Fishing with Rod Discussion Forum
Fishing in British Columbia => General Discussion => Topic started by: jon5hill on January 11, 2010, 12:03:30 AM
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Being relatively new to drifting jigs for salmon and steelhead, and trout for that matter, I never really appreciated the art of tying your own jigs. I've done some internet browsing on the topic and realized that jig fishing is expansive, popular and sort of like a marriage between drift fishing and fly fishing. The difference being that you are presenting a weighted hook and using conventional drift gear to dead-drift it, rather than elegantly presenting it at the end of a tippet. Now, I understand the importance of tapered leaders as they help drive energy down the line effectively to turn the fly over, but the fact that jigs work so well kindof eliminates the notion (to me anyways) that having small diameter, low tensile strength tippet adds a dimension of stealth that conveys some sort of benefit. If a fish will readily strike some type of an attractor pattern on a dead drifting jig, with the weight visible, on a generally higher tensile strength and larger diameter line which is certainly less stealthy than a tippet - then what difference would a tapered leader and tippet make to the presentation of say, an intruder being presented with conventional fly fishing gear? Your thoughts?
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I think that would depend entirely upon the clarity of the water and how long the fish has been in the system to catch on to our ways and develop lock jaw. That said I did really well last salmon season with 12lb Gama Edge Flouro tippet even in clear water. I think how you present your offering is the most important thing but sometimes I find stealth does make a difference.
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With the big weighted flies like Intruders and such, a tapered leader IMO is not that important. You want a leader that is strong enough to carry that big fly out there and not get tangled up in knots. On the other hand if you are dry fly fishing, a tapered leader for turning over the small # 14, 16 or # 18 dry fly is very important if you want to get in a natural drift.