Fish are Leader Shy

 Another big myth! 

 FACTS:   I have pumped fish with hundreds of larva so small they were almost invisible to the naked eye. There is no leader on Earth that fish cannot see. They see your hook, your knot, the eye of the hook, and even the tag end of your leader if you leave any left over! They see mono and they see fluorocarbon. 

 So why is the leader diameter an important consideration? A bug needs to act like the real thing and a leader that is too large in diameter, or too stiff, like flouro will pull the fly around unnaturally. By the way, fluoro is generally stiffer than Mono for the same size tippet. I find that very fine tippet will allow the fly to act more naturally – thus catching more fish. To illustrate this point I have used black 10 lb Dacron material as my leader on big stonefly nymphs and streamers. You can see it a mile away but fish still eat the streamers and nymphs because the fly moves naturally. The Dacron is extremely supple. Next time you are having trouble, despite what you think is the correct fly, try reducing your tippet size. By the same token, often times you can get by with a larger diameter tippet than you believe is possible. 

CONCLUSION: By understanding the principles regarding tippet size and feeding selectively, you can find the right size tippet for the job. If the fly is dragging the tippet around, you are good to go. If the tippet is dragging the fly around, you need to reduce the diameter if the tippet. You can also help reduce drag by greasing your leader and fly line.