How to Control the Taper & Weight of a Twisted Leader

Twisted leaders are fishing leaders that have several strands of monofilament braided into each other to create a single, stronger leader for your fly fishing setup. Weights, taper and just which twisted leader to use are part of controlling the line and how it performs for the river, stream and conditions present. Like most things in fly fishing, controlling the leader is science and art. With some foreknowledge on the basics of leaders, twisted or otherwise, begin to control your casts for effective fly fishing.

Things You'll Need

  • Small lead grains (available at fly fishing outfitters)
  • Fly glue
  • Tweezers
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Instructions

    • 1

      Assess the rate of wind at your fishing stream. Techniques to figure out wind include looking at the tree branches and which direction they sway as well as how large branches move. The larger the branch moving typically means the greater the wind.

    • 2

      Attach the twisted leader to the floating fly line backward on high wind days. This gives the twisted leader line a "kick," allowing it to snap forward, fighting against the wind. By using the heavy side of the tapered leader for the fly, extra weight is added to the fly side during the windy conditions.

    • 3

      Glue up to 300 grains of lead to the nose of the fly when fishing high winds in addition to the backward attachment of the twisted leader. This amount of lead does not alter the fly's appearance and adds enough extra weight to make tight coils for the cast.

    • 4

      Begin your normal fly cast, keeping the tip between 11 and 1 o'clock as you flip the line through the air. For high wind and control with the leader, generate enough force to overcome the wind resistance. Use a heavier leader to help break the wind resistance to make the proper fly fishing coil on the cast. For example, if conditions typically call for a 5wt leader, use a 7wt for the high wind day. Attach the heavier twisted leader on backward to get back wind resistance and extra weight for the conditions.

    • 5

      Cast a high speed, tight loop on the days where you use heavier leaders. The smaller the coils in the cast, the better.