Tippet is an specific type of fishing lines that connect the leader to the fly. The tippet is essential for fishing lines as it determine how the fly move in the water and how much weight the tippet can holds before it breaks. If the tippet is too thin for the fish that are to be target, the tippet will break when the fish pulls on the line.
However, if the tippet is too thick for a type of fishing that is being done, the fly will look unnaturally to the fish. There are different type of tippet. For instance, there is nylon tippets and fluorocarbon tippets.
How to Choose the Right Tippet for Fly Fishing
Tippets made of nylon will floats on the surface of the water. Additionally, nylon will stretch when the fish pull on the line. This is beneficial for dry fly-fishing.
Fluorocarbon tippets will sink in the water and is also more resist to abrasion from rocks in the river. Fluorocarbon tippets are beneficial for catch nymphs by using the sink in the tippet to keep the fly near the bottom of the river. Fluorocarbon is also more difficult for the fish to see in the water due to the similar refractive indices between fluorocarbon and water.
The thickness of the tippet is measure on a scale of X numbers. Higher numbers indicates the thickness of the tippet. For instance, 7X tippet is very thin and used for very small fly.
Lower numbers, like 1X, indicate the tippet is very thick and used for large flies or heavy fish. For instance, 6X tippet is thin enough to not be easy seen by the fish when fishing in clear water. However, 3X tippet will be strong enough to withstand the force of the current in which the fish are being target.
There are different knot used to join sections of tippet together. However, the knots reduce the strength of the tippet when they are used. For instance, a nail knot will retain 97% of the strength of the tippet.
However other knots may not retain the same percentage of strength. Before you tighten any tippet knot, the knots should be wet. This ensures that the knots will not damage the tippet due to friction.
If a knot is dried, the friction between the knots may weaken the tippet and it may break when the fish pull on the line. A person must also ensure that the tippet that a person selects for the fishing setup is matched to the type of fly that is being used and the environment in which the fishing is to take place. For example, if a person is fishing with a tiny dry fly, the thin nylon tippet should be used, such as a 7X sized tippet.
For example, if a person is fishing with a heavy streamer, a thick fluorocarbon tippet should be used, such as a 2X sized tippet; 2X tippets are known to be strong, and 2X tippets will allow the streamer to sink to the floor of the river or lake. If the water is very clear, thinner tippets should be utilize so that the fish will not be able to easily see the tippet. However, if the water is murky, a thicker tippet can be used because the fish will not be able to see the tippet as easy.
Finally, a person should also monitor the performance of the tippet while fishing. If the tippet breaks too often when a fish pulls on the tippet, then the size of the tippet should be increase to a thicker diameter. Conversely, if the fly does not drift natural through the water, the size of the tippet should be decrease to a thinner diameter.
By ensuring that the size of the tippet matches the type of fly being used, the tippet will be strong enough to hold the fish when they are caught, yet thin enough to allow the fly to move natural through the air and water.