by Greenwell » Wed Mar 29, 2017 4:29 pm
For what it's worth, the leader I tie for fishing Spiders is outlined below. I prefer Maxima Chameleon (Brown) for the larger diameters as it will straighten perfectly with a good strong pull and hold; no need for rubber leader straighteners, which, by the way, are detrimental to nylon. Trout Hunter mono is my preferred tippet material. I use mono for all my trout fishing as after extensive personal testing I find no advantage to fluorocarbon.
Notice that the butt diameter is much smaller than most leaders. This gives better energy transfer from the line to the leader and results in better turnover. The majority of the time I use 3 and 4 weight rod/line set ups and .017 works best with these line sizes. For 5 wight or above you may want to go to a .019 or .020 butt.
Feel free to modify this leader to suit your personal needs as to length, diameters, etc.
I am something of a leader fanatic and firmly believe that in most cases the leader and how it performs is at least as important as fly pattern. And in many cases is more important. If the fish are refusing my fly, especially when fishing dries (off topic!), I am much more apt to modify my leader than to change fly pattern.
Spider Leader
40" .017 M
20" .015 M
8" .013 M
8" .012 M
8" .011 M
8" .009 M
12" .008 (3X) T (Can add second Dropper (3X) at this point if desired.)
12" .007 (4X) T Add 4" - 6" 4X Dropper at this point. (4X to 5X)
18 - 24" .006 (5X) T
M = Maxima Chemeleon Brown
T= Tippet material. I prefer Trout Hunter
Measurements in inches. May be adjusted to suit water, fly size, and casting style.
Diameters are .001 Inch