What tippet material

[hobgoblin]

I've given up with the super strong, double strength and amphibian style of tippet materials, they just don't tie up right and at the slightest pressure coil like a Cumberland sausage.

My choice is Maxima Chameleon 2lb measures 0.12mm, knots well and 100m cost around £4.
But the other day I ran out and couldn't get some more for a few days. Rummaging through my fishing tackle I found some Drennan - team England - rig line - super soft mono. 2.8lb and dia. of 0.12mm, it's used for making pole rigs and hook lenghts for rod and line application.

The drennan line comes in a few sizes that would suit Tenkara anglers and at £3 for a small 50m spool is good value for money.

Hobgoblin

[flatsghost]

Hobgoblin.
Yes you are right that some of the lines marketed as coarse fishing applications are fine. I guess they should be as they probably come from the same factory!
Personally I have used Stroft for several season now for all river applications and I am delighted with it. I use it in 0.10/0.12/0.14 and it knots well as having a decent breaking strain to diameter ratio. It is at a reasonable price too for 100m. At least as it is Monofil you have the assurance of knowing that it will degrade much quicker than fluorocarbon if you should lose any up a tree or in the river
All the best
Glyn

[hobgoblin]

In a previous life as an avid coarse angler and regularly fishing matches on the local cut, fine tackle was a must if you wanted to put fish on the scales. Back then I tried every miracle line that came on the market and always went back to fine quality mono.

However Flatsgost, for now I'm going to stick with my Maxima and Drennan, then when I run out I'll give The Stroft a go(I have heard of this material before and its popular with both coarse and fly anglers, so it must be decent stuff)

Hobgoblin

[flatsghost]

No point wasting what you have - good strategy. I don't think you will be disappointed with Stroft when the time comes.
Tight lines
Glyn

[paul1966]

I'm a big fan of mono for tippet material; I've never been able to get on with fluorocarbon. It has no shock resistance, horrible to knot, expensive and takes thousands of years to degrade.

[hobgoblin]

Paul

I've been using fluorocarbon as a tippet material for years when fishing still waters, but nothing below 6lb, like you the finer stuff I find doesn't knot well, if I want it to float I use 4 or 5lb mono.

I only use 6lb Fluorocarbon, the reason being I won several spools of the stuff in Fly Tying and Fly Fishing's tying competitions a few years back when Diawa sponsored the event.

Here is a thought for you to ponder:-

Progress is a wonderful thing, first we had gut(I've read about it and its where the X rating comes from), then along came mono hailed as wonderful stuff at the time, super mono's finer in diameter for the breaking strain than ordinary stuff, fluorocarbon fish can't see it and now gossamer thickness tippets of all descriptions that "I CANT SEE OR KNOT"

Apparently the Chinese have been using the same cooking pan for millennia !

Hobgoblin

[custheyder]

I'm currently investigating various nylons for the shop. Fluorocarbon is hellishly expensive although I have come across some better priced, high quality stuff and even camo colours!

What are peoples thoughts on coloured v clear nylon? I've currently got clear JMC Helium and camo coloured JMC Kamoufil neither of which are well known in the UK. I'm looking at other brands as well, including the course fishing world of super nylon.(Thinner, stronger, abrasion resistant with good knot strength... allegedly!)

[flatsghost]

Daniel
My preference would be for clear only because having used clear and examined it closely underwater it SEEMS TO ME to be difficult to see (but, I am not a trout.)By the nature of Camo some it will be light and some darker and I would be worried if a darker bit was near the fly.
It is all very confusing especially as many of the lines come from the same manufacturer and MAY be the same only spooled differently.
I would dearly love to know why fluorocarbon is so ridiculously expensive ! A friend was using Riverge in 10 lbs recently and was broken several times at a stillwater which quite shocked me. And the price of it.....!!!!
Will be interesting to see the various responses to this.
All the best
Glyn

[Deleted]

I have had the very same experience as Glyns friend with regards to Riverge.

I purchased a spool in 4 & 6lbs a few years ago and had a nightmare with it.

I decided to use it on the River Tees fish as the fish are usually in the 8oz region & was to quote Glyn "Shocked" at the amount of times i was cracked off, even on a single fly cast (never mind a team on droppers) 8oz fish? 4lb line? somethings wrong!
I resigned both spools to the bottom of my flyvest pocket and resumed fishing with my old favourite, Plain & simple mono, Clear Bayer Perlon!. 8oz fish, 2.6lbs bayer, no problems all day long!!!

I later took both spools of Riverge back to the shop of purchase & swapped them for a pocket full of guess what?........... Bayer Perlon!!

Regards Stevie.

[custheyder]

I am told that colour is all about the background. If you have a weedy river then green disappears into the back ground. Brown in peaty waters. There is also talk of light being transmitted down the line and making it "glow". The camo line is supposed to stop that. The colour is perhaps not as strong as some would think.

[hobgoblin]

I usually set up using Maxima but on occasions have swapped to clear mono and had better result. I think from what has just been said it depends how much light the line in use at the time absorbs, external light conditions and river bed colours.
All leader usually come with a shiny surface, which no matter what the colour will reflect some light, perhaps degreasing, not to make the leader sink, but to take the shine off, just basic fly fishing preparation, would be good.

Hobgoblin

[daves]

I use Stroft tippet material & find it very reliable & reasonably priced.

I dislike fluorocarbon mainly because it is too stiff, but also because it does not degrade in UV so is an environmental hazard & it is so costly.

As for tippet colour I'm not convinced it makes a lot of difference. I'm sure the fish see our tippet but do not recognise it as dangerous: I've lost count of the times that fish have taken a bit of indicator dough fixed to the thick (0.5 mm) part of a leader butt & I never degrease my tippet when dry fly fishing yet seem to catch plenty of fish.

Dave

[floatingcrust]

I've been experimenting with Preston Innovations 'reflo'
It's intended as a hook or rig line for pole fishing.
I've used it in many applications, including hook lengths for carp fishing.
It's knot strength is excellent. It's 100% reliable. Not excessively expensive, and very good on diameter.
I'm using 0.10 rated at 2lb 10 oz for Tenkara on the upper Dove.
Comparing it to the Tenkara tippet I bought at 0.14 for 3lb bs. I feel 6oz less bs ( refer to best knots in Discovering Tenkara email course) is worth the sacrifice for a 30% saving on line diameter.

[Deleted]

Interesting thread. I hadn't realised that fluorocarbon was such an environmental problem with regard to degradation. I have been using fluorocarbon almost exclusively for my Tenkara fishing leaders although recently reverted back occasionally to Maxima, when I wanted to fish just below the surface. However after reading this thread I have decided to go back exclusively to Maxima, which served me well for many years when I used to fly fish 'Western style'.

David