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Some bits and bobs

Our September 2003 contribution from Terry Lawton

Stroft Tippet Material

Earlier in the year I reviewed Stroft tippet material and now that I have been using it for sometime, it is time to report on it again. I am impressed.

For me the two most important requirements of tippet material are that it is easy to knot and that it is up to strength. Thickness (see below), colour, flexibility – or lack of – are important but less so than ease of knotting and strength. And while I have had one or two knot failures, Stroft is one of the easiest materials to knot that I have used. The odd failure may have been because I was in too much of a hurry but normally I have had no problem at all tying a number of different knots.

As far as I can tell, the material is up to the stated strength and seems to be of a consistent strength and the strength that I would expect. There have been no weak bits on any of the spools that I have used.

Stroft comes in 100m spools and is very good value for money, particularly as it is very thin for its strength: more than a match for double strength monos.

Snowbee leaders

An other new product that I have tried is a Snowbee polycoated floating leader. I know that a lot of fly fishermen do not like ready-made leaders, particularly braided leaders, which can spray a lot of water about when false casting, but for anyone who wants to use a manufactured tapered leader, these Snowbee leaders could well be the answer. These leaders are made with a tapered PU coating over a supple monofilament core. This means that they have a smooth finish that does not absorb water, eliminating one of the disadvantages of braided leaders.

The leaders have a ready-made loop on the upper end and it is easy to tie a loop in the bottom end, a monofilament tip, for attaching your tippet. The leader is very supple and casts superbly with excellent turn-over, whether using small nymphs or large bushy mayfly patterns. I have no intention of taking it off the end of my fly line.

These leaders are 1.5m (5 feet) long and available as floaters, intermediate, slow and fast sink densities at £3 for the trout versions and £5 for the 10 foot salmon or saltwater versions. Good value for a very good leader.

Mayflies

In my experience this year, the Mayfly season has been very short but quite intense. Where I fish regularly we are more used to Mayfly hatching over a number of weeks with Mays still to be seen in August and occasionally even into September.

Sometime ago there was little activity but there were fish feeding on nymphs during the day. Then late in the afternoon one or two fish started to rise so I switched to a dry fly. Stupidly I did not change to a thicker tippet to match the size of Grey Wulff that I was using. The resulting twists and tangles in the tippet brought-home to me very visibly something that I have written about before. That is the importance of matching the diameter of the tippet to the size of fly.

I think that anyone who fishes regularly with fine tippets, particularly extra thin mono - double strength and the like - should consider carrying a spool of thick tippet material that will be able to turnover a big, bushy Mayfly pattern, without spinning and tangling.

Interestingly, this was the second day that I had fished all day – since mid-morning – without rising a fish until about five o’clock when some fish started to feed. It makes for a long and tiring day when virtually nothing is happening on or in the water, but the rewards do come to those who wait.

Instant wader repair

I also had to use some Snowbee Suncure instant wader repair after I brushed my breathable waders against some barbed wire at the end of a recent day’s fishing. Fortunately there was only a tiny, clean nick but it was big enough to let in water. Although I used it at home, the Suncure did what it is supposed to do, cured almost instantly in full sun and my waders are, once again, fully waterproof. Useful stuff and a worthwhile addition to a waistcoat pocket.

Terry Lawton is a passionate nymph fisherman who caught his biggest wild brown trout (in the UK) - 4lb 2oz - on a home-tied variant of a goldhead, Sawyer-style pheasant tail nymph.