Fly fishing leaders are arguably the most important element of your setup other than your fly. Without a proper leader, you simply won’t catch fish.

Leaders allow you to cast properly, present flies naturally, and fight the fish. Their importance is often underestimated but if you’ve ever fished with the wrong leader, you’ll quickly realize how vital they are.

For those of you that have read The Beginner’s Guide to Fly Fishing Tippet, you’ll see some similar information in this article. Leaders and tippet are literally and metaphorically tied together, creating a system to deliver your flies to your intended targets and catch you more fish.

In this guide, we’ll go over the basics of fly fishing leaders- what they are, what the numbers on the package mean, and most importantly, how to choose the right leader for your fishing situation.

What is a Fly Fishing Leader?

Leaders are the clear section of line that connect your fly line to your fly. Because fly lines (check out more on fly lines in Fly Lines Explained: A Beginner’s Guide) are made of thick plastic, are often brightly colored, and move relatively fast, we need a system that doesn’t scare fish off and doesn’t make our flies land on the water like an asteroid.

That’s where leaders come in. 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 over” the fly properly. This allows our flies to land with a much more natural presentation.

Leaders generally have three sections- the butt, the mid-section, and the tippet. Starting at the thickest end (the butt section) that is connected to your fly line, it tapers down (through the mid-section), down to the “business end” (the tippet) where you attach your fly. This allows the energy from the cast to transition properly and efficiently. That involves complicated physics which we don’t need to worry about- the main message is that properly constructed leaders help you cast and present your fly much better than a level line (in most cases).

What is the Difference Between Fly Fishing Leaders and Tippet?

Leaders and tippet often get confused. Essentially, your leader is the entire section of clear line that attaches the fly line to the fly, while the last several feet of your leader is the thinnest portion, known as the tippet.

You’ll hear people talking about leaders and tippet interchangeably. Oftentimes, someone will call the leader by the tippet size, which can cause confusion. You might hear someone say they’re fishing a “4X leader”, which means that their leader is tapered down to 4X tippet.

So next time you hear someone talk about their leader, they’re not saying that the entire leader is that certain thickness, rather that the leader is tapered down to a certain thickness. Leaders are often marked and listed by their tippet size using the “X” system, highlighting that that specific leader is tapered down to the specified tippet size.

What does the “X” Mean on Leaders?

Speaking of the X system, if you’ve ever walked into a fly shop, you’ve likely seen a wall of packaged leaders with numbers and letters on them. In the fly fishing world, the somewhat antiquated “X” system is used to denote the diameter of the tippet of that leader, usually in the smaller sizes. For larger tippet, the approximate pound breaking strength is listed.

A number followed by an X denotes the diameter of the material. In general, the larger the number, the smaller the diameter and lower breaking strength and vice versa.

The following chart is a reference for the X system with approximate diameter and breaking strengths for smaller monofilament leaders. Each manufacturer’s diameter and breaking strength may be slightly different, though this is a general guideline for monofilament tippets.

Fluorocarbon leaders will provide the same breaking strength at a slightly smaller diameter, but they’ll be around these numbers.

Because there are several numbers involved when talking about tippet, the X system is meant to be the all-encompassing reference that captures it all. So instead of saying, “I had to go down to .005 inch, 4 lb breaking strength leader,” you can just say “I switched over to a 6X leader.”

When at the fly shop and looking for prepackaged leaders, make note of the listed length and tippet size of the leader. These are usually readily found on the front of the package.

In the example above, this leader is a standard 9 foot leader, tapered down to 5X breaking strength. I typically like to buy 9 foot leaders and if I need to make any adjustments to them, I can simply cut off or add a little more tippet to get the desired length.

How Do I Choose What Leader to Use?

Choosing what leader to use can be as simple or as complex as you would like. Either way you choose, the leader must do three things:

• Deliver the fly properly
• Allow the fly to act correctly
• Withstand the elements and fight of the fish.
  • I.e., the leader can’t break!

As long as the leader does those three things, you will give yourself a chance for a hook up and a netted fish. If any of those fail, something about your leader must change!

Factors to Consider

Length

Floating Line

The general rule of thumb is the length of your leader when using a floating line should be close to the length of your rod. Because most fly rods are around 9 feet long, most our leaders are about 9 feet long.

These lengths can change, mostly when you are fishing very clear water with spooky fish, where we would need to lengthen the leader by a few feet. Once leaders get past 12 feet, they become extremely difficult to cast and begins to affect presentation and effective hook setting.

So in general, stick around the 9 foot mark to start and make any proper adjustments needed. Specialty leaders are sometimes required, but for those just starting out, keep it simple and use a 9 foot leader.

