Leaders also come in varying lengths, from as short as 3 feet to as long as 15 feet. Very short (3-to 6- foot) leaders are used with sinking or sink-tip lines. The specific gravity of nylon is so close to that of water that leaders tend to float, especially if contaminated with line dressing or grease from your hands. Even PVDF leaders don’t sink as quickly as sinking fly lines. So a long leader with a sinking line tends to buoy the fly toward the surface, defeating the purpose of using a sinking line. Sinking lines are seldom used under clear, shallow-water conditions where the fish are spooky, so having the heavy line in close proximity to the fly is not a problem.

The slap of a fly line seldom scares voracious fish like largemouth bass, northern pike, or bluefish, and short leaders, from 3 to 7½ feet, are used for these species. When fishing for bluefish with big poppers, in fact, I’ve used a level piece of 60-pound monofilament. Bluefish aren’t afraid of much, and I could conceivably tie the popper right to the fly line. The only problem is that the teeth of a bluefish can cut through fly line in a single chop, whereas nylon is more resistant to abrasion by sharp teeth. Certain fish are what is called leader-shy, but line-shy is actually a more appropriate term. Trout in freshwater as well as saltwater, bonefish, permit, and sometimes striped bass fall into this category. If a heavy fly line lands too near them, they may cease feeding or actually bolt for cover. Whenever this kind of nervous fish is found in calm, clear water, it’s best to use a leader longer than 7½ feet. Because a leader is thinner and more airresistant than fly line, a longer leader gives you added delicacy. Nine-or 10-foot leaders are considered standard for trout and bonefish under most conditions.

At times, when the water is very shallow and clear, or on a calm lake surface, you may find that even a 10-foot leader will frighten the fish. Longer leaders, 12-to 15-footers, may be used under these demanding conditions. Unless it is windy, a properly made 12-foot leader will straighten as well as a 7½-footer, as long as the casts you make are over 20 feet. In small, narrow trout streams, though, the short casts you make seldom develop enough line speed to straighten a 9-foot leader. Luckily, trout in small streams usually aren’t very leader-shy, and you can get away with a 7½-foot leader. Your leader can be modified during a day’s fishing; in fact, you should be prepared to change your tippet quite frequently. Suppose you start fishing with a 9-foot 4X leader. The tippet on this leader, as it comes to you in the package, will be about 2 feet long. Every time you change flies, you’ll have to tie a new one on with a clinch, double turle, or Orvis knot, losing a small piece of tippet in the process.

As the tippet shortens with each fly change, the delicacy of your presentation decreases, especially when it gets down to 15 or 16 inches. You need that 2 feet of airresistant tippet to slow down your fly at the end of the cast. Because your knotless tapered leader gets heavier as you use up the level tippet, it just won’t present the fly with the same delicacy it did with a fresh leader. If you’re properly prepared, you’ll have spools of tippet material in your fishing vest; merely pull off a piece that’s just over 2 feet long (you’ll lose some tying it to your leader). Then just attach it to the rest of the leader, and you’re ready to go. Of course, the taper won’t be exactly the same as that fresh leader, but it will be close. I usually start a day of fishing with one leader and use it all day (or even weeks) without changing it. I simply tie on new tippets when needed. When I get to about my fourth tippet change and it looks like I’m tying the tippet to a piece that’s too different in diameter than the tippet, I’ll just add 6 inches of the next size up and tie my new tippets to that.