Tippet Question

[jordanl]

Iv done some searching on the internet and have been pretty inconclusive. i have a 7wt fly rod and im looking to hit some streams here in the soo once the ice goes for some trout and when the time comes, salmon. problem though is when i first started to learn to cast with the fly rod i did alot of damage to my tippet, lots of knicks and rubbing from trees,rocks and anything else i could hit on my back cast:P.. now, i dont want to buy tippet line right now since money is tight, but could i use my 8lb leader line as a temporary tippet? any help would be appreciated, thanks.

[ron4blues]

Proper tippet material is inexpensive and important when casting for trout. You can 6-8 lb flouro or regular mono in a pinch. But using the leader itself is not recommended simply because every time you re-tie a fly your leader will get shorter. Use a loop-to-loop connection for quick changes.

[jordanl]

thanks, il look into the loop to loop, because it sounds like it could save me time and money:)

[Icehut]

Feel free to use an 8' or whatever section of plain jane monofilament for a tippet. Believe it or not, you don't actually need a $5 tapered leader, and you don't need to tie your own, out of 6 different strands of precisely measured (length and thickness) mono. Might have to adjust your cast a bit, or cut it down a bit, if you have problems turning the fly over. If you want to get crazy fancy, buy two spools of mono, use 6' of heavy and a couple feet of lighter stuff. Salmon won't care. Fish in fast current or colored water won't care. Even go down to a 2' long leader if you're using a sink tip.

[Gnfshn]

Agree with the flouro comments.