.  The Files are exclusive property of GFF and are to be exclusively distributed by GFF and may not be distributed in part or in whole by any other electronic means, including but not limited to, personal website distribution, diskette or re-writeable CD-ROMs. Hyperlinks to the Files from personal websites or other HTML-based forms is acceptable.  Bulk or multiple-copy distribution rights for non-profit clubs & organizations by prior written consent only. Additional Resources [top] "The Art of Flyfishing Smaller Streams", William C. Black. Published by Pruett Publishing, Boulder, CO 1988. "A Fly Fisher’s Life", Charles Ritz. Published by Henry Holt and Company, 1960. "Saltwater Fly fishing", Lefty Kreh. Published by Lyons & Buford Publishers, 1986. "Waterproof Vest Pocket Knot Booklet", Doug Truax. Published by The Orvis Company, 1989. "Fly Fishing For Smallmouth Bass", Harry Murray. Published by The Lyons Press, 1989 "LLBean’s Fly Fishing For Bass Handbook", Dave Whitlock. Published by Lyons & Buford Publishers, 1988. "Trout on a Fly", Lee Wulff "The Practical Fly Fisherman", A.J. McClane "Presentation", Gary Borger "Fishing with Ray Bergman", Ray Bergman. Published by Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1970. "Fishing Dry Flies on Rivers and Streams", Art Lee "Flyfisherman" magazine, September 1994 "Flyfisherman" magazine, July 1995 Web-based Resources [top] "Knots", By Martin Joergensen "Leaders and Tippets", By Martin Joergensen "Using Loop-to-Loop Connections", By Martin Joergensen "Twined or Furled Leaders", By Martin Joergensen & Henk Verhaar Flyfish Listserv (FF@) http://www.uky.edu/~agrdanny/flyfish/main.htm "Knots" website http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/knotlink.htm "Hand-Tied Leader Recipes", Hook-n-Hackle Company http://www.hookhack.com/handtiedleaders.html "About Fly Leaders", The Fly Fishing Shop http://www.flyfishusa.com/tackle-tips/leaders/knots.html "Tying and Fishing Hand-Tied Leaders" http://www.nb.net/~gofish/leaders.html "Leader Recipes", Lasse Märtensson http://www.gallinago.x.se/svagan/watershed/efishing5.htm "Leader Design and Construction", Dave Engerbretson http://www.finefishing.com/1flyfish/equipment/lines/leaderdesign.htm Special Thanks to various contributions from… FF@ listserv archives Phil Strobel Martin Joergensen Aaron Hirschhorn Martin Westbeek Edward C. Goodwin John Wettlaufer Rich Caccavale Conrad Shiba [top] A Global Fly Fisher Publication Copyright © 1994 - 2002, Joergensen/Petti/Schweitzer/Skehan Portions of this site copyright © the contributors. All rights reserved. This material is for personal use only. Do not distribute without prior written consent from each copyright holder. Comments and suggestions are welcome  3792   Copyright © 2000-2002 Utah On The Fly All Rights Reserved