The leaders we now use for Euro nymphing in New Zealand, or what we call Kiwi nymphing, evolve from French and Spanish leaders which were generally long for stealth reasons, especially on small Spanish streams with spooky trout. The first leaders of this type were introduced into this country over fifteen years ago by Des Armstrong of the New Zealand Fly Fishing Team after competing in the World Champs in Slovakia. Des and his friends developed a long level leader of yellow Stren mono, affectionately known as ‘yellow string’ for many years. Since then, leader makeup has adapted further.
The Quantum Series Euro rods are designed to facilitate extended range casting with Euro rigs or for our New Zealand adaptation, Kiwi nymphing. They can be used with mono leaders at least 20ft in length including tippet and sighter. There are different schools of thought on Euro leader makeup but each hinges on a number of key requirements or characteristics including: line sag, sensitivity, casting distance, weight of flies or rig, line wrap, line handling, length, diameter, mass, suppleness, tapered vs level, knotted vs unknotted.
Although potentially complex, the aim is to optimise a leader for a specific purpose. Bearing in mind that conventional fly lines are thick, heavy and unsuitable due to excessive sag beyond the rod tip and near the reel, thinner lighter materials are the goal. The new level Euro flylines are certainly much better but still have undesired mass for many situations. However, the relative thickness is easy to control in hand when playing fish. So, this tells us that we must consider materials between the FIPS Mouche legal minimum of 0.55mm and tippet diameter which may be generally between 0.12mm and 0.18mm for typical Euro nymphing situations.
Most anglers opt for a monofilament leader attached to either a conventional flyline or a level Euro flyline. Length of mono leader will then vary greatly. For competition use, FIPS Mouche stipulate a legal maximum of two rodlengths including tippet and sighter. Also, the current regulations for the Taupo rivers is a six meter leader. So, the use of a Euro flyline is clearly beneficial in both situations. Outside of these scenarios, longer leaders may be preferable.
Heavier, thicker materials create more line sag but they are easier to handle when playing fish and help casting heavy split shot rigs in winter fishing. Lighter, thinner materials create much less line sag and are more sensitive but are more prone to line wrap around the rod tip.
The attributes driving leader choice are probably most influenced by weight of flies or rig and required casting distance. This in turn is driven by the width, depth and flow of the river. Summer fishing on a small Northern Hemisphere spring creek is vastly different to winter fishing on New Zealand’s Tongariro River. The former may suit a 2.3mm tungsten bead fly that is less than 0.1 grams whereas the latter may require a gram or more of split shot which is the equivalent of a dozen or more of these beads strung together just to get down to the fish.
Many Northern Hemisphere anglers prefer to use ultra thin micro leaders, sometimes as thin as 0.16mm. For big New Zealand rivers, level micro leaders may have to be thicker as if they are too thin, they may be inadequate for casting heavy flies and difficult to control. Thinner micro leaders are also prone to line wrap around the rod tip. Quantum Series rods have two snake guides after the tip guide to minimise this. We have found that thin micro leaders and thin sighter material offer significantly more control when casting and fishing with light beaded flies, so are definitely worth persisting with. Given that the level Euro flylines are probably the best option for attaching a mono leader, the following four combinations narrow down the options:
Level Euro flyline + approx. 20ft level mono leader (includes coloured mono sighter & tippet) for Taupo rivers and/or competition use
Level Euro flyline + approx. 20ft tapered mono leader (includes coloured mono sighter & tippet) for Taupo rivers and/or competition use
Level Euro flyline + long level mono leader + coloured mono sighter & tippet
Level Euro flyline + long tapered mono leader + coloured mono sighter & tippet
Taper in a leader helps transfer energy from the cast to the flies. The heavier the flies or rig, the more beneficial a tapered leader becomes. As coloured indicator sighter mono usually has a diameter between 0.18mm and 0.25mm, a leader tapering from 0.55mm down to the sighter diameter used, such as a typical 12 foot off-the-peg leader, may be the be the simplest option for Taupo fishing. Taper construction varies from brand to brand with gradual to abrupt taper step-down in diameter available. Choosing the optimum diameter tip depends on sighter and tippet diameters used. The advantage of a tapered leader other than energy transfer is that the thin end offers minimal line sag when fishing, while the thick end offers easier handling when playing fish.
Extended length tapered leaders up to 15 meters are much closer to optimum, I believe, for Euro nymphing where possible. After sourcing and importing various tapered leaders, I have found that butt diameters of less than 0.55mm can facilitate overall efficiency. Butt diameters of 0.45mm down to 0.32mm seem to be optimal for both winter and summer rigs, again dependent on weight of flies and casting distance. The tip end can be trimmed anywhere from 0.18mm to 0.25mm to transition seamlessly to your chosen coloured sighter diameter. These long supple leaders cast smoothly and transition easily from short to long casts with the bonus of no knots going through the guides when casting or playing fish, except for the occasional express train. A butt diameter of 0.32mm to 0.45mm and an indicator sighter diameter of 0.20 to 0.23mm offer the best overall qualities for minimal sag, good visibility and ability to handle split shot rigs or heavily weighted flies.when winter fishing rivers like Tongariro. In summer, it is helpful to reduce diameters when using lighter rigs and in lower flows.
A tapered leader with butt diameter of 0.30mm is ideal for the Quantum Elite #3 weight rod. It will cast a 3mm tungsten bead up to 30 feet from the angler, a 3.5mm bead up to 35 feet and a 4mm bead up to 40 feet with ease.
A tapered leader with butt diameter of 0.40mm is ideal for the Quantum Power #4 weight rod. It will cast a 3.5mm tungsten bead up to 35 feet from the angler, a 4mm bead up to 40 feet, a 0.5gram shot & fly up to 45 feet and a 0.8 gram shot & fly up to 50 feet with ease.
Knotted leaders can be custom made but offer no other advantages over tapered leaders. For over a decade, I have been using surfcasting shock leaders as Euro leaders as certain diameters are ideal and can be custom trimmed for different purposes. Many are too thick or too stiff but after trawling around the internet and using Google translate, there are some gems out there. I have even suggested that if the seller can hand deliver, I can take them fishing here on prime NZ rivers. Some of them reply saying that if I can collect, they'll take me fishing on their European rivers.
Finally, coating the leader and rod with silicone spray helps smooth casting. Spray some silicone on to a tiny cloth and wipe the entire leader and the underside of the rod.
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