Answering questions / using reference material for study

Walter & Group.........

One more set of answers from Rene Hesse.  My comments in bold blue italics.

Rene has done pretty well with these answers.  I really like his SHORT ANSWERS.

He did, however, fall into the trap of not carefully heeding the question in one or two instances .  This should serve as a word of warning to candidates !    :-

QUESTIONS:  

I.    In your opinion, which is more important in determining the way a fly leader turns over ?  List these in order of importance :-

 A.)  The stiffness of the material.

 B.)   The design of the leader.

 C.)   The mass profile the leader

 

BAC

 

II.  You are making up a leader for bonefishing.  You are going to be using # 2 to #4 non weighted flies for tailing fish in shallow water.  Would you prefer to use soft (pliable) or stiff material ?

 

SOFT

 

III. Your student asks you if he should use a tippet of fluorocarbon for dry fly fishing on a spring creek.  What do you tell him ?

 

Fluorocarbon sinks, don't use it.

 

IV. I'm going fishing for largemouth bass with poppers.  What leader should I tie up ?

 

Level 15-20# for large poppers 15-10# for small poppers. 60/20/20%-40-25-10#-7ft. (Lefty presenting the fly p48-52)

 

V.  What leader would you use while fishing king (Chinook) salmon in a 12' deep run in on an Alaskan river?  You are using a sink tip Teeny line and a # 1 salmon streamer.

 

Short/level/flouralcarbon @4ft 20lb

 

VI.  What material does Lefty Kreh recommend for the butt section and tapered sections of most salt water leaders ?

 

Monofilaments from the same manufacturer. (p50)

 

VII.  How does the number sequence, "60-20-20" relate to fly leaders?

 

Butt section, taper, tippet percentage of a fly leader.

 

VIII.  Name two advantages of fluorocarbon for leader construction.

 

Sinks for nymph leaders, abrasion resistant.

 

IX.   Name two disadvantages of fluorocarbon for leader construction.

 

Sinks small dry's, knots don't hold the same.

 

XI.  When might you want to use a butt section of stiff material which has a very thin diameter ?

 

Nymph fishing for turn over and cuts through the water, less serface area.

 

XII.  What is a, "Harvey leader" ?

 

knotted tapered leaders

Concise short answer ..... agree.  However, this one misses the point that the Harvey leader is a very special knotted tapered leader.  OK if you want your examiner to go further with this.

(Check out Gary Borger's PRESENTATION, pp. 180-182.)

 

XIII.  What is a, "SHOCK TIPPET"?

 

A section of heavier line (tippet material) from the leader to the fly, that will reduce cut offs by fish with sharp teeth or gill plates.

 

 

XIV.  What desirable properties do you consider when choosing a material for the shock tippet when going for tarpon ?

 

How clear the water is.   What type of fly we will use, heavy/lite, bulky/sleek.  What size tarpon we will be after.  Mangroves or open sea.

Here is an example of misinterpretation of the question.  I was looking for properties of the material , not the conditions for which it will be used. 

XV.  Name as many connections as you can for fastening the butt section of a leader to the end of the fly line.

 

Nail knot, albright, whipped loop to perfection loop on butt. Improved clinch tied to one of those metal eyes that are inserted to the center of the fly line.(poor choice)

Could add the use of heat-shrink tubing, Joan Wulff's simple connection, and the braided loop connections using the principle of the, "Chinese finger trap" as well as the various needle knot connections.

I use the loop-to-loop connection for most of my salt water leader connections.  I prefer the Duncan (or uni) loop in the butt section to the perfection loop, because the perfection loop tends to stand proud yielding more wind resistance.

 

XVI.  What knots do you prefer when constructing a tapered section of your leader ?

 

Double overhand surgeon. If flourocarbon, triple overhand surgeon.

With this answer, you will likely get into the subject of bulky knots and the problems they may create.  (For FC, I prefer Tom White's method of using double nail knots .... one over each strand then slid down and tightened.  A long knot, but not so great in diameter.)

If I were answering that question on an MCCI exam, I wouldn't complicate it by talking about FC.  My answer might go something like this:    surgeons knot.     (or if you prefer)  double surgeons knot.  (or)  blood knot .  If your examiners want to know what you know about knots in FC, they'll ask.

 

XVII.  Name one disadvantage of using a commercial knotless tapered leader for trout fishing.

 

It will not turn over a heavy fly well.

 

XVIII.  Your student is going fly fishing for a fish in Africa which has very big sharp teeth.  He's been told to rig up some monofilament wire bite tippets.  He wants to know how to attach the wire to the nylon leader.  What do you teach him ?

 

figure 8 knot

Think carefully about that question.  The fig 8 knot would be one logical choice for attaching the wire (particularly cable wire) to the hook eye ......BUT THAT ISN'T WHAT I ASKED.  For attaching the wire to the nylon leader, we can't use a fig. 8 knot (except to make the fig. 8 in nylon covered cable where you can pass the nylon tippet through and then do a uni knot around the cable and draw tight.   We used to call that a, "Key West Knot" until we learned that others had used it elsewhere for years.)

Better choice would be to use an Albright Special with the wire bent over or looped.

 

 

XIX.  I want to make well controlled accurately placed casts with a very delicate presentation.  My plan is to use a very long, thin tapered leader attached to a long fine tapered tip section of my fly line.  What do you think of my choice ?

 

Everyone has their favorite.  If you like it and can make it work stay with it.  If you would like to try something that may make it easier to transfer the energy further down the leader to your fly for accuracy and make a delicate cast, try a little shorter leader and tippet.  Beef it up a little in the butt section. 

OK.   Key to my judgement of your answer is the fact that you do have the concept of efficient transfer of energy for an acccurate cast and delicate presentation.   However .... we can do better :-

A better answer would get the point across that this arrangement doesn't work very well because you don't have that efficient energy transfer, since energy is dissipated early leaving the caster with little control.

Then, if asked, you can come up with the, "cure" for the problem.

 

XX.  What is a, "Bungee butt" ?

I should have used the correct spelling which is:   BUNGEEBUTT.

Hint:   Also called, POWER GUM & SHOCK GUM.

 

Not listed on the FFF glossary so it must not exist!

My guess is something to the effect of a Bimini twist in a but section.

I like poking fun at our Glossary Committee (since I'm a member of it).  It's healthy to be able to laugh at ourselves. 

On a serious note, however:    When studying, when you come across a term you don't know, it pays to use multiple sources to find the answer.  By doing this, you'll learn a lot of other things along the trail.  (Try:  SPRING CREEK by Nick Lyons.) ( Also, see pp.45, 249, 250, Lefty Kreh's PRESENTING THE FLY. )

As you know, I'm sure, sometimes a term is not found in the index or glossary of a particular reference yet can be picked up in text on the general subject.  By reading the whole segment on the general subject, you not only fine it, but learn other things you may not have known.....  or find a different way of looking at things you did know.

For an exhaustive review on leaders including lots of history, try Ernie Schweibert's chapter on leaders starting with page 793 of his TROUT.   Also, Gary Borger's, PRESENTATION, pp. 179 - 189   and Lefty Kreh's, PRESENTING THE FLY, pp. 44 - 52,  Also,  Charles Jardine's, THE CLASSIC GUIDE TO FLY FISHING FOR TROUT, p. 67.  More on the history of fly leaders in Charles Ritz's, A FLY FISHERS LIFE, pp. 78 - 82.

Having said all that, let me give you a, "research assignment" :-

      Try to find a reference for BLOW LINE FISHING.

Gordy

 

 

Have fun with these questions !

 

I did, thanks,

Rene

 

 

 

Gordy