I promise I researched before I asked this question

[tangledup]

Bass leader question:

This weekend we are camping on the Buffalo River and my son and I are taking our 5wt fly rods (the only size we each have right now). I tied up some small clousers, buggers, leeches, etc. trying to keep the size appropriate for our 5wt rods. I've been researching building a bass leader and while there are many, many opinions, there also seems to be a common theme of using a 6-8' leader built with sections of 30#, 15-20#, then 10-12# mono when using a floating line. For some of the smaller patterns I may take that a step further and use tippet of 0X-2X.

Here is my question: many of the sites I've read and posts I've seen on this forum and other places refer to using Maxima for building leaders. I have lots of mono in Stren, Trilene, and other manufacturers for bass fishing on spinning gear. Obviously Maxima is desirable for certain reasons, but is there any reason I can't use the other brands of mono that I already have?

[tjm]

Stren or Trilene will work just fine, bass leaders just need to be about 6-7' and stiff enough to turn the fly over. I use Chameleon for all my leaders just because I like to use the same material for all leaders and some brands only make tippet material while others only make 6#+ mono.  I tie about 3' of 20-25# to the fly line and quickly reduce that to 6-8#, but you can just run level leader in what ever weight you think appropriate. I like the 6-8# because I fish close to the wood and that is relatively easy to break off. Fishing for LMB in a pond I might just run a straight piece of 20#, that would work for big top water stuff and I could pull the weeds up, if tangled.

[fishinwrench]

Hard mono tapered/or hand tied leaders suck.   Learn to "roll your own" and you'll never fuss over leaders ever again.   

I use Trilene XT and Trilene XL either 8# or 10# (depending on whether I want it hard or soft). XT for warm water stuff, and XL for more delicate trout crap.   Then add a flourocarbon tippet.     My leader length just happens to be the distance that I can just barely stretch between my two hands (about 70"). I then add a tippet of 24-36".   So as long as I have a spool of line I can whip one up in about 4 minutes.   

If you do it right you can cast a fly of any size with no rod or flyline at all, using only your hand.  

 

[tangledup]

4 hours ago, fishinwrench said:

Hard mono tapered/or hand tied leaders suck.   Learn to "roll your own" and you'll never fuss over leaders ever again.   

I use Trilene XT and Trilene XL either 8# or 10# (depending on whether I want it hard or soft). XT for warm water stuff, and XL for more delicate trout crap.   Then add a flourocarbon tippet.     My leader length just happens to be the distance that I can just barely stretch between my two hands (about 70"). I then add a tippet of 24-36".   So as long as I have a spool of line I can whip one up in about 4 minutes.   

If you do it right you can cast a fly of any size with no rod or flyline at all, using only your hand.  

 

Interesting! I’ve never messed with furled leaders but that looks so simple I’m going to have to give it a try.

[tjm]

We can make anything as complicated as we want, I reckon. Surely the bass won't care.

[fishinwrench]

28 minutes ago, tjm said:

We can make anything as complicated as we want, I reckon. Surely the bass won't care.

What is really complicated, is trying to straighten out a solid piece of 30# monofilament. 

1 hour ago, tangledup said:

Interesting! I’ve never messed with furled leaders but that looks so simple I’m going to have to give it a try

It isn't truly "furled", but it's just as good, and allows you to adjust and modify for your specific style of fishing.  

[snagged in outlet 3]

15 minutes ago, fishinwrench said:

What is really complicated, is trying to straighten out a solid piece of 30# monofilament. 

It isn't truly "furled", but it's just as good, and allows you to adjust and modify for your specific style of fishing.  

That was totally cool.  Never saw that before.  I love how a furled leader casts but it does shed water on a false cast so don’t false cast near your fish.  It can spook them.  Especially trout and saltwater flats fish.  Your fly can also snag the furled leader when casting.  Neither one is a deal killer.  
If you want to straighten heavy mono use friction to warm it up.  Pull it back and forth quickly on your blue jeans works or put it in warm water.  

[fishinwrench]

29 minutes ago, snagged in outlet 3 said:

 I love how a furled leader casts but it does shed water on a false cast so don’t false cast near your fish.  It can spook them.  Especially trout and saltwater flats fish.  Your fly can also snag the furled leader when casting.  Neither one is a deal killer.  
If you want to straighten heavy mono use friction to warm it up.  Pull it back and forth quickly on your blue jeans works or put it in warm water.

Hand twisted "faux furled" leaders don't hold water like the furled leaders made from tying thread.    

I never seem to have boiling water nearby when changing leaders onstream, and to get to my jeans means I have to "disrobe", so while I'm standing there with my pants down....might as well piss on the leader.  Ya never know.     🤪

[fishinwrench]

The machine tapered leader that you bought off the peg yesterday will probably straighten out pretty good with a few good tugs.   But that one you've had since last Winter......forgetaboutit !   You'll have to boil that sumbitch tonight and use it no later than tomorrow.

[tjm]

Machine tapered leaders do suck, but if you cut the over thick, too stiff butt off about 18'' then cut the over limp tippet end back a couple feet; the 4' piece left over makes a pretty good butt section. Of course I can build a leader with less effort. I don't have much need for 30# except as weed guard. I have made the twisted leader and didn't care for it, used braided butt and didn't care that. I haven't used furled leaders but when guys talk about them and brag about them them only lasting a month and then I look at the cost of one and I go right back to my knotted leaders. I can make them longer or shorter or adjust the stiffness while on the water and usually the butt section lasts me a couple seasons. My bass leaders are typically two pieces of mono, a butt and a tippet, and they get chopped up and rebuilt more often than the real tapered ones I use for trout. 

I haven't seen any hard mono in probably 25 years, I guess Mason still makes it because I still see references to it.