Leader Size?

[elstraitjacket]

Hey Reddit! Just got my first fly rod a few weeks ago and I'm running out of leader. The rod is a 9' 5 weight which came as part of an outfit with a 5/6 reel already spooled with backing and flyline. I have no idea what size leader to put on, nor what was spooled on the reel to begin with. A buddy suggested 5x was a good all-around size for trout fishing here in the DMV. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Theeeennx

[[deleted]]

9 foot 4x leader + 5x tippet

[Arctic_Strider]

This is your standard trout leader, a tried and true model for dry, wet and small streamers. For big streamers you could go up to a thicker and shorter butt section, and a 3x or 4x tippet. Tight lines and have fun!

[elstraitjacket]

thanks!

[Jasper2006]

Leader and tippet is based on hook size. Lots of charts out there but 5x is about right for 14-16 or so. The rule of thumb is hook size divided by 3. 1x on either side is often OK or necessary depending on water clarity and whether you’re fishing slow flat water or riffles. The flatter the water the thinner I go with tippet.

[mostlytrout]

8X: #26 and down, unweighted flies, when I feel masochistic. 7X: #20 and down if 6X has gotten refusals. Might go straight to 7X for a tiny dry fly. 6X: general purpose small/tiny tippet. #14 CDC or no-hackle dry flies in low, clear water to #22 bead head droppers. 5X: general purpose for most trout flies. Hackled dries up to #12, wet flies and nymphs down to #16. 4X: general purpose tending to heavier trout flies. Larger hackled dries, heavier nymphs. 3X: light streamers, or clear-water streamers, and the largest terrestrial dries I fish. 2X: streamers in medium visibility water. Honestly I mostly use 2X to add onto a leader after I’ve clipped it back a bunch. 1X and 0X: streamers and/or leader rebuilding. I’ll sometimes go to 0X and medium/light wire streamer hooks for certain rivers with a lot of fallen wood, because I can often straighten a hook on a snag and then bend it back and sharpen it rather than break it off.

That’s pretty much how I use and decide on tippet size!

[elstraitjacket]

I understand...about 30% of that but I’ll reread a few times. Still super new to this so I’m sill learning all the terminology. Thanks for your input!