Two minute tips: Start a new leader
It's the start of trout season around this great continent, and probably time you changed your leader.
Why it matters: When you're opening a new leader from the manufacturers' packaging, you can lose a good ten minutes to tangles if you don't follow this simple tip to avoid tangling.
How leaders are packaged
Most tapered leaders come packaged from the factory with two styles of wrapping.
- Toward the tippet end of the leader, where the material is thinner, they're wrapped around an external object.
- Starting around the butt end, the style switches, and the butt end is wrapped around the leader's thicker coils. The key is negotiating this thicker portion free.
Help me out: What's the trick with starting a new leader?
If you approach this new leader and start by separating the thinner strands, it'll work, but it won't be the easiest way to do it. If the thin, tippet end gets tangled, you're headed for heartbreak. It's easier to start unwrapping your leader from the butt end.
OK, I've got the thin, butt end in my fingers. Now what?
- Turn on "delicate mode" when you're starting to unroll a new tapered leader.
- Put your off-hand fingers inside the coiled leader and give it some tension.
- With the fingers on your free hand, push the butt end out away from the main coil, and set it free, bit by bit. Push, and unwrap.
- Slow and steady, you'll devise a back-and-forth motion to get it done.
- Keep tension on the remaining bits of leader and after a few turns with the butt it'll fall apart.
- Give your new leader a good hard stretch before you add a length of tippet so it loses some of its coils.
Watch a short video on how to unwrap a leader
Here's a little video showing how to unwrap a knotless leader and get it ready to attach to your fly line.
Here's a short video on how to unwrap your new leader without making a birds' nest of tangles.
What's your leader strategy? Got any secret formulas? Share 'em in the comments!
Some questions folks ask about leaders:
Is this the only way to unwrap a leader?
Heck no. This is just how I do it. After enough over-hasty attempts to just pull my leader apart that resulted in tangles I sat down for two minutes and tried to do it slightly smarter. If you've got a trick or technique you use, I'd love to hear it.
How frequently do I have to change my leader?
They last an awful long time, but once your leader starts to get grungy, off-color, stiff (i.e. it holds kinks) or chopped too short, it's time for a new one. I usually cruise through my reel spools in springtime as trout season kicks up, and wind up changing most of them, just to start the season with something fresh. Over more intense angling bursts, leaders can last a matter of weeks or days.
Is there a best all-around leader for trout fishing?
I'm a 9' 4X guy, myself. I can chop it down for bigger / bushier flies like stoneflies and salmonflies and still have plenty left to turn the fly over, or add 5X for just about any dry fly situation. But, your mileage may vary. The only way to know for sure is to get out and fish.
Shouldn't I be building my own leaders?
You can. You'd save a bit of money. And learn to tie a great blood knot. But some of us prefer getting the knotless versions from the fly shop, and saving a few minutes on blood knots and ratios and formulas.
