I’ve shared this multiple times so what’s one more😎. Every fly leader, FG Knot for my casters etc…. If tied in house I always hook them up to a bow scale and pull to a couple of pounds less then its weakest point. Confidence in connections is key!!
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I do basically the same, I don’t bust out the ruler and just use my wingspan or half wingspan and work it down.
I’ve noticed overtime my leaders have gotten longer more now in the 12ft range. I may cut back the last section or leave it off completely to the bite if I’m fishing topwater snook or throwing into mangroves all day but that’s about as much as I change it up
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Not sure if that was for me but I’ll share my experience either way. This was my first trip for big tarpon on fly. (At the time I’ve never caught one period). At the pre trip briefing guide recommended that instead of “strip setting” I just hold the line and let the weight of the fish set the hook. He has me hold the line in my hand and applied resistance and said hold it this hard. Well, first fish I jumped didn’t really do much of anything. One jump and done. The fish I mentioned above I probably overcompensated. As soon as the fish popped off guide jokingly said your fly is gone. When I asked how he knew that he said he saw how I was clutching that line and said at some point I need to let go. He was right. I guess I need a few more failed opportunities to figure that part out 
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@rovster
It’s all a huge learning curve.
My poon experience isn’t much either. I’ve only ever hooked 5. I’ve had as many follows/slurps ect.. But Out of all that, I’ve only ever landed one..and it was a Juvi on casting gear.
Part of the struggle, is they are not a fish I can go fish for daily. If I could, I’d have em “dialed in” but that’s not the case for us N.Fl folk.
This was the first year they I’ve actively pursued them. Next year, will be different story, as I feel I’ve got a better handle on em. Both with knowledge and gear.
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Hardass strip setting is kindof outdated imo. These little hooks we now use are so damn sharp. You just need enough tension to get it caught and the fish usually does the rest. Watch some of that season of Silver Kings when Andy is fishing the Gold Cup with Rob. Watch specifically what he does when he gets bites. Not a lot of grunting and jabbing going on… You gotta let that fish go!
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It’s for everyone man. I have a strong opinion about the matter because of where I live and how I fish.
You don’t come to the west coast of Florida because you want to catch 20+ fish a day on fly. You come because of the gin clear water, visual fishery, and flat out cool shots you get to see go down with just about whatever you decide to chase. You have to be a good angler to consistently catch fish here. Guided or unguided.
Because of this I think it’s a massive disservice when people go to a place where you can catch a lot of fish and shorten your learning curve on good angling but instead lazily slap a straight piece of whatever on the end of their fly line.
When I guided (and still do just not as much) in Texas I spent the entire time working to make my anglers better. Even though you don’t necessarily have to in that fishery. Redfish are aggressive and abundant so lots of guys will just move to the next shot until their angler gets lucky. I made more than one guy a little upset when I explained to him what he could better after celebrating the catch. But I do so knowing that if/when they get on the boat somewhere else it’ll help them be more prepared for success.
Straight 40 pound leaders won’t help you be better. Fishing IGFA legal will. And there isn’t a lot of argument to be had there in my opinion. No matter what your aspirations are with angling I think it’s more fun when you work to get better at it.
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This!! 
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I appreciate that kind of feedback. All day I was asking for it. Not everyone can swallow constructive criticism. I can because I know it will make me better. Not trying to explain that to my son is an exercise in futility! Anyway, I do wish I had a little more of a “buffer”. Might have broken that fish off with 20lb as well, but because I was hunting for my first and don’t really do that sort of fishing often, would have liked a little more of a safety net. Just like when I started fly fishing. Little by little been lengthening leaders and decreasing tippet to up the challenge and push the skill level…
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I’ve spent a decent amount of time in Homossasa with some of the OG guides over there and the general consensus is if it’s more than 20lb class you’re fishing with a fly rod not fly fishing.
That stuck with me and don’t even fish 20lb class anymore because I’ve seen what you can get away with especially with mason which is basically rope. If you know how to pull and anticipate the surge you should never pop one off. I have had some weird stuff happen fishing 16 this year but switched up fluoro in a pinch and the double overhand on the slim beauty was burning the class. Popped off 3 fish in a row in about an hour all on the initial jumps.
I have some buddies ask why fish 12lb for redfish and the answer is it makes you a better angler. Im to the point yeah I want to pull on something every now and then but honestly watching them do their thing is enough most days, if I break off the one fish I had a shot at oh well you learned something for next time.
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Do you use furled leaders on tarpon?