Sinking Line

Sinking lines require a much shorter leader, generally from 2-4 feet long. The shorter leader allows the fly to be presented in line with fly line vs riding too high or too low.

There is also no need to taper the leader. When fishing sinking lines, we are less worried about the fly being presented delicately and the nuance of the taper is not as necessary. A straight 2-4 foot long piece of tippet is used as the leader, it’s as simple as that!

Thickness

As we have mentioned, when people talk about the thickness of their leader, they’re talking about the thickness of their tippet. This is when leader/tippet get used interchangeably, so when thinking about determining the thickness of your leader, we’re talking about the “business end” of the leader, which is your tippet.

Determining the thickness of your leader/tippet depends on the conditions, the fish you’re targeting, and the size of your fly.

In clear water or targeting spooky fish, you’ll need to lighten your leader a bit and conversely, in cloudier water with aggressive fish, you’ll be able to bump up your leader. In general, use as thick a leader as you think you can get away with!

Some flies also require a thicker leader in order to be delivered properly. Wind resistant flies with a lot of deer hair or popper style flies need more energy to cut through the wind, thus require a thicker leader in order to transfer energy into the fly. This will help the fly “turn over” and is tremendously helpful in presenting your fly effectively.

Material

Determining what material leader to use comes down basically to one question: Do you want your flies to float or sink?

If you want your flies to float on top of the water, use monofilament leaders. Monofilament repels water and is far less resistant to sinking, making it a great option for dry fly or popper style fishing. If you are fishing subsurface streamers, mono leaders are still a great option, it just may take your flies a little longer to get to the depth you want them to.

If you want your flies to sink faster, use fluorocarbon. Fluoro absorbs water more, allowing it to sink faster and be slightly less reflective of sunlight. Some anglers would say that fluoro is “invisible” but this isn’t quite true. It certainly is less reflective, but doesn’t necessarily disappear from sight. Knowing that fluorocarbon is less visible to fish gives many anglers (including this one) more confidence when fishing for spooky, leader-shy species.

Fluorocarbon leaders are also more abrasion resistant, making them tougher and for the same pound breaking strength (compared to mono), they’re a thinner diameter. Fluoro is the go-to for trout fisherman fishing tiny nymph patterns for these reasons and the primary leader for saltwater fisherman fishing around coral and mangrove islands.

Fly Size

When choosing which tippet size to use, there is a simple formula to use:

Using the X system, simply take the size of the fly you are using and divide it by 3 or 4. So a size 16 Pheasant Tail nymph calls for a 4x or 5x leader. A size 12  pattern will call for 3X or 4X. That size 4 streamer you’ve got tied on will need a 1X or 0X leader.

This rule of thumb will get put you in the right direction. You can certainly go up or down in leader size depending on the conditions and the fish, though this system is a great starting point when determining which size to throw on the end of your line.

But what if you’re fishing larger patterns that don’t divide into 3 or 4? What leader would you use for a size 1/0 streamer? This is when the pound breaking strength comes into play. The X system is meant for smaller flies but once we get into larger flies, we switch over to simply listing tippet by their pound breaking strengths.

In general, 12 lb or 16 lb leader for larger flies is a good place to start. There are some specialty tippets to use in certain situations like in the salt or fishing toothy fish like pike and musky, though for your standard day of bass or trout streamer fishing, this 12 or 16 lb tippet will be great.

For big flies and heavy cover, I like to bump it up to a 20 or 25 lb leader. That way, I know I’ll stay hooked up to anything in freshwater (maybe not toothy fish like pike or musky) that takes a bite of my fly. In cases like this, I’m not too worried about fish being leader shy- I’ll fish flies big enough that that’s all they’ll be able to focus on.

Best Leaders

So now we know the basics of what a leader does, but what about the real question of which one to use? To answer this, let’s break things down by species as your leader length, material, and breaking strength are largely determined by  what species you’re targeting.

This chart is a good compass for what leader to use for certain species:

Your leader can change a little depending on the condition or the size of fish, but this is a great start to put you in the right direction!

Trout

In trout fishing, you’ll hear the aforementioned “Fly Size divided by 3 or 4 rule” a ton, which is a great start. So if you’re fishing a size 12 fly, a leader tapered down to size 3X or 4X tippet is suggested.

Trout leaders are also generally a little more “limp” than other leaders. They start a thicker material in the butt section, though not as thick as some other leaders. This transfers energy properly, but more delicately into the fly to a achieve the “softer” presentation that you hear about and novels have been written about. So don’t expect a trout leader to turn over the bushy deer hair popper you use for smallies, it simply won’t work!

