Leader Material

[JUICE]

Do you guys find that it matters what type of leader material you use for wets? Does anyone like mono better then floro?

[Nymphmeister]

I've been using flouro tippets on all my subsurface flies ever since it became available, but I still use mono for dries. I general I think it is unnecessary to use it for the entire leader, the tippet is where it does the most good, BUT, for wets it might actually make sense. Being much denser than mono, it will definitely help to sink your flies down and also keep them from planing to the surface on the swing. You should ask your new member, Davy Wotton, what he thinks- from what I hear he is THE MAN with wets, he even has a DVD out on fishing them, with a video on wet fly patterns in the works. Check out his website, davywotton.com.

[Davyfly]

The choice of line used is very important.
FCarbon no doubt changes the scenario to some extent, on the other hand regular mono is also as important to effect fishing wet flies in the right manner, it boils down to the right means of presentation.

The way that a wet fly system is made up also differs big time from the more accepted means of additional tippet to a standard leader, which l do not use, it serves no real purpose, for this style of fishing. Contrary to popular belief.

It is how the flies fish when in the water that matters, no configuration of leader/tippet will reduce the chances of tangles, that is totally due to how you cast, and the type of rod you use when fishing more than one fly on detached droppers of up to 12 ins in some cases.
I will deal more with lines and leaders with a later post.

The question regarding which fly lines are best.

No 1 is a dry line.
No2 is a slime line IPS 1.25 to 2
No3 is a uniform sink IPS 2.5 to 4
All the above will serve for 90% of moving water systems.

For stillwater l may add further a uniform sink IPS 4 to 5.

In line weights 5/6

I would rarely use a sink tip when wet fly fishing as this line does not allow for maintained contact with the flies, as here you are not stripping flies as you would say a streamer. Further more, when wet fly fishing the vast majority of the fish that take your fly should be hooked by the angler and not as such more or less be allowed to hook themselves, if you rely on this manner you will miss more fish than you will land. Believe me.

More later.

Davy.

www.davywotton.com

[Nymphmeister]

Good stuff Davy, I'm looking forward to picking your brain! I saw Harry Wallace a few days ago. I met the husband & wife, Gary & Wanda Taylor, that you have in your "Wet Fly Ways" DVD, actually stayed at their house when I was down in Georgia & Tenessee fishing the Hiawassee. My buddy was friends with them. Really nice people, and great casters.

[Davyfly]

Garry and Wanda are great guys and two of my best friends.

Garry has worked with me for many of the TV shows we did for Fly Fish TV, some of those way back were also related to WET FLY fishing and the White river, shad kill, nymph fishing and so on.

Davy.

[Nymphmeister]

I guess you really opened Gary's eyes to wet fly fishing, he told my buddy he never caught so many nice sized trout in a day before, and mostly on older patterns he never heard of. Always fun to bring patterns from back home somewhere else and kick some trout butt with them, right? I heard those two moved back to South Carolina where he used to live & guide for Redfish, are they still there and how are they doing?

[FK]

Post moved to "Wet Fly Ways".

Regards,
FK

[Nymphmeister]

I was told that Davy worked with TFO developing that 11' rod- is that true Davy?

[Davyfly]

Yes, worked with TFO for the long rods. TFO is one of my sponsors also, great rods for the money, Rick the owner is one of the best.

DW

[Fascist Killer]

Davy- do you have a preferred floating line that you use? Of the 90% of fishing covered by those three lines how often do you use the floating? How often the intermediate? Thanks!