Explorer Tippet Material

[Gael]

How much difference between the Rio Fluoroflex and Double X Fluoroflex accept the price

Rio Fluoroflex R80
Double X Fluoroflex R30

The Double X that Nymph O is refering to is the Double X Triple Core , they make two types. I've used the triple core and it's great stuff and usually retails for about R70-R100 a spool of 50m.

But alas I hear that they are going to stop importing the triple core, what is left of triple core is old stock and they will only be selling the cheap version which I haven't tried but it's cheap as chips as you stated (little sceptical at the price)

[Michael]

For tippet material I use Double-X Platinum. You get a 600 metre spool of line for just over R 100, enough tippet to last a LONG time. I just re-spool my old Rio Powerflex spools. You get it in all suitable breaking strains to suit 3X down to 6X. It's excellent stuff, and I find it to be on par with the quality of Rio Powerflex. (Just way cheaper......)
I find the Double-X has a tiny bit of stretch, which is what I want. Helps protect lighter tippets from snapping on the strike. It is also very abrasion resistant. I don't like flourocarbon, because it has no stretch and if a trout or yellow grabs it and suddenly turns or runs.....snap...
I also use Diamond Araty for 3X and 2X tippet and short line nymphing...the stuff is brilliant.

For building leaders, nothing beats Maxima Ultragreen in the various breaking strains. It's quite stiff, and turns over the fly better. Great resistance to abrasion as well. I do not use it for tippet material though, as the diameter is quite large relevant to the breaking strain, as Shaun mentioned.

My usual set up for dry flies on the Vaal or for trout in stillwaters is as follows:
1.5 m of Maxima UG in 10kg
50cm of Maxima UG in 7kg
50cm of Maxima UG in 5.5kg
then, 50cm of 1X tippet material
After that, either 4x or 5x tippet or whatever, as conditions see fit.
That's a total length of about 3.4m...just what the doctor prescribed.

Often I'll just use 9 feet of 5.5 kg maxima ultragreen, when doing NZ style upstream nymphing on the Vaal. No need for tapered leaders and it casts well, as you are usually not making long casts and doing a lot of high-sticking in places anyway. in fact, I stopped using built-up tapered leaders on the Vaal, except when I'm dry fly fishing.

[dizzy]

Often I'll just use 9 feet of 5.5 kg maxima ultragreen, when doing NZ style upstream nymphing on the Vaal. No need for tapered leaders and it casts well, as you are usually not making long casts and doing a lot of high-sticking in places anyway. in fact, I stopped using built-up tapered leaders on the Vaal, except when I'm dry fly fishing.

I do the same, especially in a comp, saves time!

Carl, as you can see from this thread, 2 KG maxima has plenty of "pulling power"! You should give it a try.

The pros also sometimes boil it to make it 'softer' or limp. This also helps with strechy-ness.

[Yellowfever]

I read through the whole thread and cannot find any evidence that 2kg/4lb tippet is sufficient for the Vaal. 2kg is 2kg whether you paid R100 for 30m or R100 for 600m.

In summer with viz around 30-50cm I never go down from the 8lb Araty (3x or 0.20mm). Yes I might spook a few fish. But I'm willing to make that sacrifice to let the fish survive.

Granted if you fish in the Parys area some venues rarely produce fish of over 1kg on weekends but taking a 2kg yellow on 2kg tippet is unsporting and will significantly increase the chance of the fish dying in the low O2 waters of summer.

4X/0.16mm/6lb should be the minimum for the Vaal.

Sterkies is a different story

[dizzy]

In summer with viz around 30-50cm I never go down from the 8lb Araty (3x or 0.20mm). Yes I might spook a few fish. But I'm willing to make that sacrifice to let the fish survive.

Granted if you fish in the Parys area some venues rarely produce fish of over 1kg on weekends but taking a 2kg yellow on 2kg tippet is unsporting and will significantly increase the chance of the fish dying in the low O2 waters of summer.

4X/0.16mm/6lb should be the minimum for the Vaal.

I can understand your concern if you were being specific to LM yellows as they are endagered.

Sterkies is a different story

If anything, these are the fish you should be concerned about, surely they are more at risk of 'extinction' than those of the vaal river.

[Scythe]

I have to agree with Grandpaw Geelkoors, I don't think it's reasonable trying to fight a SmallMouth in the typically higher than usual summer flows on 6lbs irrespective of the diameter. I don't like having snapoffs and knowing a fish is swimming around with a rusting piece of metal in it's mouth/throat.

I mostly fish 8lbs 3X Fluoro throughout summer, it's reasonable to the fish and I don't want to spend 15 minutes being tugged around by a little 1Kg fish when you can land it without taking it to the point of extreme muscular fatigue and exhaustion due to having to play it for too long on light tippet.

[smallstreams.co.za]

How come no-one mentioned Frog Hair? I like it, but it is very pricey, so Powerflex is the nylon I use 90% of the time.

[Scythe]

I've also heard good things about the Araty Diamond from two guys who use it extensively, and supposedly it is quite reasonable, very strong and less prone to wear ?

[Yellowfever]

I can understand your concern if you were being specific to LM yellows as they are endagered.

If anything, these are the fish you should be concerned about, surely they are more at risk of 'extinction' than those of the vaal river.

Largemouth nothing less than 3X mostly 2X. But I am talking about smallmouth on the middle Vaal. I use 3X 80% of the time, only switching to 7lb Double Atlas for dry and clean water conditions.

No the yellows of Sterkies are not at risk of extinction. They are in fact plentiful, and in a very protected environment. You can still drink the water straight out of the dam. Sterkies fish are smaller and also occur in open water where it's easier to fight them, no currents etc.

The yellows of the Vaal will not become extinct because of tippet material, it will be one to many industrial/mining/sewerage spill and poof all gone.

My reasoning is that it's unsporting/unethical to CAR when using such light tippets. What is the use if the fish will die from exhaustion later in the day?

[jock0]

Scythe and YellowFever, I agree 100% on the heavier tippet for the benefit of the fish. Many guys on this forum have seen the way I rig up my czech leaders and some have had a chuckle and others have told me directly I'm wasting my time. Its ridiculous to think its sporting to fish anything lighter than 8lb on the middle vaal. In very heavy current I wont fish less than 12lb. What happens when you fowl a muddie or hook a decent carp or barbel? Just because they arent endangered do they not deserve the same respect?