Carrying Long Leaders - Fly Fishing Tip
I was reminded of this the other day. I was first shown this by one of my guiding clients many years ago and it's a great way to carry long leaders set up ready to go, and it has a nice little release trick too so read on;
Long leaders cause quite a few problems as we start out fly fishing, and for visiting anglers whom may normally use much shorter leaders. It can be frustrating getting all that leader out to start casting, getting it caught in anything and everything.....
The easiest way to carry them on your rod is to hook your fly onto a guide a comfortable reach up your rod, (the longer the leader the further up it needs to go) keeping the leader tight bring the leader back down and hook it around the reel foot, then wind in the slack line onto your reel. Care needs to be taken not to twist the leader.
This means that now as you walk up the river spotting fish you are ready for almost instant action.
As soon as a fish is spotted, lift the leader off from around the reel seat, take care not to twist it, hold the rod out over the water and release the leader so that the line hangs down over the water in a nice loop still connected to the rod via the fly.
Next is the good bit! To release the fly tap the top of the rod with your finger, the fly will bounce off and you can then immediately start casting and stripping line and thus avoid all those tangles etc (Some flies hang on a bit tighter and need an extra tap)
Long leaders left on the reel will curl up a bit, so before you start fishing it's a good idea to give them a stretch to remove the curl. I just stretch them by hand, but that can burn your thumb if you hold too tight so be careful!
Long leaders cause quite a few problems as we start out fly fishing, and for visiting anglers whom may normally use much shorter leaders. It can be frustrating getting all that leader out to start casting, getting it caught in anything and everything.....
The easiest way to carry them on your rod is to hook your fly onto a guide a comfortable reach up your rod, (the longer the leader the further up it needs to go) keeping the leader tight bring the leader back down and hook it around the reel foot, then wind in the slack line onto your reel. Care needs to be taken not to twist the leader.
This means that now as you walk up the river spotting fish you are ready for almost instant action.
As soon as a fish is spotted, lift the leader off from around the reel seat, take care not to twist it, hold the rod out over the water and release the leader so that the line hangs down over the water in a nice loop still connected to the rod via the fly.
Next is the good bit! To release the fly tap the top of the rod with your finger, the fly will bounce off and you can then immediately start casting and stripping line and thus avoid all those tangles etc (Some flies hang on a bit tighter and need an extra tap)
Long leaders left on the reel will curl up a bit, so before you start fishing it's a good idea to give them a stretch to remove the curl. I just stretch them by hand, but that can burn your thumb if you hold too tight so be careful!
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