Magazine Confluenze | fly fishing experience Number 8 Year 2 | Page 70

Leaders
Leaders for tarpon can be extremely complicated (eg Bimini
twist or double Bimini twist) or extremely easy, like four
pieces of monofilament joined with surgeon’s knots, more
suited also for the bigger diameters (50 cms of mm.0,50 /
40 cms of mm.0,40 / 30 cms of mm.0,30 / 40 cms of shock
leader 0,70 mm or thicker, depending on fish size). In case
of tapered leaders, you may use 5 or 6 feet long leaders
ending with a 0,30 mm mono, to which a shock leader is attached, always better if fluorocarbon (the shock leader is a
section of big mono to which the fly is tied, and that is located between the final part of the leader and the fly).
Tarpon’s mouth is sprinkled by myriads of small teeth, a sort
of terrible sandpaper that strips the nylon monofilament in a
few seconds. The shock leader made by a stout mono has
indeed the task of limiting to a minimum the possibility of
breaking, caused by abrasion.
Many fishers use directly one unique piece of 150 cms of
0,50 monofilament, to which the shock leader is then attached. It is however always advisable to have, between fly
and fly line, a breaking point calibrated to our tackle (without this in open wide sea, a big fish could leave you literally
with an empty reel spool).
The breaking point has indeed the purpose of avoiding this.
If a breaking must occurr, it will have to be before the fly
line and the backing. Please pay attention to well calibrate
the breaking points: if we have spooled a 30 lbs test backing, we must calibrate the breaking point inferior to that (ex.
no more than 25 lbs).

Photo Campeche flyfishing tarpon bay

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