Smallmouth bass are a favorite target among fly fishing anglers. They offer the perfect integration of challenge and reward, willing to attack a well presented fly and are pound for pound some of the hardest fighting fish in freshwater. They are not as snooty as some other fish, but they won’t hit any ole fly you throw at them either.

In order to properly present a tasty fly to smallmouth bass, we need to dive deeper into one of the more overlooked elements of your gear: the leader. We touched briefly on leaders in River Smallies, but the importance of the leader deserves a more thorough investigation. 

In this article, we’ll examine what makes leaders important, how to choose the right leader for smallmouth bass, and techniques for adjusting your leaders to maximize your chances of hooking into a football-sized smallie. These tips will help you present your fly more efficiently and even help your flies swim better in (or on top of) the water.

Understanding Fly Fishing Leaders

What are Fly Fishing Leaders?

Leaders are the clear material that connect your fly line to your fly. Leaders serve several important mechanisms in fly fishing. First, the clear material is less visible the fish and less likely to spook them. Secondly and of equal importance, they are vital in transferring energy from the fly line to your fly in order to “turn it over” properly. 

Leaders are often tapered down from a thicker material (the butt section) down to a specified breaking strength at the end (known as tippet) that allows this process to happen efficiently. That involves complicated physics which we don’t need to worry about- the main message is that properly created leaders help you cast and present your fly much better than a level line (in most cases). 

Fly fishing leaders come in a wide range of breaking strengths and diameters. They can be purchased pre-tapered in packages or you can build your own. For simplicity, we will focus on pre-packaged leaders here.

Fly Fishing Leader Materials

Fly fishing leaders come in two basic materials: monofilament and fluorocarbon. Both are clear materials though each has its own appropriate uses depending on the situation. 

Monofilament is a clear floating material that has an element of stretch when pulled. Monofilament (aka “mono” or sometimes called “nylon”) is necessary when you are using topwater flies. In bass fishing, that means poppers and wiggly flies, or anything that you want to continue to float on the surface. 

Fluorocarbon (aka “fluoro”) is a sinking material that has less stretch to it and is known for its increased abrasion resistance. Fluorocarbon is an excellent choice for when you are fishing flies subsurface, especially when you want the fly to sink as quickly as possible. The non-stretch element in fluoro also helps detect bites better than stretchy mono.

Anglers will constantly debate the importance of your leader material, ranging from the old-school “fish have been caught for 100 years on cheap mono” to “fish won’t touch it unless it’s fluoro.” We’ll save the debate for another time, but the most important differences in these two materials is simply that mono floats and stretches a little and fluoro sinks and does not stretch nearly at all. I will say that from my experience and the expertise of many others, choosing which material to use as your leader is an important element in fly fishing.

Choosing the Right Leader for Smallmouth Bass

Choosing the right leader material, length, and strength for your smallmouth bass leaders comes down to two important factors:

• Type of Line (Floating or Sinking)
• Type of Fly (Topwater or Subsurface)

Smallmouth bass leaders are generally more straightforward than trout leaders and I’ve found it best to keep it simple. There are slight differences when fishing floating/sinking lines and topwater/subsurface flies, but in general it’s best to keep your smallie leaders pretty simple.

Smallmouth Bass Leaders for Floating Lines

Bass leaders on floating lines are typically a little shorter and stouter than trout leaders. These leaders need to be thicker, especially in the butt section, because we are generally throwing larger, more wind resistant flies. Because of the complicated physics involved, thicker leaders allow for more energy to transfer and whip flies through the air more efficiently. 

Another reason bass leaders are generally thicker is smallmouth bass are also not as leader-shy as trout or carp. Smallies are aggressive, opportunistic feeders that won’t necessarily care if your tippet is 10 lb vs 8 lb. We should always use as thick a tippet as we think we can get away with. This will help not only casting and but also help limit the amount of break-offs we get from feisty smallies.

My standard smallmouth bass leader on a floating line is a 7.5-8 foot tapered mono leader with 10 lb tippet. The shorter leader allows more energy to flow into the fly, which helps to turn the fly over properly and cast much more accurately. The 10 lb breaking strength is a good starting point but will bump it up if I am throwing either a larger fly or fishing around lots of rocks or debris. 

The mono leader also allows me to easily switch from poppers to subsurface flies. If I know that I’ll be fishing exclusively subsurface, I’ll keep the length and tippet sizes the same, but change out my leader to fluoro so my flies will sink faster and I can detect bites a little better because of the no-stretch element.

Smallmouth Bass Leaders for Sinking Lines

Bass leaders for sinking lines are much more simple and straightforward. On any sinking line, use one piece of 3-4 foot 10 lb fluoro. That’s it. 

