That's right, I don't use a lot of tapered leaders! There, I said it and I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I hope you accept me for who and what I am now that you know and don't think less of me! All joking aside, I really don't use tapered leader unless I am casting a dry fly. I find that tapered leaders help me to turn a dry fly over better and hit a target with more accuracy, and I will readily admit that. However, where I fish and how I fish don't usually require casting precision and perfect presentation. Typically, I just peel some monofilament or fluorocarbon off a spool of line and call it good. Here are the methods for my madness.
#1- Accuracy Isn't Always Needed
As I stated earlier, I usually don't have to hit a mark perfectly with a cast and thus, I don't need a tapered leader. For example, if I am nymphing or fishing still water with an indicator, I don'y have to drop a fly on a dime. Typically, I am looking to put a fly beyond the point that I actually want to fish and I am looking to perfect my presentation as I approach a spot. For example, I'm not going to drop a prince nymph on a trout's head! I am going to cast WELL upstream of the fish or seam I am targeting and then reposition or mend my fly where I want it to end up. If I am casting a streamer, I'm not going to cast to where I think the fish is. Instead, I am going to cast beyond the fish and then allow the fly to sink to the depth I want. At that point, I will try to entice a strike by dragging the fly in front of the fish. Is my reasoning starting to make sense?
#2- Consistent Strength
Disclosure: I might be WAY off base here and would love to know if I am. Feel free to leave a comment below. With that being said, I also teach a middle school physics class and I believe that I have some reasoning behind my claim so bare with me. A tapered leader is just that, tapered down to a thinner point from a thicker point. Thus, it seems to be weak in some places and strong in others. I get how a tapered leader can act as a shock absorber on a hook set, but wouldn't consistent strength throughout a leader make equal sense? Wouldn't it stand to reason that I want the same diameter and strength in the sixth foot of my leader as in the ninth foot of my leader? Which brings me to my next point.
#3- I HATE Tippet
Years ago, when I was first learning to fly fish, I can't tell you how many fish I lost to bad tippet knots. Also, I just hated learning new knots and struggling to tie them correctly. My mentality at that time (which is still pretty close to my mentality today) was that I wanted to fish, not learn knots. For the sake of simplicity, I eliminated the tippet practice altogether and just went to straight fishing leader. While I am starting to inch towards going back to tippet and leader set-ups, I still maintain my untapered set-up that is based on simplicity which really means fewer knots and fewer problems. This matches my philosophy on life as well. I want more things in my life to be simple and LESS complex. For example, the first two vehicles I owned didn't have power locks or windows. This wasn't because I was cheap (foreshadowing), but because keyless entry, sliding window motors, and power locks were just a few more things to break and eventually fix. Simplicity equals fewer things to go wrong.
#4- Yes, I AM Being a Cheapskate
Fine, I admit it, there is a part of me that is just being CHEAP! However, in my defense, I am getting a lot more for my money. To paraphrase the literary genius that is Deadpool, what's wrong with eating before sundown and saving some money? Let's do the math and run the numbers shall we? A White River packet of 3 leaders that are 9 feet long in 6X (3.5 pounds) costs about $8 or you can buy a pack of Orvis leader that only has 2 leaders for the same price. The White River comes with a total length of 27 feet of leader and the Orvis comes with a total of 18 feet. That comes up to a total cost of over $0.30 per foot and $0.45 per foot respectively. On the other hand, a 250 yard spool of 2 pound Berkely Vanish (my go-to line in case you were wondering) costs about $13. That comes out to #0.02 per foot. That's a pretty big difference!
In Closing
I know that there will be some folks that will disagree with my method and reasoning and that is totally fine. We can agree to disagree. However, it is a method that works for me and a practice that suits my fishing techniques, style, mentality, and budget. For the longest time, I thought I was weird for not using tapered leader and was embarrassed to tell others about my practice. However, when I read in one of John Gierach's books (of which he has many and is an AMAZING author) that he ONLY uses tippet on his flies, I felt like my idea had been validated. For what it is worth, I was able to confirm this factoid with one of his friends that I ran into in Estes Park, Colorado. He told me that John uses 11-12 foot leaders that are straight tippet. Again, validated.
Now please don't take this as me being on my high horse and telling you what to do or trying to convert you to the church of Anti Tapered Leader. That is not my intent at all! If you want to use tapered leader and tippet, by all means, do what works for you! I'm just giving you something to think about and consider in case you never thought about why you do what you do or about alternative methods. Just food for thought without judging.
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