[stretchy28]

Last time I was out fly fishing for trout I snapped either my leader or my dropper everytime I was into a fish never got one into the net but 2 day prior to this I was out on the same water and had 4 fish to 4lbs and never snapped a my leader, the leader was off the same spool of 8lb flourocarbon.  :mad

I am reletivly new to flyfishing and was wondering if anybody could give me advice on this issue!!

Cheers

Kevin

[Mike Barrio]

Difficult to offer advice, but if you were using the same spool of leader material then it does suggest that your knots possibly let you down. Lots of possible reasons though, perhaps you were pushing your casting a bit and got some wind knots?

Best wishes
Mike

[stretchy28]

Thanks Mike

Yes it was pretty windy that day so wind knots could have been a factor but also i tied up a new leader and it happenened again

Oh well will have try the same flourocarbon again and see what the outcome is, I have ordered more spools just incase!!!!

Cheers

Kevin

[Noel Kelly]

Hi Kevin
While sitting watching telly tie the knot you have chosen and pull until it breaks. Do this several times. You should quickly see if its the knot or something else. If you don't have confidence in the knot try another, loads of easy to follow knot tying instructions on the Internet. 8lb flouro shouldn't be breaking easily as you will find when you try!

[Ben Dixon]

Most likely the knot, I use a three turn water knot with fluoro for droppers.  4 turn knot usually fails far easier for me, must be to do with the additional friction when tightening it, always moisten knots before pulling tight.

With any knot, make sure that it looks even and symmetrical once tied & tightened, if not then cut it out and start again.

It is possible that you have got a duff spool of material, I have had some spools where all has been fine and then I've hit bits that are either rough or simply fail well below the stated strain between knots.


Cheers

Ben

[Iain Goolager]

Kevin,

I agree with all points so far, also consider using a single fly to minimise knots while you review your situation as you should be able to land a Labrador on 8lb fluorocarbon.
Check your leader frequently even though things appear ok as a line hitting a fence, bushes etc. on the back cast can graze the leader & seriously affect it's integrity. Similarly don't 'rug' a stuck leader from reeds, bushes ,etc. as this too can affect its strength.
Although as stated in a previous post it is best to familiarise yourself with tying knots away from the water I have in the past taken a sketch of a knot with me if I'm trying something new so that I can reference it in the event of my memory going blank, it's daunting learning new knots and they have to be consistent and correct if their knot strength is to be achieved. Foul up one stage of the tying for whatever reason and the knot strength can be drastically reduced.
Leave a reasonable tag end of leader at the fly eye, this can be reduced as you progress - never cut the tag end too neat.

good luck

Iain

[stretchy28]

Thanks guys for all the tips, help and information

I will try tying different knots etc and if I have the same problem with leader snapping so easy I will just bin the spool.

Also I will watch how I pull my knots tight as I was thinking maybe I have nipped the flourocarbon while pulling it tight.

It wasnt cheap flourocarbon either, Im not going to name the brand as I have had no problems with other spools from the same brand before so will have to suck it and see

Thanks Guys

Kevin

[Bob Wyatt]

I went through a bad leader popping episode last season on a trophy trout lake here in NZ.  I just kept breaking off as soon as I tightened up on a fish.  They were all big, so each break off was significant.  Even when I went up to 10lb test and more, I just kept popping off..

When I got home I tested it out with a pal. Although it as brand new, I blamed the tippet material, which was supposed to be the best,   Three turn surgeon's, well wetted, popped almost every time.  The we tried four turns and tightening the knots better.  No more breaks.   Went back to three turns, wet and tightened fully, no more breaks. Haven't had one since.

In a fishing situation, I was just tying the knots too quickly and not really reefing them tight.

It appears that the tiny amount of slippage creates a burst of heat that weakens the knot to a critical degree, and it breaks. So  make sure you wet those knots and really pull them tight.  Making sure they have no overlapping turns is important too, so slow down and make the knot count..

[Marc Fauvet]

It appears that the tiny amount of slippage creates a burst of heat that weakens the knot to a critical degree, and it breaks. So  make sure you wet those knots and really pull them tight.  Making sure they have no overlapping turns is important too, so slow down and make the knot count..

hi and spot-on Bob ! and if i may add, and pull them slowley. tight pulls only accentuate the previously mentioned problems.

cheers,
marc

[Will Shaw]

I think it was Gary Borger who came up with a good knot tying tip:

Pull tight slowly and hold it very tight for a couple of seconds, allowing everything  to stretch into place, long enough for you to say to yourself "now you are a very, very , tight knot".

Excellent. 

W.

[Marc Fauvet]

good one Will 
was that in 'Presentation' ?

[Will Shaw]

Yes it is Marc. I might not have got the quote exactly right, but you get the idea!

Presentation is a fantastic book btw, one of the best "how-to" books I've read. It fetches mad prices second hand.

I think much of it has/is being repeated/updated in the series of smaller books that Jason/Gary are doing at the moment, although I can't be sure as i haven't got any of them!

W.

[Iain Goolager]

Pull tight slowly and hold it very tight for a couple of seconds, allowing everything  to stretch into place, long enough for you to say to yourself "now you are a very, very , tight knot".

I use the statement " now I'm a very, very naughty boy" and it seems to work fine, won't cost you £400 either! 

Iain

[Marc Fauvet]

It fetches mad prices second hand.

yeah, like 500-800$... on the other hand, Aitor translated it, to spanish... but ! it's only 40-50€  

[stretchy28]

Thanks everybody for all the information and tips, yes it was my fault of the my leaders snapping probably due to bad tying of knots.

I've had 7 hard fighting fish one of which was a 3lb blue trout that went airborne twice into the net and no snapped leaders

Thanks guys