Bass

Speaking of bushy deer hair poppers, because bass flies are generally larger and more wind resistant than trout flies, leaders are also thicker.

Bass leaders are also often a foot or so shorter than the typical 9-foot leader. The shorter, stiffer leader helps those bushy flies turn over better and helps with pinpoint control.

For smallmouth on a floating line, I like to start with an 8 foot 10 lb leader (0x-1x) and go from there. If I am targeting larger fish, I’ll bump up to 16 or even 20 lb, but that 10 lb marker is a good starting point.

Same process goes for largemouth, except bump up the starting point to 16 lb. Largemouth like to live in dense cover and we’ll need a thicker leader to withstand those elements. Largemouth are generally less leader shy than other fish and won’t scoff at a leader that is slightly too thick. If they see something they want to eat, they’re gonna take a bite!

Bonefish

Leaders for bonefish are pretty straightforward. Your leader should be 9-10 feet in length, tapered down to 16 lbs as a starting point. Luckily, bonefish are not too leader shy under most circumstances, however flat calm days in super skinny water may call for 10 lb tippet. Bigger bones in cloudier water or fisheries with a lot of coral or rocks on the bottom may call for tippet up to 20 lbs.

Fluorocarbon is the primary choice for leader material. It’s stiffness helps cut through the wind and it’s resistance to abrasion can be helpful on especially sticky bottom structures. Mono will get the job done, but fluorocarbon is certainly the preference.

Snook

Snook are not leader shy and have notoriously rough mouths, so beefing up your leader and tippet to the 25-40 lb range is essential. Fluorocarbon is ideal given its increased resistance to abrasion.

The thick tippet will help protect against the sandpaper-y mouths of snook and will prevent breakoffs. Even small snook have tough mouths and can break off anything less than 20 lb. Additionally, be sure to check your tippet after every snook you catch, as they can wear down even the strongest of tippet very quickly.

Snook leaders are generally a little shorter than other saltwater leaders. Gear up with a 7-8 foot leader, finished with strong tippet. This will help with turning the fly over properly and increase the accuracy of your casts. Keep these leaders pretty simple, snook don’t seem to mind the thick tippet or the shortness of your system.

If fishing a sinking line, keep it very simple and go 3-4 feet of straight 40 lb leader material. This will help your fly sink at the same rate as your line and is significantly easier to cast.

Redfish

Leaders measuring 9 to 10 feet, tapered to 16 pound tippet are recommended for general purpose redfish.

From that 16 pound tippet point, you may need to increase your tippet strength based on the size of redfish you are targeting. Redfish are not leader shy, so bumping up the strength and diameter of your tippet won’t spook most fish off, but will increase the amount of pressure put on a fish in order to bring it to the boat.

Redfish dwell in an array of water clarity, from crystal clear to murky brown. If the water is tinted or downright mud colored, don’t be afraid to size up your leader and tippet for added strength and abrasion resistance.

Attaching Leader to Fly Line

Now that we have our leader selected, we need to connect  it to our fly line. In order to attach your leader to your fly line, there are two common options.

By far the most common option to attach your leader and fly line is using a perfection loop. If you buy a packaged tapered leader, it will come with a loop already tied in the butt end for easy connection. If you tie your own leader or somehow the loop breaks, it’s a pretty simple knot to learn. By using a perfection loop, changing leaders is extremely simple if you need to switch them out.

The second option is attaching your leader to your fly line with a nail knot. Some would say this transfers the energy better because it is a direct connection between the two lines as opposed to the pairing of two loops. This does make exchanging leaders out when you need to change a little bit more difficult and doesn’t offer the convenience of loop to loop connections.

Conclusion

In conclusion, fly fishing leaders play a pivotal role in your angling success, serving as the crucial link between your fly line and fly. Often overshadowed by the allure of flies, rods, and reels, leaders are essential for proper casting, natural presentation of flies, and effective fish fighting.

This guide has summarized the fundamentals of leaders, clarifying their structure, function, and selection provess. Understanding the distinction between leaders and tippet, deciphering the “X” system, and mastering the art of choosing the right leader for various fishing scenarios are indispensable skills for any angler.

Whether pursuing trout in clear streams, bass in wind-ruffled rivers, or saltwater giants on the flats, selecting the appropriate leader tailored to species, conditions, and fly size is paramount.

Additionally, the methods of attaching leaders to fly lines, be it through the convenience of loop-to-loop connections or the direct energy transfer of nail knots, further enhance an angler’s versatility and efficiency on the water. By understanding and applying the principles of fly fishing leaders, anglers can elevate their game to new heights, ensuring each cast is met with the potential for a hook-up.

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

All that being said, never forget how important your leader is!