Tapering down your leader from a thick butt section to your tippet is not only unnecessary, but also inefficient. The longer your leader is, the longer and more unevenly your fly will follow the sinking line. All that is needed is a short piece of fluoro so your fly will track right behind your sinking line. If your leader is too long, the fly will likely float higher than the sinking line. 

Keep it simple and use a short piece of fluoro when you are fishing for smallmouth bass on a sinking line!

Don’t worry about the fish seeing your fly line either. Smallies are hungry and opportunistic- once they see your fly, that’s all they will focus on!

Smallmouth Bass Leaders for Topwater Flies

When fishing topwater flies for smallmouth bass, it’s essential to use a mono leader on a floating line. Mono floats and we need to keep our topwater popper or wiggly fly atop the surface.

Keep your topwater leader simple and use a 7.5-8 foot mono leader tapered down to 10 lb tippet. You can lessen the tippet if you are fishing small poppers or even large dry flies, but 10 lb is a good starting point. 

If you are fishing a popper aggressively in muddy or murky water, you can also get away with a slightly shorter, heavier leader, maybe in the 6-7 foot, 12-16 lb range. This will give you more line control and smallies will be unaware of the floating line given the water conditions. Thicker tippet will also help significantly in turning over bulky deer-hair poppers. 

Bonus Tip: When fishing a popper, add a 3-4 inch piece of fluoro at the end of your tippet. This will not drag your fly down at all, but rather pull the fly downward slightly when stripped, making your poppers “pop” more consistently.

Smallmouth Bass Leaders for Subsurface Flies

When fishing subsurface flies for smallmouth bass, start with the simple 7.5-8 foot 10 lb mono leader described above. You can make some adjustments from that starting point depending on your fly and the water conditions. 

If you are fishing murky water, you can shorten your leader. If fishing ultra-clear water with spooky fish, you may need to go a little longer on your leader. These adjustments are not always necessary, especially with smallies, but knowing what adjustments need to be made (either longer or shorter leaders) can help you pick up extra fish throughout your day.

To get the best of both worlds (and save a few bucks), you can also add a longer section of fluoro to your mono leader. This will add the abrasion resistance and bite detection of fluoro without breaking the bank of needing to buy an entire other set of leaders. I tend to do this pretty often when I fish for smallies. I like keeping the mono butt/midsection intact in case I want to switch over to topwater, but am more confident in the fluorocarbon tippet when going subsurface. Plus, I can just carry one set of mono leaders with fluoro tippet material as opposed to several sets of whole leaders.

Recommended Leaders and Tippets

Prepackaged Mono Leaders

For standard monofilament leaders, you cannot go wrong with Rio Bass Leaders. These are prepackaged leaders that come in a wide range of sizes. They come in 9 foot length, so cut off about a foot of tippet and you’ll be good to go.

Prepackaged Fluoro Leaders

For prepackaged fluorocarbon leaders, Cortland Fluorocarbon Leader is a great product at an affordable price. Similar to the Rio Bass Leaders, they come in 9 foot, so clip about a foot off and start fishing!

Mono Tippet

Having extra tippet is a must. Rio Powerflex Mono Tippet is a favorite amongst anglers and it widely available in many stores. It is strong and dependable and the go-to tippet material for many anglers.

Fluorocarbon Tippet

For fluorocarbon tippet, Rio Fluoroflex Tippet is another favorite from the dependable RIO brand. I like this stuff a lot, it’s easy to work with and offers strength and durability.

Conclusion

Smallmouth bass leaders are relatively simple. Simple, but important to understand any adjustments you need to make based on the conditions or the style in which you are fishing.

On a floating line, start with a 7.5-8 foot 10 lb monofilament leader. Add a foot or so if the water is super clear and fish are spooky. You can get away with a 6-7 foot leader in murky water. With a floating line, you can use a fluorocarbon leader if you know you’ll be fishing subsurface all day. Or even more simply, attach a 1-2 foot section of fluoro to your mono leader for added abrasion resistance and bite detection. 

Check out how to make your own leaders in How to Build Simple Fly Fishing Leaders

On a sinking line, keep it very simple: a 3-4 foot section of fluorocarbon will be your leader. This will let your fly track behind the fly line properly and help it get to the right depth quickly. No need to add any length to this one!

With these tips, you’ll be putting yourself in the best position to catch lots of smallies. Unlike trout leaders that require a pretty precise formula for soft, delicate fly presentations, smallmouth leaders are straightforward. Keep it simple!

What’s your favorite smallmouth leader?