Juvenile Tarpon leaders

robh

hello all...totally new at fly fishing. I have a question...when using Rio light saltwater shock leader does that run straight from fly line to hook or is a tippet required still? The description on their site is confusing. I also have SA predator leader and i'm similarly confused as to whether i can use a tippet to avoid cutting into my taper.
Thanks
Rob

greenie-slayer

You should attach it to your fly line and no additional tippet should be required for those premade leaders. For juvenile **** I don't think a shock leader is necessary. I make my own leaders and for fish under 60lbs I go with some like 40lb to 30lb to 20lb. If they are micro poons say under 15lbs I do  30lb to 20lb to 15lb. Maybe even go down to 12lb for very small fish. Plenty of videos on youtube on making your own leaders. Very easy and probably saves a good bit of money too.

robh

Thanks.. Great info. So if I already have the Predator leader from SA there's no way to avoid losing a little line with each fly change? The line came with single barrel sleeves to crimp on... I wonder if they're removable.

greenie-slayer

I am not familiar with SA predator leader. Guessing the last section is wire which is why they gave you the crimp sleeve. I don't know if reuseable crimps sleeves. More than likely you will lose leader length each line change. 

robh

It is wire...tie-able too... Seems like a nice product. Thanks again for the info!

sunflower

Wire leader would be an extremely odd choice for tarpon. They have excellent eyesight, and are smart and finicky. Maybe you are fishing for them at night or in muddy water?  I generally go down using lighter flourocarbon leader to get more bites, even if they might be more likely to break off. They don't have sharp teeth to cut leader, they have abrasive mouths which wear it down during a long fight. You won't have long fights with juvenile tarpon, you will either land them quick or they will jump off.

lemaymiami

We fish a lot of baby tarpon (less than 10lbs) out of Flamingo.

All we ever use is a 4 to 5 foot piece of 20lb fluoro for our leaders.  It’s looped onto a 30 or 40lb butt section of monofilament that’s permanently spliced to the fly line.  This setup is commonly called a “Poor Boy” leader...

Works like a charm and we cut back and re-tie whenever the leader shows any fraying...

robh

Sunflower... Yes low and no light conditions and muddy. Fishing some in the canals on Grand Cayman. Also, and I'm not close to bring an expert, but I've heard Tarpon will use their sharp gill plates to cut the line, hence my wire choice. SA has a tapered leader that ends in 15 inches of tye-able wire. 

robh

Lemaymiami I've heard of that formula and have worried that going UP in weight would screw up the cast. I guess it doesn't if you're using it   😁

robh

I'm sorry...i think I read that backwards.

greenie-slayer

sunflower said:

Wire leader would be an extremely odd choice for tarpon. They have excellent eyesight, and are smart and finicky. Maybe you are fishing for them at night or in muddy water?  I generally go down using lighter flourocarbon leader to get more bites, even if they might be more likely to break off. They don't have sharp teeth to cut leader, they have abrasive mouths which wear it down during a long fight. You won't have long fights with juvenile tarpon, you will either land them quick or they will jump off.

All depends on the tarpon you are fishing. I have a buddy that fishes Puerto Rico and swears by prerigged wire leader ballyhoo that are used for trolling. Would that work on tarpon in the keys? Proabably not. But tarpon that don't receive much pressure I don't think they care if there is some wire

lemaymiami

Can’t tell you how many really big tarpon have picked up cut baits meant for toothy critters along the coast of the ‘glades -wire leaders and all... but for fly fishing... use something else - no wire at all.

robh

Thanks for all the great input.

sunflower

In the end, it's pretty simple.
If you want to hook more fish, but lose more ... use lighter flourocarbon leader.
If you want to land the fewer fish you hook ... use heavier (or wire) leader.

JWT

baby tarpon are all about the strike & a quick fight. 20-30# fluoro for fish up to about 20#. they will chew it up pretty quick so it should be simple so you can spend minimal time re-rigging. i am happy if they spit the fly after a couple jumps. it's much easier on both of us

lemaymiami

That's one of the reasons I like a "Poor Boy" leader setup for small tarps... Butt section permanently spliced to the fly line (four feet of 30lb for a 7wt, four and a half feet of 40lb for an 8wt, five feet of 40lb for a 9wt, etc...) ending in a quick change loop.  The leader is just four or five feet of 20lb fluorocarbon, looped to the butt section with no bite tippet at all.   After each fish we cut back the terminal end a few inches to clean fluoro and re-tie.... When the fluoro is less than three feet long it's time for another poor boy....  Works like a charm.   Yes you'll lose a few fish but get a lot more bites... (and some flies, particularly small popping bugs - don't work very well with any kind of heavier "bite  or shock tippet"..).

Overall dimensions of this leader setup? Nine to ten feet is all...

tarponbro1

Put a foot or so of 40 lb. fluorocarbon shock tippet on your leader if you're fishing streamers or 40lb. mono if you're fishing surface flies. This may seem like overkill but I used to catch snook in with the tarpon and you won't get cutoffs with the 40 very often. I've never really known small tarpon to be leader shy and I fished for them A LOT  several years ago. My leaders were 40 lb. butt section, a 12-20 lb tippet and a 40 lb. shock tippet of either Orvis Mirage or clear Maxima.