Use Light Fluorocarbon Tippet
Read Time: 6 minutes | Published: 1st December 2022 | Author: Fulling MillWe’ve all heard the saying: “Go big or go home” but, when it comes to nymph angling these days, more often than not it’s important to go small. Don’t click away yet! Yes, I know more stuff about nymphing… we can’t get away from it these days and there’s a good reason for that, it’s an amazing method—especially when paired with light fluorocarbon tippet.
Ultra-light lines and tackle are all the rage these days. Just when you think it’s all been said before something else crops up and makes you think or re-think your methods and tactics. These ultra-light methods are real puzzle solvers and can save you lots of time on the stream but, only if you use them correctly. My favorite trout stream has a huge amount of complex runs, riffles and pools. They’re locked puzzles at times but I have a key for these doors. When I’m out for the day I always have a variety of tippet sizes with me. Time after time I find myself reaching for two sizes time and time again for all of my nymphing—6x & 7x fluorocarbon. Why so small though? I get asked this quite a bit. There’s a few reasons so, let’s dig in!
Material construction:
Because of the way fluorocarbon is made, the end product is very dense in comparison to nylon copolymers. As a result, it’s more abrasion resistant, stronger per diameter, and heavier. Consequently, it’s my go-to choice in almost all nymphing applications.
If you want to read more about how it differs from nylon, check out this other article on our blog.
Photo by Joe Klementovich.
I think we’re all aware by now that quality fluorocarbon is stronger than copolymers and makes more sense to use for subsurface angling. Then what’s the reason for 6x & 7x tippet? Sink rates. To be consistently productive while nymphing—whether you’re floating sighters fishing micro nymphs upstream, under an indicator, or any other method—it’s important to get your nymphs down to where fish are actively feeding. Tungsten beads are a big part of sink rate, but they’re only part of the equation. Things like drift angle, current speed, and one could argue fly size and profile matter as well. But one of the big ones? Tippet diameter.
The smaller your tippet diameter the lighter it is. Not only that, but there is less profile there is to get caught in the current. This means that the water drags it less, and it’s less manipulated by current. When I’m trying to get flies down fast, this is a really big deal. You will get to fish more drifts, be in the zone more often, and overall you’ll fish more productively. Take a fast riffle, for example. If you have heavier tippet, your rig is likely to be carried multiple feet further downstream before your flies get into the strike zone. That’s multiple feet you could have been presenting to fish in. After a day’s fishing, that’s a lot of missed opportunities at fish.
Let’s be clear, flies matter. Check out our top 10 euro nymphs.
Yes, you can fish 3x or 4x with heavy flies. You will get some good drifts if you give your flies enough lead time to get down. However, are you fishing as effectively as you could be? Definitely not.
There’s more. Small diameter = less visible. In clear water conditions (which I experience a lot) trout get very leader and tippet shy. When that happens, the small diameter greatly increases your chances of not spooking fish. Not only are they more likely to notice your tippet, but larger tippet it more likely to manipulate your flies in the drift, which they also notice. Smart fish know when something is wrong with a drift.
Photo of Fulling Mill Ambassador M.E Sorci taken by Joe Klementovich.
When conditions are tough like this, I also go the extra step of degreasing my tippet with a leaf or some mud stream side to take off the shiny coating that you find on tippets. Some feel this is unnecessary, I can tell you it’s incredibly important at times.
If you live outside of the US, our product Mud will help you cut down on leader and tippet glare.
Another reason to downside your tippet is for matching tippet size to fly/hook size. This is incredibly important for many reasons. For one, light flies won’t be able to get down with thick tippet. On top of that, the knot will be huge in front of a small fly. Lastly, a small and lightweight fly won’t be able to move in the current well—the tippet is too heavy and rigid for it at larger diameters.
Many people fish larger tippet for the strength. I think they believe it’s necessary to use much heavier tippet to land a good size trout. I get it but, with modern technological advances in tippet manufacturing, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Tippet has made some truly amazing progress over the years. So much so that it makes it possible for anglers to land 20″+ trout in under a minute on our 6x. At 3.73lbs breaking strength, it’s really strong.
I urge you, go into your back yard and learn how strong that really is. I guarantee you’ve been pulling multiple pounds below your tippet’s breaking strength up until now. So, what’s the point in having all that extra strength if you’re not even using it when fighting a fish? Understanding the breaking strength gives you the opportunity to submit fish when they become feisty!
So, every time I gear up at the car, I always start with the finest diameter that I can get away with first. That’s 7x Masterclass Fluorocarbon more often than not. I have so much confidence in the tippet I rarely go heavier than 5.5x (and that’s for micro-streamers). I’ve seen this tippet do some amazing things from landing some serious brutes on the tiniest of bugs to ripping apart log jams when trying to salvage your rig on a snag. You as the angler shouldn’t be afraid to go small. You will immediately notice your performance on the river improve.
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