Author Topic: Ultra Fine Nymphing Tippet (Read 507 times)

Pat Brechbill · « **on:** September 09, 2011, 07:29:36 PM »

Quote from: Jim Frazier on September 09, 2011, 07:09:45 PM

1st off , dejon how many times to you find yourself nymphing with 7x ? I am just curious , i never tried it i must say. Pat a 40' leader = wow now thats a leader or a spin fish rig ....lol with the new nymph fly lines a long leader is def. out for me at this point . They are light enough to create no belly in the tippet as far as i am concerned. I guess what intrigues me most is the different ways people fish with most coming away with almost the same results. very very interesting

When I was the controller for the Nationals, I saw some of the Western boys using the ultra long leaders. I really liked the way they performed and how they could get them back in drift with just a wrist flip. I went home and started working on mine and really like the results. I think leaders are a personal choice, some people love the 15 to 20 foot leaders and some of us use the really long leaders. I think you fish what you are comfortable with and have confidence in. If they make the long leaders illegal then I'll change up, but for now, I love the flexibility and sensitivity of my leader. I haven't used 7X yet for nymphing but I do see the advantages. Hope to try out some of the new nymph fly lines soon, I know Airflo is coming out or has come out with one that I'm interested in.

Mark Ferringer · « **Reply #1 on:** September 12, 2011, 09:26:02 PM »

Quote from: Seth Gerring on September 09, 2011, 08:22:22 PM

As for the 7x tippet. I think it makes a big difference. Once you get comfortable with it you will use it more and more. I use 7x most of the time. Now if I'm fishing trophy water I will fish an a bigger tippet.

Dude, you have to be kidding. 7x is out of control. Really? Where have you ever found fish that truly required the use of 7x? I'm not trying to be antagonistic, but if I'm missing something, I want to know.

Dejon Hamann · « **Reply #2 on:** September 12, 2011, 09:33:57 PM »

The use of fine tippets has to do with sink rate.

Mark Ferringer · « **Reply #3 on:** September 12, 2011, 09:46:12 PM »

Sure, I agree that a thinner diameter tippet will sink faster, but at what cost to the fish? How much faster will a few tungstens on 7x sink compared to those same flies on a 5x leader?

Mark Hanes · « **Reply #4 on:** September 13, 2011, 09:34:56 AM »

With the recent advances in Fluro tippet the breaking strength of the newer 7x stuff is about the same as what 6x was less than 5 years ago. You add that to the new advances in rod design and really you can handle a trout up to the mid teens pretty easily if you apply good side pressure when playing the fish. I was not a fan of the idea myself at first but after using 7x more the last couple months I am confident that is does not harm the trout. You can still play a trout quickly without much harm.

As far as drift and weighted flies it allows you to get some pretty light flies to the bottom quickly and with a good presentation and I have noticed I am able to pick up some trout I was having trouble with before. In the dry-dropper application 7x has been my go to this summer. If you need to get smaller lighter nymphs sz 16 and smaller to the bottom fast. The difference between hitting the bottom with 7x and 5x with the same flies can be as much as a few feet depending on water type. I also think that the lighter tippet stays straighter allows you to get less drag on your nymphs and getting a more natural drift. It seems to result in more fish and in the competition environment a few extra fish can really jump you up in the field.

Dejon Hamann · « **Reply #5 on:** September 13, 2011, 10:37:37 AM »

What mark said.

Chris Grose · « **Reply #6 on:** September 13, 2011, 12:16:22 PM »

Geez...you guys totally hijacked my thread.

I will chime in though. I have found myself going to smaller and smaller tippet. Right now, I am convincing myself to use 6x most of the time. Two years ago I would have never gone below 5x, except in extreme circumstances. So far, the results are good. 7x is going to take some doing but I see myself headed that way.

Jim Frazier · « **Reply #7 on:** September 13, 2011, 07:13:57 PM »

hey by all means if you think 7x catches more fish then have it. I can honestly say in all my years of fishing i never saw water that called for 7x when nymphing or dry fly ( i don't fish midges much ) I guess if you need to get down quickly with small flys ( late summer ) then 3 sz 16-18 tungsten nymphs weighs almost as much as a size 12 does there for allowing you to use heavier tippet to fight the fish faster to net. mark ferringer and i fished the upper west branch of the delaware for 3-4 days in august and as many of you know at that time of year the water doesn't get any clearer ! The trout don't get anymore finicky either and most fish were caught on a size 16 hot spot frenchie on 4x tippet and we caught a ton of fish ! Would we have caught more on 7x i think not and i would not be naive enough to try those browns on 7x as we had a few school us on the 4x. dry fly fishing the evening hatch called for 6x mono and we both got very few refusals. maybe the tippet thing is a confidence issue but for now there is no 7x tippet going on my confluence pack. If the trout can tell a difference in the drag created by .002 of an inch in tippet diameter then i am done trout fishing !!!!

