JonSTL

Hi Everyone, I am 27 and have been fishing for trout most of my life. I am a project coordinator for a printing company in St. Louis. I have only been fly fishing for a couple of years. I have a question and I know I'll probably get many different suggestions. I use the same flies as most of the people do on Tanneycomo, Scuds, Midges, Nymphs, etc. I am wondering if I'm using the right backing, leader, and tippets. I'm using the backing that came with my flyrod that I bought last year. It's weighted and floating, that's anbout all I know about it. I usually build my own leaders from 12lb to 8lb to 4lb flurocarbon. I use 2lb or 1lb green monofilament for the tippet. Does anyone have any suggestions for backing, leaders, or tippets? I often am stuck between using lighter line for more bites and heavier line for a better chance to get larger fish in. What are the pros and cons about building your own leader or purchasing one? Does anyone have a good system for keeping leader lengths consistant, when you build your own? I was down last weekend and saw an older gentleman pull in a 25" and a 23" brown in the same day. I'm thinking is it posible to land an 8lb Brown with less than a 2lb tippet? Any help or suggestions would be appreciated as I am a beginer in fly fishing. I'm going down to Branson again for a longer stay in a couple of weeks, and I'd like to make some changes to my flyrod. Thanks, JonO