stronger tippet??

Man! I must lose more flies than anyone one else alive!
I go through at least 2 flies everytime I fish. You name it I've lost it.
I think I may need to move up to bigger tippet that 6x. Ive lost a few flies when I hooked into something.
one broke right where the fly was and another broke up by my leader..
Ive lost a few when I get bites..
Am I not tying these knots ive tied for years right?? blows my mind.
Never had this problem until fly fishing haha

Disclaimer:
When I bought my Orvis tippet, the guy at Bass Pro asked me what size bass. And for the most part they are 1-2lb range but I know there are 8 pound fish in there. Do I need to move up to something stronger?

Bass? 3x or 4x would be fine. Surprised 6x holds at all..... we rarely use 6x even for stingy trout

crazy. looks like I gotta move up. dunno why he sold me that stuff..
he did tell me he was a trout guy

I make my own tippets, I use 12 to 16lb Fluor line..

+1

Yea get some 7.5 feet twelve pound tapered leaders and get you a spool of 8-15 pound invisix floro and add three feet or so of it. Over 8# invisix is the best stuff on the market in my opinion. Under 8# I go with rio floro flex its ultra supple in lower line strengths. Hope this helps.

I think you need to go to 8x or maybe 12x. You're not losing enough flies. I lose at least 6 when I go fly fishing. 6x on bass? You're not much of a sportsman, IMO.

First, I often lose a half dozen or more flies a trip, especially fishing subsurface. Second, since they are not leader shy, you should never have to go smaller than 3x for bass. Third, the guy that sold you 6x for bass was a dunce and should be fired.

Thanks Jonbo, I appreciate that.
Coming from a long line of sportsman, I consider myself a conversationalist first and foremost. Then a sportsman.
But I have surpassed my father and living relatives knowledge of fishing, and started my own understanding of fly fishing, something they have never tried.
So, I think I'm doing pretty well. With or without your input

In his defense (he was a super cool guy, who actually taught the local casting class):
I told him I was looking to fish bass and possibly trout, as I was making a trip to the Guadalupe around that same time. (early January)
I'll just pick up some bigger stuff next time I make it out Bass Pro way.

Thanks Mick, and everyone else who chimed in.

Sorry man. I thought you HAD to be joking. I was TOTALLY joking around there. You have actually been using 6x for bass? Bro, only use 6x when you have to. I might use 7x or 8x on a size 24 dry fly for finicky trout in a still pool. I use 6x floro when the thread midges or midge pupa I'm fishing with have eyes so small I can't get 5x through them. For bass flies I'm sure I would be using 3x or 4x at smallest. My advice? Buy a 7' leader that tapers to 3x. Add whatever you need to that, 3x, 4x, 5x, 6x. Keep spools of those in both floro and mono in your vest. I buy one of those little vest sized spools of each. Then I buy a big spool of Maxima floro of the sizes I want to refill the little spools that I carry around because it's much cheaper.

Some think using smaller tippet sizes get them more hookups. I don't know. I can't stand them when I don't need to use them.

Again, for some reason I thought you were "having us on", as the Brits say. Sorry about that.

I carry 2x to 5x in my kit. Not fluoro, tho. I don't fish for anything toothier than bass. I usually add about 18" to 2 feet of 4x to a 7.5 Foot tapered leader. I use the tapered leader because I don't have as many problems with my cast that way. For close distances, I will, on occasion use 6# or 8# Mono for a leader, but only about 4 feet. When I try for more than that, I make a hell of a mess. Just my piss-poor casting stroke.

Kirk

Well thanks for the info guys. No one ever taught me anything I had to teach myself.
Ill move up to some bigger stuff here soon. at least I know I can land decent fish on 6x!

I only use 6x Orvis Mirage on the San Juan when trying to fool those trout. 3x or 4x would do the trick for bass.

Hope you didnt loose any of the flies
I sent you............lol
Definitely a stronger tippet required and incidently I have lost a lot more than two flies per trip
Just saying
Mike

For me, my leader choice depends on the fishing conditions and what I'm casting.

For general purpose use, a 3X leader can be used about 80% of the time.

For warmwater bass fishing using something in the a 3 wt rod range, I'll usually use something in the range of 1x, 0x, or even just 10 lb test. If I'm just targeting bluegill, I may drop down to 3x.

With an 8 wt for stripers on Texoma or bass in heavy cover, I may use something in the 12 lb to 15 lb range. I don't like using anything stronger than 15 lb because fly lines seem to have about a 20 lb break strength and I want my leader to break before the fly line.

For trout, I try to follow the recommendations for the local conditions. Which usually means tying on some 5x or 6x tippet to the end of the leader.

As always, your milage may vary.

Good luck!

For some useless trivia. The "X" system was a measure of the leader/tippet's diameter and not its breaking strength. The higher the X number, the smaller the diameter. To get an estimate of the breaking strength of a leader or tippet, subtract the X number from 10. Traditionally, a 0X tippet had a 10lb strength (10 - 0X = 10 lb). A 3X was about 7 lbs (10 - 3X = 7 lbs). However, leader materials have gotten better and the breaking strength's have increased, so this formula is not very accurate anymore, but it does give you a starting point.

