Salt Water Leaders

I often get clients with a trout fishing background. I've learned much form them. But the leaders used to fish the Louisiana marsh have very different requirements such as the drag free, subtle presentation required for trout. I would imagine they would be good for Bone Fish, but completely unnecessary and even detrimental in our coastal environment.

Our fish are not leader shy and you can forget about trout like presentations using the flies best suited to catch our fish. When you think of leader material, large diameter is not always a bad thing. Often time you will be fishing in barnacle filled waters with mounds of oysters waiting to wreck havoc on your leader. Think strong and abrasive resistant in Cajun land. The leaders I use are typical salt water leaders that have evolved through trial and error and have stood the test of time.

The formula is simple

An 8 foot leader consist of 5 feet of butt section with 3 feet of tippet attached.

I use .024 - .028 for the butt material and a 13 - 20 pound tippet joined with an Albright knot.

The fly is often attached with a Non Slip Loop Knot.
A Perfection Loop works well on the butt section of the leader.
The leader is attached to the fly line with a Loop to Loop Connection as illustrated below.

Loop connections for fly lines

NOTE: If your fly line has a braided loop attached with a plastic tube, I strongly suggest you take extra measures to make sure it stays attached. I have had a number of these setups fail.
Suggested methods to eliminate braided loop failure:
1.    Super glue the braid to the fly line
2.    Tie an over hand knot in the braided material where it goes over the fly line
3.    I like to whip finish the braided material where it goes over the fly line several times in different places with 6 - 8 pound monofilament

I use 2 methods for fly line loops that both work well.
1.   The braided loops can be made at home or purchased and attached as described immediately above.
2.    Make a loop with the actual fly line and use heavy Kevlar thread to whip finish the loop in several places.