Mark Hanes · « **Reply #8 on:** September 14, 2011, 02:37:43 PM »

Jim,

You do understand this is a competition fishing forum right. We are constantly looking for an edge and some of have found that the use of light tippets is making a difference in certain situations. By all accounts I would rather use a heavier tippet but sometimes the situation does not dictate that. I have noticed a big difference in catch rates by using lighter tippets especially over highly pressured trout. That is a common situation in competitions during the final sessions. Like everything there is a give and a take and if I am targeting bigger fish I won't go below 5X for the most part.

If you don't competition fish it would be hard to justify the few extra fish that you may get from using 7x or even lighter tippet.

On a side note from what I hear many places over in Europe rarely use anything bigger than 6X. Plus the newer tippets have a much higher breaking point than what they did 5 to 10 years ago. I would guess the current 7X fluro is about as strong as 5x was ten years ago. Remember in a competition 1 fish can be a huge difference in the standings and smaller lighter flies are common practice.

As far as your WBD story thanks for sharing and that is a perfect example of only using as light as you need to use. Keep an open mind you might learn something to apply to your own fishing on a tuff day on the water.

Aaron Laing · « **Reply #9 on:** September 14, 2011, 04:18:52 PM »

Lately I've been using cheap (Suffix) 2lb 6x fluorocarbon for almost all my "practice" stream fishing. While the difference between 5x and 6x is miniscule, I find that it does help sink rates with light nymphs. Most fish I've encountered (even up to about 15") can easily be handled with the finer fluorocarbon.

That said, when it comes to a competition setting I don't like to mess around or take chances, and I mostly rely on a quality 5X tippet like Rio or Froghair, but I'm not ruling out 7x if required. Lately I've been even fishing dries with the fluoro, and providing the tippet is light enough I haven't encountered issues with either flotation or refusals. I might change that up in future if experience dictates, but it's been working for me on my home waters.

Aaron

Chris Michels · « **Reply #10 on:** September 14, 2011, 04:29:36 PM »

I aint a competition fisherman...but I do enjoy catching as many fish as I can.

This stream in northeast Iowa pretty much calls for 7x. I think you can see why from the picture. There is certainly a time and a place for everything....

5x or 6x would work also, but I know for a fact that 7x works better, and my catch rate went up drastically when I went smaller. Same flies, same style of fishing. Could have been a fluke....

Mark Hanes · « **Reply #11 on:** September 14, 2011, 04:45:35 PM »

Sweet looking stream. Just so this thread gets 100% off topic. Any good hatches on that stream it sure looks interesting to fish.

Jim Frazier · « **Reply #12 on:** September 14, 2011, 05:46:17 PM »

i guess i am just surprised is all. when you guys fished the last comp. in state college did any of you use 7x at the mc coy dam section on spring ? just curious trying to put this into perspective not being a competition fisherman. were sz 20 nymphs called for there or is that not a good example were to use small flys ? this is very interesting ! thanks guys

Chris Michels · « **Reply #13 on:** September 14, 2011, 05:48:14 PM »

The Baetis are probably going off as we type.... Also some big meaty hoppers and other terrestrials in the summer.

2500 wild trout per river mile. 0 stocking, all wild. Browns and brookies.

C'mon out.

Pat Weiss · « **Reply #14 on:** September 14, 2011, 06:05:41 PM »

WHOAH! That crick looks friggin AWESOME. Looks like a Cumberland Valley limestoner!!!

Aaron Laing · « **Reply #15 on:** September 14, 2011, 06:28:37 PM »

Quote from: Chris Michels on September 14, 2011, 05:48:14 PM

2500 wild trout per river mile. 0 stocking, all wild. Browns and brookies.

Yessss. Gorgeous stream, and with that glassy top and clarity it's not surprising that 7x would outperform 5 or even 6x. Wish we had that kind of water on this side of the (northern) Rockies--it would be a right treat.

Aaron

Adam Eubanks · « **Reply #16 on:** September 14, 2011, 08:38:57 PM »

Wow. Grew up in the midwest and didn't even know that kind of water existed.

John Killinger · « **Reply #17 on:** September 14, 2011, 10:12:36 PM »

I guess 7X would be better for really spooky fish, I've always had sucess with 5X for nymphing, rarely anything less. Used to use 6X on low clear streams, but not much anymore. 5X works for light flies also, I've used a single size 16 in a slow pool in 5' of water and caught a couple of fish. Never thought that was possible, thanks again Loren for showing me that.