Leaders

Gene Bourque from Eastman's in Falmouth prefers extruded, tapered leaders from SciAnglers or Climax, from 7 to 10 feet. This type of leader has no knots connecting sections, meaning it won't catch any gunk and Gene likes the way they turn over with the flies he uses in the upper Cape area. As he put it, ``They simply work and I like to keep my equipment as simple as possible. I use tippets from 10 to 15 pounds since most of the fish we catch around Falmouth on the southside and up into Buzzards Bay are schoolies in the 18 to 24 inch range.''

When using a sinking line, Gene will use leaders as short as 4 to 6 feet, cutting back on the tippet sections. When the tippet is used up from tying flies, he adds a new section using a surgeons knot or a blood knot.

Bill Pew from Bill Fisher's Tackle on Nantucket also uses premade extruded knotless leaders, preferring those in SciAnglers Mastery Series with tippets from 12 to 16 pounds; like Gene, when the tippet section is too short, Bill ties in a new one. He used to prefer blood knots, but has been convinced by Lefty Kreh that the surgeons knot works just fine. Another leader system which Bill recommends is made by Elite Products of East Lyme, Connecticut. Owner John McBride offers hand tied leaders with four sections made out of stiffer mono which is similar to Hard Mason; blood knots are used to join the sections and Bill says they really turn over big flies well.

From Chip Gouger at the Fly Shop in West Barnstable comes a three section main leader: 3 feet of 40#, 2 feet of 25#, and 1 foot of 15#; these are joined with blood knots. At both ends of this system, Chip ties in a loop using a perfection loop. One loop is joined to the fly line and a tippet from 18 to 24 inches of 8 to 12# material is added to the other. If working in clear, shallow water, Chip uses the same leader body configuration and increases the tippet length to 3 or 4 feet.

Captain Leslie Smith of Backlash Charters said ``I tend to use a nine foot tapered leader with a 12 lb tippet this time of year, as bass and blues aren't particularly picky in the deeper water. When the bonito show up, I'll switch to a 12 foot, 10 lb leader.''

Marcia Benson from Fishing The Cape in Harwich had an interesting point, responding that a ``saltwater leader system should be very simple in my opinion - a 9' leader would consist of 3' of 30 lb, 3' of 20 lb and 3' for 16 lb tapered leaders. This leader should be used on floating or intermediate lines only. Sinking fly lines need shorter leaders to get maximum sink rate - adjust accordingly. Downsize your 9 ft leader to 6 feet: 2 feet of 30 lb, 2 feet of 20 lb, 2' of 16 lb. Remember the faster you get your fish to shore, the better chance of survival. Light tippets of 6, 8, or 10 pounds are sometimes not very healthy for the fish. Let's treat these fish with respect - to fish another year.''

Captain Kris Jop, who guides from upper Buzzards Bay to Monomoy, along the Elizabeths and over to the Vineyard, is very particular about his leaders, noting that ``the leaders that I use are typical blue water leaders. The butt section is build with 30-50 pound soft Jinkai monofilament which is connected to the monocore loop at the end of the fly line with a perfection loop. The shock tippet, 16 pounds Jinkai, is 20-30" long and ends with Bimini loops on both ends. Albright knots connect the butt section to the shock tippet and a perfection loop connects to the tippet. I use Climax fluorocarbon from 8-15 pounds as tippet material.''

And from down Cape at the Goose Hummock shop in Orleans, owner Sean Fields uses an AirFlo braided leader butt section that sinks and connects this directly to a tippet of 20# Maxima Ultragreen when using the fast sinking lines he finds most effective down Cape. If using a floating or intermediate line, he switches to a straight 6 to 7 foot shot of 20#. Sean argues that presentation isn't critical when fishing in current; even if the leader falls in a clump, the water will straighten it out quickly.

What got me thinking about leaders was when I asked Bob Popovics what he uses to throw big PopLips and Siliclones flies; he recommended a relative short, straight shot of 20 to 30 pound mono, especially when he's working around jetties and other rockpiles.

And what do I use (as if you care!)? A 3 to 4 foot section of 30# Maxima Ultragreen for the butt with perfection loops on both ends and a tippet section about the same length of 15#. With quick descent lines or when working around reefs and boulders like along the Elizabeths or Woods Hole, I prefer a straight shot, about 4 feet, of 20 to 30#.

But I do know that I'll keep an open mind when the fish are fussy or when checking out a new area.

Dave Peros

Reel -Time

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