what do you think is the best tippet material for ?

Im woundering about tippet strenght for steelhead . Most guys out here out west use maxium green twelve to fifteen pound test . I have tried rio's max plus it has a smaller diameter then the maxium ,im not impressed with it at all ,ive also tried their flouro and was even less impressed with it .it seems to burn way to easy just at the end of knots and i lube it up ,this never happens with the mono .
So what luck have you had with leader material in heavier LB test .I saw some guys talking about berkly vanish ,I know it to be a stiff material unless they improved it . The fishing has been rough for everyone out here .The water temps are in the forties ,so im just getting in casting practice and see what gear is and isnt working till we get some rain .We need a good one to warm things up and bring in some fresh fish . So you know im fishing a sinking tip with a two to three foot leader .No taper ! i have a forty pound shock tippet with a loop in it and i attach the leader with a loop to loop .

I use primarily varivas which is a quality flouro tippit. But I use that for trout, so I have no clue how it would work on steelhead but it might be a good idea to buy a spool and give it a shot. I've never had problems with it and it is very strong (this is the brand that I use for my 8-10X tippets especially).

My second favorite brand which is also a great tippet is rio flouroflex plus.

-kyle

I will look for it ,thanks kyle .Im not impressed with the rio as of late ,im looking for an alternative .
One of the guides here says the fish arent tippet shy here but i just can belive that ,but the bait booys use 12 to 15 # test . Trout tippet seems to be more advanced in this department to me . i want something that works ! not something that breaks

Kyle,

Varivas is extremely high quality leader material. I used to be very good friends with the person who brought it here From Japan. I can still get large quantities of it but its a pain so I use the RIO. However, I will not argue that RIO is better than Varivas. They are very comparable. They really never took off in the US and my friend moved to Ohio to import other Japanese products.

My favorite part of varivas is their strength when it comes to lighter tippets ike 8,9, and even 10X. I would use rio flouroflex plus in these tippet sizes but they don't make it this light. Both are great products and without a doubt my two favorites.

-kyle

Nutman-
For the kind of fishing you are doing, it's hard to go wrong with Maxima, the durability is excellent. It is a favorite of Steelhead & Salmon anglers all over the place. It is what I would term "standard mono", and although copolymer type mono's (Rio Powerflex, Orvis Super Strong, Frog Hair, etc.) and the latest fluoro's have a higher break strength for the same diameter, old school mono like Maxima has a much higher "impact resistance". Translation: under a sudden shock, it's way stronger. And Steelhead often subject your tippet to violent headshakes & sudden runs.

Remember this too, durability & abrasion resistance are very correlated to line diameter. If you go by break strength, many of the modern tippets have a smaller diameter, and therefore less abrasion resistance than an old school, thicker mono like Maxima. Make sure that when comparing you match up the lines by diameter- and if you use Rio in the same diameter as 12# Maxima, the stated break strength will be way higher than that, probably at least 20#, maybe more.

you may have hit it on the head nymphmeister ,i wasnt thinking about the abrasion factor . Im running line on the rocks almost ,So maybe that is why im having breaks . I know you have the size difference ,what is the difference in size for berkly 12 # floro as to 12 # maxima green mono ?
It is funny because i set up with a forty pound shock loop at the end of the sink tip for abrasion resitance .Too funny how we dont think .
Im still not impressed with the Rio floro ,you have to be so delicate with it and with cold hands that can be hard .Probably better for summer fishing .

Fluoro is actually more abrasion resistant than mono, but again, if you go solely by break strength and don't take diameter into account the fluoro will probably not hold up for you, especially with a fish like Steelhead. You can't match up 12 or 15# Maxima with the same break strength fluoro, otherwise you will be comparing .015 mono with .011 fluoro- not exactly a fair comparison. For the same diameter, fluoro is quite a bit more abrasion resistant. Interestingly enough though, articles I've read & charts I've seen show that impact strength is highest in standard mono lilke Maxima, Ande, etc. This despite the fact that for their diameter, they have relatively low break strengths under a steady pull (copolymer mono's and modern fluoro's have sginificantly higher break strengths). But when you apply the load with a sudden jerk, the high break strength lines don't hold up nearly as well as regular old Maxima. There's a reason why many experienced Steelheaders & Atlantic Salmon fishermen use nothing but Maxima.

I do find I break off more Steelhead on fluoro as compared to Maxima. However, on the Great Lakes where there is insanely heavy fishing pressure and anglers are often dead-drifting relatively small flies in clear water to spooky fish, thinner fluoro tippets can be a good choice that hooks you more fish. Friends that swing big flies for these same Great Lakes fish seem to do just fine with heavy tippets, be it Maxima or some sort of fluoro- I don't think using a thinner tippet is necessary for this situation, esp. when you aren't trying to dead-drift a fly. The same is true in fishing streamers for regular trout.

Interestingly enough the old gut leaders of yesteryear, while having what we would consider to be horribly low break strengths for their diameter, where able to withstand sudden shocks quite well. If you look at some of the tippet materials marketed today for salt water and other situations where line diameter isn't too critical but toughness is, you will see that they exhibit the similar properties to Maxima- not too high a break strength for the diameter, but excellent impact/shock resistance. In fact, for many SW application, you NEED a line that has a lower break strength for its diameter. This sounds strange but I'll explain: thicker lines have more abrasion resistance, turn over bulk/heavy flies much better, and are just plain more durable. If you have a tippet that has a super high break strength for its diameter, you would end up have to fish one that is too high in break strength, maybe 40-50#- this would in most cases be too strong, making it possible for your fly line core to break or likely that you might break your rod before the tippet failed. A standard mono with a relatively low break strength for its diameter allows you to fish a thicker size, but not have a ridiculously high break strength. This gives you the ability to turn SW flies over better, and more durability & abrasion resistance in the harsh SW environment.

In the past I normally fished 15# Maxima for King Salmon in the Great Lakes tribs, and one time I decided to bump up to 20# and see how I like it. I accidently foul hooked one, and I pointed my rod at it, grabbed my reel and tried to break it off. I couldn't, the line was just too strong. Finally, after literally jerking the rod as hard as I could many times, the #2 heavy wire hook bent open and pulled out. That was the last time I ever fished line that heavy for Salmon.

now that was some great info ,I think you are right about the way the fly is presented here as well it is down stream and across so the fish doesnt get as good a look at the line ,because we are presenyting the fly in his face (we hope ) so to speak . I think the maxium is more of like a shock cord then the floro .
For trout you are showing a longer presentation of the fly . I will fish nymphs once in awhile for steelhead ( out here considered taboo ,by the hard core guy )but i think you need to be able to change up to meet situations .I also wouldnt use a sink tip then .It ought to be interesting to see how that works off a skagit head ,i havent tried that yet .
We have been experiencing cold water temps ,and no rain ,so the fish aren't biting !!! for anyone ,so of course ive tried everything with tippet material.I just found it funny how easy the floro tippet would snap ,get snagged then pull the floro would break right at the perfection loop!even with uv glue on it !

nutman try this knot, ive always used it for clousers but had a problem with flouro and perfection loops this seems to work better for me. i skip step 9

http://www.animatedknots.com/rapala/...matedknots.com