New Year? Gear for Fishing…
As with any new sport or project, one of the things that needs to be learned is what to call the tools/gear you are using. With fly fishing, fortunately, it is fairly simple when you get started. Your fishing rod consists of the rod itself and the reel at the bottom. Rods and reels range greatly in price depending on how much you want to invest in the sport. We also know that you need a fly to attract the fish.
The names of things that were unfamiliar to me when I started were the leader and tippet. The ‘Leader and Tippet’ is the connection between the fly fisher and the fly (and also the name of Jeff’s dogs). It is the section of line after the fly line (connected to the reel) and before the fly. Its purpose is allow for natural presentation of the fly and be strong enough for the fly fisher to retrieve any fish that might strike at the naturally presented fly. Sounds simple enough, but to me it is still a bit complicated.
The leader in fly fishing is tapered. It is thicker at the butt section, than at the tippet section. It is usually divided into three sections. The butt is tied directly to the fly line, and is about 60% of the leader. The mid-section is next and its purpose is to taper down to the tippet without losing a lot of strength. The final section is the tippet The tippet is the actual section that is tied to the fly. It is the thinnest section so it needs to be strong, yet allow for a natural drift. It resembles a piece of filament and you use the tippet to secure the fly to your line.
Waders are important. You can wear hip waders or can choose full waders that reach your chest. You can also use waders that have the “boot” built into them or you can buy the kind that you purchase a separate boot for. The latter are much more stable, so I would suggest that if you are going to be spending much time in the streams, that is the way to go. CWO has a wide range of fly fishing products to offer in either of these categories! ~ Kristen