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All sorts of leaders
By Martin Joergensen
Leaders fall in several categories. These all serve the same purpose: transmitting the energy fra the fly line to the fly in a gentle, yet firm way. The different types each have their advantages and disadvantages, and selecting one is often a question of compromises.
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Tapered
The tapered leader is probably the most
common. It consists of one piece of monofile
line, that has been drawn to a taper from a
thick base to a thin tip, that are made the
normal range of tippet weights.
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Knotted
The knotted
leader has been tied together by several
peices of monofile line to form a similar
taper. It's inexpensive and can be made to any
taper, thickness, stiffness and hence
purpose.
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Braided
The braided leader is made from thin braided
monofile strands. It's normally tapered by
leaving out moreand more threads towards the
tip. The braided leaders are generally
expensive, but also offer a supple
presentation and high knot resistance
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Twined
The furled or
twined leader is a home made leader that
has the advantage of the braided leader (it's
even better actually) and the price of the
knotted one. There's a detalied description
on how to make such leaders.
Leader and tippet sizes
'X-size'
|
0X
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1X
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2X
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3X
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4X
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5X
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6X
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7X
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8X
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Tip
dia. (mm)
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0.28
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0.26
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0.23
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0.20
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0.18
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0.15
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0.13
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0.10
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0.07
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Tip
dia. (inches)
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0.011
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0.010
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0.009
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0.008
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0.007
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0.006
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0.005
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0.004
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0.003
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Test
(kg)
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6.8
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5.5
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4.5
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3.2
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2.3
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1.8
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1.4
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0.9
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0.6
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Test
(lb.)
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15
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12
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10
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7
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5
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4
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3
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2
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1
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The test weights
are examples from Sunline (Siglon and other brands)
and may vary quite a bit from brand to
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Submitted March 10th 2009
Todd,
You usually use either the same tippet size as the leader or slightly thinner. The 4X will probably refer to the thickness of your leader in the thin end, and by adding a 5X tippet, your taper it further down, while a 4X tippet will continue the same thickness as the tip of the leader.
Hope this helps.
Martin