One of the most confusing things to beginner fly fishers can be leaders and tippets. The leader is the invisible link that separates the fat brightly coloured fly line and the fly. Leaders are tapered pieces of nylon or fluorocarbon, thick at the end that attaches to the fly line and thin at the other end, which attaches to the fly. The usual length of these leaders is 7.5 Ft, 9 ft. or 12 ft. , with 9 ft. being the most common. What confuses most new fly fishers is the X designation and the pound test. The X designation is a measurement of diameter, the higher the number the thinner the leader, for example 6X is very fine whereas 2X is quite thick. Manufacturers also rate their leaders with a breaking strength in pounds, the same as regular fishing line, 6X is around 3.5# and 2X is around 10#. The critical relationship in this set-up is leader size to fly size, nothing else, if you're going to be fishing for what you hope are 5# trout you do not automatically fish with 5# leaders. The leader must be small enough to let the fly float naturally and yet large enough to have the required knot strength. The usual formula is to divide the size of fly you are using by 3 to find the right leader size, for example a size 12 fly is best fished on a 4X leader, a size 16 on a 5X leader etc...
Tippet material is a level piece of material that attaches to the end of your leader and serves several purposes. Tippet is used to extend the length of your leader, extend the life of your leader, and change the diameter of your leader. Tippet material must always be the same size or smaller than the leader you are using, otherwise it will not present your fly properly. You use it to extend the length of your leader simply by knotting on a length (2 feet max.), or to keep your leader at its original length after fly changes, knots, break offs etc... It can also be used to fish a smaller sized fly, for example if you are fishing a size 12 fly on 4X leader or tippet and you want to use a smaller size 16 fly, simply add a short piece of 5X tippet, this is much quicker and easier than changing your whole leader.
