What tippet do you use for nymphing ?

[dizzy]

I have tried many different sorts of tippet material but I keep coming back to good old Maxima Ultragreen. It takes a knot well, is nice and dull, resists tangles, abrasion resistant, very cheap. I also find it very effective for NZ rigging with 2 nymphs, more supple brands kink and tangle badly with this setup.

Sure it is thicker than other brands, but I am convinced that it breaks at well above its rating. I use 4lb Maxima extensively for stream fishing and I am very confident in its performance.

Saying all this I have just purchased a spool of 8.5lb Rio Fluoroflex Plus for a fishing trip next week. This particular river needs heavy tippet to cope with the big fish and Maxima 8lb looks like a rope in the clear water. Until now I have resisted using flurocarbon so I will be sure to report back on how it goes.

Dont leave the Maxima behind though!

[FIGJAM]

VISION floro what els

[MaXiMuM]

Dont leave the Maxima behind though!

What me, Oh wait, sorry not me...

[KevinE]

Kevin, I like sense of the anticipation that comment creates. Big fish clear water, great trip. It's the whole preparation, late nights tying flies leaders etc. Jislaaik!

Too true YF, I've been up after midnight every night for the last week tying flies and I'm pretty buggered right now. Better get some sleep in the next few nights or I won't be much use on the river.

And don't worry Dizzy, I always have some Maxima on hand for when the fancy string gives me troubles.

[harry]

I prefer Sugoi Fluorocarbon marketed under the Gary Yamamoto label. Any good supplier of bass fishing kit and lures should have it. It is limp and it knots well. It is however fairly expensive. It is also worth trying the fluorocarbon marketed under the Silverthread label.

Remember that fluorocarbon takes about a million years to degrade. Take some care in disposing of waste and used leaders/tippets.

[GGY]

VISION floro what els

Must say that I have tested the thinner Vision fluoro & do not rate it at all (Also the 6X & 7X are not true 6X & 7X diameters).

I use Airflo G3 fluoro for most, especially the thinner stuff (3X-6X/7X).
Double X fluoro for the butt sections & Orvis/Sci Anglers fluoro for 7X & 8X when I have too.

Fluoro is definitely the way to go.

Gary

[chris williams]

Expounding on the 'stand-by', Maxima Chameleon also v v good for murky waters and is also v v 'untangable' (what's the right word I'm loking for??!!) -and abrasion-resistant, can always use e.g. Maxima Ultragreen tied on with water knots for droppers onto the main Chameleon leader if you wish as a good ol'-fashioned set-up for rocky and murky conditions.

Obviously the other fancy pricier materials great for clearer water applications

[wernerm]

Double-X have served me well over the years. It knots fine and is flexible enough to do the job well.

[KevinE]

I have tried many different sorts of tippet material but I keep coming back to good old Maxima Ultragreen. It takes a knot well, is nice and dull, resists tangles, abrasion resistant, very cheap. I also find it very effective for NZ rigging with 2 nymphs, more supple brands kink and tangle badly with this setup.

Sure it is thicker than other brands, but I am convinced that it breaks at well above its rating. I use 4lb Maxima extensively for stream fishing and I am very confident in its performance.

Saying all this I have just purchased a spool of 8.5lb Rio Fluoroflex Plus for a fishing trip next week. This particular river needs heavy tippet to cope with the big fish and Maxima 8lb looks like a rope in the clear water. Until now I have resisted using flurocarbon so I will be sure to report back on how it goes.

Well, I promised to report back on my first extended period of fluorocarbon use. I fished for 5 days last week using Umpqua Superfluoro (the same stuff as Rio Fluoroflex Plus) 3X, rated 8.5lb. My impressions of fluoro is that it is quite different to mono - it has little memory, is quite stiff, and is very abrasion resistent. Closing my fly box on the tippet , stepping on it, wrapping it around bushes, had virtually no effect on the stuff. Superb.

I caught rocket rainbows up to 5lbs and never felt in threat of a break-off, the stuff is as strong as its rating. Regular mono and co-polymers don't seem to deliver on their ratings, and always seem to develop a weak point to break off at. I used a 16/20 knot to the fly and this didn't break once. When forced to break off on snags the triple surgeon's loop to the tippet was the breaking point. This was frustrating as I lost some tippet material and top flies in this way. I either need a stronger tippet connection or a weaker knot to the fly.

The only real downside is that the stuff is very expensive. Saying that, I found that I didn't have to replace the tippet as often as it is so durable. I don't know if the stuff is really invisible to fish, I forgot to ask them , but the other qualities are impressive enough.

In summary I am a big convert to these premium fluorocarbons, and provided the budget allows, I will keep using them.

PS. I used the fluro for dries too and was equally happy with the performance.

[jock0]

Well after my terrible experience with the rio flouroflex plus I thought I'd give Rio another chance this weekend and bought two spools of the el cheapo powerflex. The 3x powerflex (8lb IIRC) ended testing far better to the 2x flouroflex plus (12lb) and all i can think of is that i have a bum spool of flouroflex plus. R250 down the tube...