I’m outside looking in when it comes to tarpon. I’m in NE Ga, I’ve used furled leaders on mountain trout. All my saltwater fishing has been inshore around the Ga coast.
But to the subject of furled leaders and tarpon, I guess you could, if you used a heavier fluorocarbon and a heavy formula for your furling.
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I make most of my leaders at home, rather than on the boat, and bring extras in ziplock bags. I use a formula similar to Chico - 50/30/20. The butt section is 50% of the total length, the mid section is 30%, and the tippet section 20%. The butt section can be one or two pieces, the mid section two or three pieces, and the tippet section one piece not counting a bite tippet. Two-piece sections are 60/40 - the larger diameter piece is 60% of the section length, and the smaller diameter is 40%. For three-piece sections, 50/30/20.
Full leaders range from 4-6 pieces, with the step-down in diameter ideally being 0.004" or less. This reduces hinging between pieces with greatly differing stiffness. Diameter correlates with stiffness if you are using the same material, but one has to be careful if different pieces are different material, say mono to fluorocarbon. Heavy line to light tippet, like 12wt to 12#, need the most pieces.
For windy conditions, an overall stiffer 60/25/15 can help.
This may seem complicated, but one can afford the time tying at home.
How’s that for geeking out!
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lol.. I’m gonna have re read it a 4th time and take notes, after my 2nd cup of coffee 
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This is a good video and a good reminder to look at the diameter not just the lb test of the transitions as @KeithS said above. Tie An Effective Fly-Fishing Leader for Bonefish - Fly Fishing | Gink and Gasoline | How to Fly Fish | Trout Fishing | Fly Tying | Fly Fishing Blog
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My leaders are 12 to 14 feet usually. My wingspan is 6’. I go 50/25/25/class or 50/25/class or for tarpon 50/25/16lb/bite or butt/16/bite. For tarpon I use Rio hard mono or Mason but that stuff is a pretty large diameter frankly, 16 is close to 40 Seaguar flouro.
If I’m mainly snook fishing I may use a hard mono 16lb or 20lb because it’s pretty abrasion resistant. This is mainly with baitfish flies.
For redfish flies in the winter I use 12lb Ande and an all Ande leader.
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I wouldn’t put much weight in what old school guides say or do. Old school guides were guilty of killing thousands of tarpon, too, and displaying them on the docks after a day of fishing - so I don’t seem them as much of a moral compass when it comes to fishing. Just because they’re OG doesn’t make them right or smarter. So many of those guys are guilty as sin of exploiting and contributing to the destruction of our natural resources. Just because they make a living off fishing doesn’t mean they define what fishing is.
I know some great fisherman who use 30# for tarpon because they simply don’t care and don’t give a rats a*s about IGFA. These are guys who fish the world over and make amazing catches most of us an only dream about.
As long as you are fishing legally (in terms of fishing regulations), you’re fishing. All that stuff about IGFA is for those who want to pursue records. If you’re happy, and you’re not breaking the law, it’s fishing. For tarpon, I fish 12, 16 and 20. I’ve caught hundreds of tarpon, many over 100#, on those tippets. It’s not hard. Try some serious pelagics like bluefin tuna, mako and hammerheads, etc, fight a pelagic over 200# and 16# will feel like sewing thread. A 100# bluefin will tow a tarpon around till it drowns…way harder to fight a tuna on 16# than a tarpon. I’ve caught dozens of fish over 200#, some on IGFA, some not. If you fish with Conway Bowman, or David Trimble, or Lou Fodor out on the west coast, they will not fish you if you fish less than 30# because they have too much respect for the fish to exhaust it death with someone who cannot pull hard enough to push the limits on IGFA leaders. And IGFA is just someone’s idea of what it is to fish. They are not the be-all and end-all of fishing. If some OG guy told me I’m not fly fishing because I’m not using IGFA, I’d tell him to go stuff himself. This insistence that if it’s not IGFA it’s not fishing just further fuels the view that fly fisherman are elitist. Get over it, it’s ALL fishing, whether you’re fly, conventional, or spin, whether you use 16#, 20#, 30#, 40# or 80# tippet.
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Wow
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For IGFA, does anyone have insight/opinions on why bite tippet can only be a maximum of 12"? Seems like I read somewhere that Billy Pate thought it should be 36". That makes sense to me, since a large fish could easily reach beyond 12" by swallowing part or all of it and by pulling left/right.
I have no clue about IFGA but does the tippet have to be the last section before the bite? Or can it be moved up the chain? I’m literally clueless to this so please don’t judge lol!
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You should check out our subscription options, it seems like you are very passionate about leaders and fishing!
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