Leader length ...?

[hankaye]

Mataura mayfly;

I was looking back over your post;

Hank, In my opinion, 16lb might be a little light for a #5 weight line and I am usually fishing #5-7 weight gear here. If using a factory tapered leader, the butt end "add on" should be the same thickness or slightly thicker than the butt section of the factory leader.
Hank, this is all just how I do it- others opinion may differ and after a bit of time with said rod, your own opinion may differ, but it gives you somewhere to start.

about the building and adjusting leaders, and it dawned on me that you are 'normally' hooking into trouts that weigh in in excess of 3 or 4 pounds.
The tiny tikes that I'll be after will be in at 1.5 pounds or much less. I'm thinking 15# might even be to much

hank

[Mataura mayfly]

Hank, that was referring to the butt end of the leader, up near the fly line- not the end closest to the trout.
The comment was more to do with the butt end of the leader being closer to the end of the fly line- so as to get good turnover and transmission of the casting stroke down the loop and into the leader better. For a #5 weight line, I would consider a leader butt section of 16 lb mono to be a bit light. Think of it kind of like extending the taper on the front of the fly line, you work from that thickness (end of the fly line) to a theoretical zero at the terminal end.
Which opens another can of worms. I should not be quoting LB breaking strains, but rather diameter of the mono in fractions of an inch.
For fly lines of the #5-7 weight range I like a thickness of .020 to .025" in the leader butt. Matters very little the size of fish you are after, that comes in to play further down the leader (although seldom would you ever find me stepping below 4X tippet......). I am more worried that a leader turns over well and straightens fully and smoothly, rather than trying to match breaking strains to the fish being tempted.

[hankaye]

Mataura mayfly, Howdy;

Jeff, I understood about which end is which, and the why you choose to
add additional to the butt end opposed to the tip end.
I was able to find a 7.5 foot long leader in 5X and on Eric's recommendation

This'll probably sound crazy, Hank, but for what you describe, I'd get a 7.5' mono leader of your choice and cut about 18" (maybe even 24") off the butt end. I would blood knot this to a short (12") section of .015 or .017 Maxima that you have nail knotted to the end of the fly line. Tie a loop in the fine end of the leader and clinch knot a tippet to it. For the kind of fishing you describe, I'd keep the tippet to 3' or less.
Just a thought.
Eric

I built something similar, I did however substitute a tippet ring for the extra loop and clinch knot and attached
a small amount of yarn to test it with. Worked very well out to a total length
(of cast), about 30 feet. The yarn settled like a feather on the ground.
The wee bitty rod only requires a short toss, just like shooting darts, to make
it work. I was able to lay the yarn on targets or just past them by a foot or 2
with repetitive regularity.
This in no way means that I am finished with my search. I've also had a few PM's
with advise from some folks and those will be tested to see what works for me.
After all it is about what works for each of us ... isn't it???

hank

[Mataura mayfly]

Mataura mayfly, Howdy;


After all it is about what works for each of us ... isn't it???

hank

Exactly!
Sounds like you are on the right track.