Unfortunately I did Mike. That killer baitfish pattern was lost to something big.
for the most part I haven't had that many issues with it... just when I hook something of heft

If you are bass fishing just use plain mono 10-20lb depending on the size of the fly and weight of the fly rod.. all bets are off if you are chasing trout...

you just tie on the mono just as you normally would tippet? that simple huh...

Many may disagree, but I have never had any issues w/ 4-6' of 12-17# mono for bass. Loop to loop at your fly line. Buy a 330 yard spool of Stren for $7 and save your money for flies. Bass generally aren't picky about line of presentation of tapered leaders. Heck, a have caught a bunch of fish on 50# braid tied directly to a jig or frog.

That's what I did for the first 2 years I flyfished. I didn't know anything about tapered leaders, and had no interest in learning. I was catching bass and that's all I cared about.

It wasn't until I started flyfishing for bluegill, trout and redfish that I had to really learn about tippets and leaders. Biggest mistake ever I ever made.

heavy mono affects the flys action and can be a problem for line-shy fish but for bass I've never had it matter much..

I got some 6 and 10 lb mono layin around..
ill have to check it out. I have some short leaders I may tie a couple variations.

thanks for all the input everyone

i know this professional guide, he is endorsed by bass pro and everything. he uses 4lb vanish. are you saying thats not any good?

I just use ~7 ft of 12lb fluoro with a perfection loop in the end most of the time and it works like a champ.

My post intended to address this “tippets” subject in a perceived positive manner failed, so I deleted my message.
There has been excellent advice given on this thread but IMO, confusing to the beginner fly fisherman.

I tell a beginner that seeks my advice is to pay no attention to the X-rated nomenclature on tapered leaders and look at break strength as on any other fishing line, because that is what it is.

For years I only used “fishing line” leaders, some time loop to loop, butt leader to tippet.
Since braided loops and advent of furled leaders, I now use Robin’s furled leaders and fishing line tippets ….FWIW...

George Glazener

when George speaks, I listen-p-

I tried casting some 6lb mono yesterday. ehhhh I guess Im spoiled with tippet cause that stuff gave me a headache...
didn't cast right, looped weird on back casts and getting the loop to straighten out was impossible against the wind

Just straight 6 lb. mono or was there some leader in between it and fly line?

A tapered leader will turn over and straighten out easier than just a solid length of mono. Large flies will often pull the leader straight anyway due to their mass and that's why some bass fishers don't mess with tapered leaders. But you'll get better turn over and a more delicate presentation with a taper leader. It doesn't really matter if you buy a tapered leader or tie your own, both styles work.

I agree with George's comment about the lb. breaking strength is more important that the "X" value.

there was some leader in there.

Well, so many variables. It didn't like something

I started out fishing tapered leaders I picked up from bass pro. Really and truly this is ideal for me. the presentation of the fly with a Tleader is unmatched in my opinion. Ill just pick up some heavier tippet and a few new leaders next trip, and know that if worst comes to worst. Mono works...I guess.

How are your fly casting skills?

Are you able to lay the fly line itself out straight and tight with just the leader being the problem?

My casting is So-So. I cannot however false cast. Mine are not effective or pretty to look at. more like dangerous haha
So I keep to the cast and settle and grow my cast from there.

today there was hardly any wind when I was out there. The casting was better, but still not as good as tippet/tapered leader.
I caught 3 little one pounders, no big fish.
it works, just not ideal I suppose.

6X...huh? Only on the San Juan River in NW New Mexico...bass just hit too hard. You might just try some 1 or 2x tippet only when targeting bass. You don't need a gentle float down to the water for bass. You have to withstand the initial strike, then the turn to run.

Like MickFly wrote, the guy at BP needs to be fired for recommending 6x for bass.

This could also be a function of the length of the mono. If the fly slaps the water, add a foot, if it doesn't make it to the end (Puddles), cut a foot off. The length won't be the same for every fly, unless it has the same weight and wind resistance, so you might have to adjust it for each new fly.
The good news is, Mono is cheap. The bad news is, it takes time to tie the knots. I always use a double surgeon's knot. It's fast, easy, and it holds well in mono, but is weak enough to break when you need it to. Please, be sure to put the cut-off bits in your pocket.

Kirk

Just my observations. I like what Robert Hunter suggested. I have watched him fish and the guy can catch them when others are wondering what the heck is he doing. Secondly, I've caught a few fish in my life time. In stained water I make my own leaders from standard 8 lb. fishing line. You should be able to play even some of the double digit fish I've landed with this strength. Way cheaper than fly store leaders and tippet. I've gone down to a size 18 fly with this line so it will go through the eye of the hook. In clearer creeks/ponds/rivers I use fluorocarbon. I have not tried the brand Robert suggested, but I will. I seldom use a leader over 7' in length. I can see strikes quicker with a shorter leader and see soft takes when the bite is light. When the leader gets too short, I cut it off and quickly tie on another one and back to fishing. A perfection loop enables connection to the fly line loop. Takes only seconds to tie it.