High Visibility Nymphing Leader:
(by Sheldon Seale).
When fishing a nymph in the manner referred to as “high sticking” or “Czech nymphing”, it is important to know precisely where your leader enters the water and how deep your fly is. This leader is designed both to make delivery of a weighted fly or leader easy but also to show the entry point on the water as well as the depth of the fly. This is accomplished by using alternating colours of high visibility line in the construction of most of the leader.
This leader is designed both to make delivery of a weighted fly or leader easy but also to show the entry point on the water as well as the depth of the fly. This is accomplished by using alternating colors of high visibility mono-filament line in the construction of most of the leader.
The leader in this package is approximately 8 feet long. It has a loop for attaching to the fly line. It also has a loop for attaching the tippet. Generally, use a short length of 2X material as the first part of the tippet and add a longer section of 3X, 4X or even 5X to attach the fly. However, several variations are possible. With tippet, this leader is 10′ long but it can be a little longer when using more than 1 or 2 flies.
Here is the basic leader formula:
Note that the 20#, 17#, 12# and 8# parts are Blue Stren and the 14# and 10# are Yellow Stren.
By adjusting the lengths of material that make up the tippet section, the angler can add split shot and/or droppers (for fishing multiple flies). For example, by using 18” of 2X and 8” of 4X, the angler can put some split shot on the tippet above the knot to help get the fly down deep. By using 8” of 1X, 15” of 3X and 15” of 5X as well as adding droppers where the 1X meets the 3X and where the 3X meets the 5X, you can use this leader for Czech nymphing (although it will be about 15” longer).
With a little care, this leader should last a few years. Remove it from your fly line and keep it in a dark, dry place (like a leader wallet) until it is needed again. As with all nylon, UV will make the material brittle and it will break much more easily if left out in the light.
If you’re not into making your own leader, they are available from me for $5.00 a leader (I can mail them to you if you wish for a small additional fee). Contact me at srseale2012@gmail.com.
Leader built by:
Sheldon Seale
Fly Fishing Products & Services
srseale2012@gmail.com
