The famous nocturnal Hex hatch of the Midwest (and a few other lucky locations) stirs to the surface mythically large brown trout that only touch streamers for the rest of the year.
This Skwala nymph still has a couple months left to go before hatching, but it's still a good representative of its species, which was extremely abundant in my sample for a stonefly of this size. It's obvious why the Yakima is known for its Skwala hatch.
Keystoner on Apr 10, 2010April 10th, 2010, 11:35 am EDT
Recently, I was reading Lefty Kreh's "Presenting the Fly" and I realised my leader was all wrong. I've since tied a new one using his "nyphing leader" formula. Just wondering what leader recipes you all have and what they're best for...
"Out into the cool of the evening, strolls the Pretender. He knows that all his hopes and dreams, begin and end there." -JB
Altoidmatt on Apr 27, 2010April 27th, 2010, 4:29 am EDT
5 feet 15 pound
3 feet 6 pound
3-4 feet 5x or 6x depending.
I try to keep this last section as long as will cast nicely, I usually fish the 5x and I mostly fish sub surface.
When tying the fly to 5x or 6x line you might need to find a special knot or develop your own. I use a knot from the book midge magic But I add an extra step to prevent it from slipping.
I've read a lot of conflicting leader info everyone seems have thier own recipe
I'm curious what does Lefty Kreh suggest as a nymphing leader?
Oldredbarn on May 3, 2010May 3rd, 2010, 5:25 am EDT
The Lazy Man's leader formula...I have seen all the different ideas in all the old and new books and I just do the following...Needle Knot a 2 foot section of Maxima permanent butt to end of fly line...It's close to the same diameter as the leader butt-end I attach. I buy a 9ft trout leader from the shop tapered down to 4x. I then add tippett material to the end of this...Remember that, give or take, there is about 2ft of 4x at the end of this...If you are going right in to 5x you should cut this back a bit to step-down your leader properly.
Needle Knot...Some folks Nail Knot the permanent butt to the end of the fly line...I use a bodkin and insert it in the end of the fly line a couple eighths of an inch back and use a nail knot tool or a wooden toothpick to place the knot over the tiny hole I have created in the fly line. I cut the end of the leader at a sharp angle with a razor blade and stick it in the end of the fly line and out the hole I made with the bodkin in the flyline.
You could just do this without the permanent butt section. Just insert the end of your new leader at the beginning of the season. When your leader gets a little rough cut it off two feet from where it's attached to the fly line and you have a built in permanent butt and attach the new leader to this.
Am I going to be sent to the fly fishingdoms version of hell for this affront? Sorry George Harvey! Really!
Spence
"Even when my best efforts fail it's a satisfying challenge, and that, after all, is the essence of fly fishing." -Chauncy Lively
"Envy not the man who lives beside the river, but the man the river flows through." Joseph T Heywood