Cast (leader) making for beginners

[Wildfisher]

Cast (leader) making for beginners
I have been asked about this now on a few occasions. So here goes. It?s best to stick to two flies on your cast until you gain more experience. Two flies as opposed to three means that the cast is easier / quicker to tie, is shorter in length (therefore easier to handle)  and less likely to become tangled. Indeed, many anglers (some a heck  of a lot more experienced than I am) always use a maximum  of two flies, as I do myself sometimes in difficult windy conditions.

I will use the terms cast and leader interchangeably here. To me it has always been a ?cast of flies?  and  not the anglicised ?leader?  one uses, which probably shows my age and Scottish fishing upbringing.

The best all round knot to use for tying on a dropper is the Water Knot. I find that a 3 turn water knot is quite reliable with most cast (leader) materials, nylon, co-polymer and fluorocarbon.

In the photos below that illustrate tying a water knot, the orange line represents the main cast and the yellow represents a short piece of nylon that is to make a dropper.

Make the cast the same length as your rod, so cut a piece of nylon from the spool to that length. Cut a second  piece of nylon that will be used to make a dropper. It is best to make this second piece about   8 inches long or so, better too long than too short as too short makes  the knot that will form the dropper harder to tie.


Main leader and dropper

Position  the short piece at the centre of the long piece, then  from a loop with both pieces as shown.


Form  a loop with both pieces


Now feed both ends  of the ?tail-fly?  end of the cast and dropper, back through the loop three times, each time pulling all of the lose ends through, but still keeping  the whole loop open and slack.


The three turns complete

Now, carefully pull the knot tight by pulling on the lose ends. Before the knot tightens, moisten the nylon. This is important as it lubricates the knot and helps to prevent weakening the material. As the knot closes, make sure  that it is even and symmetrical, carefully pulling on each of the four lose ends to ensure this if need be.


The knot tightens

Now carefully  trim off the upper of the two short ends, leaving the one pointing down towards the tail fly end of the cast


The completed dropper

The length of the dropper is largely a matter of preference. Very short makes it hard to tie on  / change flies, very long means more tangles, especially in windy conditions.

OK, that?s it. Basic and possibly not the way it is done by everyone. However it works. It would be interesting to hear of alternative methods.

[Havtafish]

I like this because it sticks out at 90 degrees from the mainline and wants to stay that way. Much less twisting than a water knot. And you can also tie them at any distance from the point fly. No need for cutting sections because all is done on your mainline. Ive landed King salmon on this knot to 30 lbs so I know its strong.

Lay out your line like this



Pinch left and right side here and here where they touch together



Now roll this one away from you (while still pinching each side as above)



Under this one 4 to 5 times(through the loop)



It should look like this



Now take this one and pull it up through the top loop you just made after twisting



Should look like this



Hold the loop you just pulled through with your tongue



Pull loop with tongue while pulling these two away from each other



The dropper loop is formed. You can make this loop as big or as small as you want depending on how much line you pull through with your tongue



Cut one side of the loop close to the knot and you have a single dropper. The bigger the loop the longer the single dropper

[haresear]

RE the loop methods used by P.A. & Havtafish....
Does it matter which side of the loop you snip? It is critical on the water knot method to use the end pointing back towards the fly.

[Bob Wyatt]

Check this out for the uni

http://www.in-fisherman.com/magazine/guides/cg2003Sp_Uniknot/

The only thing I'd add is that a two-turn Uni is great for attaching flies, etc

And the grays site is good for the water knot

http://www.graysofkilsyth.com/fishing-knots.htm

Same goes for the water knot.  Two turns for droppers.

[Havtafish]

Alex

Doesnt matter which end of the loop is cut. I like the knot because you just run your fingers from the point fly up the way and choose the distances you want for your dropper(s) No tippet spools needed and sticks out straight especially with stiff material(as in your flouro comments) Anyone here use the palomar for tying your fly on?

How clear were the instructions and the photos in order to tie the knot?

[haresear]

How clear were the instructions and the photos in order to tie the knot?

Pretty damn good, H.
Harelug (some people have no imagination when it comes to choosing a name) and I were talking this over and he suggested that it makes no difference. I suppose it is just the same situation as a blood knot. You could tie a fly on to each end if you wanted.

I have never had mega problems with twirling droppers using the fluoro I now favour for that style, so will stick with my water knot. I can see that your method would give a 90 degree angle between the main leader (sorry Fred, "cast") and the dropper. If you are using a fine nylon this matters.

[Wildfisher]

the main leader (sorry Fred, "cast")

Just don't say bamboo when you mean split cane Ok……………………… :lol:

[haresear]

Just don't say bamboo when you mean split cane Ok???

Suppose I should ditch the baseball cap then.... :wink:

[Wildfisher]

This is getting confusing, with all these  ears and lugs……..

[haresear]

This is getting confusing, with all these ears and lugs

Maybe we should reinvent ourselves under new nom de plumes Fred. What do you suggest, we are all ears....