Tippet Rings; whats all this craziness.
In the past 100 years of our sport – fly fishing, there have been so many new innovations that it can make your head spin. From Bamboo rods, dry fly fishing, reels that just are there to hold your line to graphite rods, smooth silky reel drag, euro nymphing, and a myriad of super fly lines like Rio Gold, fly fishing has truly changed throughout the years. Techniques and types of gear have also changed, and I like to keep up to date. One area that doesn’t get much press is tippet and the use of tippet rings.
Recently I have discovered a great way to build my mono leader, so it lasts longer and allows you fast changing of your fly. I now purchase 7 ½ foot 3x or 4x leaders. My favorite is the PowerflexRIO x or Fluoroflex leader package. I add a 2mm tippet ring to the end with a double Davy knot and now have the option to add whatever tippet to the ring and then to my fly. When adding tippet to leader you should not add tippet to tippet that is greater than two sizes, i.e. 3x to 6x. It has a tendency not to hold the knot well because of the two dissimilar diameters. But by using a tippet ring you can add any size tippet to it.
So, my set up now looks like this. If fishing a size 18 soft hackle, then I tie about 2-3 feet of RIO Fluoroflex Plus 6x tippet to my ring and I’m ready to fish. When the fishing changes and I need to toss a size 10 Mohair leech, I can now quickly change my leader by cutting off my 6x tippet and adding 3x or 4x tippet. So, using a tippet ring my leader never gets short and never has to be changed. I can use the same leader for many fishing days. Plus, if you get your fly stuck in a tree (I never do) and must pull it out, if it doesn’t break at the fly it will most likely break at the tippet ring. This will allow you to easily re-tie on new tippet and you are ready to go.
I just went to tippet rings and I now find that the ring seems to be cutting my tippet where it passes through the ring. I love the idea of the ring but this just doesn’t seem to be working out for me. Does anyone else have this problem? Any suggestions as to a remedy.
Keith,
The problem your having may have to do with the knot your using. The more twist you put in a knot makes it break/cut into itself easier. Check out this link it’s the only know I use https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WruK0Z482G0.
Thank you for the question.
Hey guys, I just wanted to add my 2 cents here. The problem you’re having with the tippet ring “cutting” the tippet is most likely due to the ring itself. Some Chinese companies have been putting out an inferior product that has a flat edge profile as opposed to a round one. This causes the tippet to cut when the knot is pulled tight. There is a quick fix, however; Don’t buy cheap tippet rings. RIO, Cortland, Trout Game, Anglers Image all make a great tippet ring. You may pay a bit more for them, but they last forever unless you lose them.