Do you own a fly fishing line with the weight of 5? Do you wonder what size leader for 5 weight line suits the best? If so, you might be searching for a leader compatible with your fly line. The most important thing you need to look for is the most suitable size of leader for a 5-weight fly line.
Finding the perfect size leader can be a tedious task for you since a little mistake in this process might result in the loss of your money due to incompatibility. But, to make your task easier, we are presenting you the guide to choose the best leader size for a 5-weight fly line.
Does Leader Size Vary With Fly Line Weight?
Yes, the leader size varies with the fly line weight. A fly line is designed in such a way that it can be used effectively with a specific size of a leader. With the perfect leader size for a low weight fly line, your fly line will be able to land softly on the water surface and it won’t be able to develop an abnormal speed. This is beneficial since it will help you to make your fly look natural to the fish.
Also, the fly line will land on the water with less impact and is still able to cast a dry fly or nymph properly to a larger distance. With a shorter size leader, there will be less impact on the water surface. The case is just the opposite when you use a large size leader with a low weight fly line since the impact can be a little higher. This is the reason why the size of the leader really affects the impact on the water surface with a certain fly line weight. Hence, it is recommended for you to choose the perfect leader size for your fly line weight.
What Size Leader for 5 Weight Line?
While choosing the perfect leader size, you really need to look for the one which is suitable with your fly line weight. Since a leader needs to be attached with your fly line, it could be difficult to catch fish with an incompatible leader size for a certain fly line weight.
While choosing the perfect size leader for your fly line, you don’t need to worry about when you purchased your fly line. It doesn’t matter how many times you’ve used your fly line, but the most suitable leader will always be the same for your fly line.
While selecting the best size leader for your fly line, you need to know about the size of your fly line and the size of flies you will be using with your fly line. You need to look for the size of both butt section and tippet while choosing the perfect size of leader.
Size of Fly Line
If you have a heavy-duty fly line which is designed to catch larger fish, there might be a certain leader size which is compatible with your fly line. But, the same leader size wouldn’t be suitable to use with delicate fly lines which are mainly designed to catch smaller fish.
Fly Size for certain Fly Line
While talking about the size of flies you will be using with your fly line, it isn’t recommended for you to go for a heavier leader which is designed to attach smaller flies in case you will be using flies like a stout. Also, a lightweight leader wouldn’t be the best option for a heavier fly.
The best way to determine the size of fly you can use with a certain size of the leader is to multiply the size of the leader by 3. By doing this, you will be obtaining 12 fly size for a 4x leader. So, a 12-sized fly can be the best option for a 4x leader. The next thing you need to know is that the larger the fly size, the smaller will be the fly. This means an 18-sized fly is smaller than a 12-sized fly.
When you are thinking about attaching any size of the fly with your leader, you might want to go for a leader of size 4X-7X with the 9-foot length since this is the most used leader length by fly fishers.
Best Leader Size for Different Line Weights and Fly Size
| Fly Line Weight | Leader Size | Fly Size | Fly Types | Suitable Fish | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Butt Diameter | Tippet Size | ||||
| 3-4 | 0.017 | 4X-8X | 14-28 | Dry Flies, Nymphs, Terrestrial Streamers | Freshwater Fish, Trout |
| 5 | 0.019 | 3X-7X | 12-22 | Dry Flies, Nymphs, Streamers | Freshwater Fish, Trout, Panfish |
| 6-7 | 0.021 | 0X-5X | 4-12 | Dry Flies, Nymphs, Small Poppers, Streamers | Freshwater Fish, Panfish, Bass |
| 8-9 | 0.023 | > 2X | 4 | Streamers, Nymphs, Divers, Large Poppers | Bass, Pike, Salmon, Steelhead, Saltwater Fish |
| 10-15 | 0.025 | > 0X | 2 | Billfish flies, Minnows, Deceivers, Large Saltwater Poppers | Saltwater Fish, Striped Bass, Tarpon, Bonefish, Billfish |
Best Size Leader for 5 Weight Fly Line
If you are looking for the best size leader for your 5 weight fly line, you might want to go for the leader and tippet sizes of 0X-7X for best performance. Getting a leader size of 4X-6X might be your top priority for this weight of fly line.
From the above comparison chart, it is easily found out that the leader butt diameter of 0.019 inches would be the best choice for a 5 weight fly line. In this range, the most suitable flies to attach at the end of your leader (i.e. tippet) could be dry flies, wet flies, nymphs and streamers. The flies might be of any size from 12-22 for attaching on your tippet.
With this combination of fly line weight, leader butt diameter, leader/tippet size, and the fly size, it’d be easier for you to cast your fly line for the following fish:
- Freshwater Fish
- Trout
- Panfish
If you are going for trout fishing while fly fishing, the combination of these weights and size would easily be the best thing you could make. Hence, it is highly recommended for you to go for the leader size of around 4X-6X, or at least 0X-7X for 5 weight line.
Things to Remember while Choosing Leader Size
Now that you know the best fly fishing combination of different fly line and leader weights and sizes, you still need to know a few things while choosing the perfect leader size for your fly line weight. Here are some of the major things you need to remember during the entire process:
- You shouldn’t go for a shorter leader size if you have a larger fly line, otherwise, the speed of cast might be higher which would easily display the abnormality of your artificial flies to the fish.
- Getting a larger leader for a smaller fly line is also not recommended.
- You shouldn’t get a leader which consists of a very small or very large butt section diameter. Such leaders might fail to cast properly.
- While choosing the perfect leader for a certain fly size, it is always the best idea to look for a leader which is one-third of the fly size.
- If you are going for fly fishing in the clear water of lower depth, it is the best idea to use a longer leader.
- You might want to use shorter leaders when you are going for fly fishing in a water column with larger depth. Getting the shorter size of the leader is also the best choice in case of water surface with poor visibility.
Conclusion
With the completion of our guide to choose the best size leader for different weights of fly line, especially the leader size for 5 weight line, we believe you are now able to find out the perfect leader suitable for your fly line. You also need to take care of the size of flies you will be attaching on your tippet while choosing the perfect leader size for your fly line weight.
If you have any confusion regarding this guide, you may feel free to write down to us at any time. We’d try to get back to you as soon as possible.