Tippet Length

[troutboy]

Howdy raiders, just after a little advice from any freshwater flyfishers out there. Been meaning to get serious about flyfishing for trout for some time now so yesterday I went to A B A at penrith to buy the remaining gear I needed to get started. I now have an Innovator distance 9ft 2 piece in a 6/7 weight , a Teeny weight forward floating 7 weight line looped to a 9ft siglon mono tapered leader. My question is do I need a tippet? If so what length and breakin strain do I need? The water I will be fishing varies in depth from 2 to 6 ft. Also can anyone recommened any suitable flies for Thompsons creek dam and Oberon dam? Looking forward to any replies cheers troutboy

[kenmare]

Howdy raiders, just after a little advice from any freshwater flyfishers out there. Been meaning to get serious about flyfishing for trout for some time now so yesterday I went to A B A at penrith to buy the remaining gear I needed to get started. I now have an Innovator distance 9ft 2 piece in a 6/7 weight , a Teeny weight forward floating 7 weight line looped to a 9ft siglon mono tapered leader. My question is do I need a tippet? If so what length and breakin strain do I need? The water I will be fishing varies in depth from 2 to 6 ft. Also can anyone recommened any suitable flies for Thompsons creek dam and Oberon dam? Looking forward to any replies cheers troutboy

Hi troutboy,

The answer to your question is -- it all depends.

On whether you're fishing wet fly or dry, stream or lake, the size of the fly, how much wind there is, how good a caster you are, and a host of other factors.

For many purposes however, 9 ft is about right.

You usually only need to use a longer leader when fishing small dry flies or nymphs in relatively windless conditions if the fish are spooky.

When fishing large wet flies, particularly if it's windy, you might need to shorten-up a tad to achieve a good "turn over" and control the cast.

You will probably need to add some tippet to the end of your leader as it becomes shorter through changing flies. Use mono of about the same diameter and breaking strain as the end of you leader if fishing on or near the surface (greased with flotant if necessary). Use fluorocarbon instead of mono if you want the fly to go deeper.

As a guide, 4 lb to 5 lb tippet is about right for most dry fly fishing, while heavier 6 lb to 8 lb tippet is often needed to avoid bust-offs when fishing wet.

Flies for Thompsons Creek Dam and Oberon Dam? Try a red and black matuka, a Mrs Simpson, a woolly bugger, a fuzzy wuzzy, perhaps a Craigs nightime for after dark, and nymphs of various sizes and colours. Be sure to have some that are heavily weighted with bead heads, so you are able to fish well below the surface if the fish are down deep.

As the season progresses, and the weather warms up, you should also have some grass hopper and beetle patterns, and also some attractor patterns, such as the royal Wulff, that you can fish dry.

Ensure you have a range of fly sizes: from about #16 for dries and nymphs through to about #6 for the larger wets.

Regards,

Bob

Edited November 6, 2006 by kenmare

[troutboy]

cheers Bob , some very usefull info , helps me a lot thanks troutboy