Comments on: Polyleaders – What They Are, Why We Like ‘Em

By: Tom Larimer

Tom Larimer — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 21:45:14 +0000

Seth,
Andrew asked if I could field your question on Poly Leaders and leader lengths for the Airflo Tactical Steelhead. If you look closely at the floating tip included with the line, you’ll notice it has ridges running lengthwise along the tip. These ridges give the front of the line excellent “stick” to the water as you form your d-loop. We typically use Poly Leaders on lines like the Scandi Compact to accomplish the same thing. That said, you don’t need to use a Poly Leader with the Tactical Steelhead. I would recommend using a 10′ to 12′ tapered leader. If you want to try a Poly Leader, go with a 10′ Salmon/Steelhead Poly Leader with 3′ of tippet looped to the front. If you need to get your fly down in the water column, you can loop off the floating tip and replace it with a 12′ #9 weight sink-tip in Intermediate, Type 3 or Type 6. This line will struggle if you try to cast a heavier sink-tip than Type 6. If your fishery requires getting the fly really deep, the Skagit Compact is designed to throw heavy sink-tips and larger flies.
Hope this helps!

-Tom Larimer
Airflo Pro-Staff

By: andrew

andrew — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 02:52:57 +0000

Hi Seth, thanks for stopping by. I’ve got some clarifying questions on your setup – we’ll drop you an email and help out however we can!

Andrew

By: Seth Harris

Seth Harris — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 17:55:34 +0000

I am new to spey casting/use of a spey rod. I have a 14′ medium action9/10 wt. rod and I just purchased a Airflo tactical steelhead shooting head line(9wt). The line came with an 8″ floating line and was wondering what type of polyleader should I buy for atlantic salmon fishing on Quebec rivers. I currently have my reel backing attached to an Airflo ridge running line (30wt) which in turn is connected to the shooting head and finally the 8′ line is connected to the fron of the shooting head. I added a 12′ mono tippet. My question, is the setup OK and what length polyleader should I buy (1.5 ips) . Should I use a short or long tippett? Keep in mind that I am a novice spey caster,although I can cast well with a single handed rod. Thanks for all and any advice Seth

By: andrew

andrew — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 12:48:28 +0000

Herb, not at all! We’re just talking about polyleaders and spey fishing in this article. That’s great that you’re having success using them with your striper fishing.

By: Herb Ladenheim

Herb Ladenheim — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 11:37:18 +0000

I am using Airflo poly leaders with Airflo cold water striper WF lines. They also work well with other brands of WF lines. Are you saying I am misusing them – i.e. that they are solely designed for the spey world??
Herb

By: andrew

andrew — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 22:10:11 +0000

Hi Joey, you could probably get a polyleader to work at the end of a Skagit head, but in general they’re going to work a lot better with a scandi head. Scandi heads typically have longer, finer front tapers that transition really well into a polyleader. Skagit heads have much shorter front tapers that are designed to turn over heavier sinktips; the transition from a Skagit head to a polyleader would be really abrupt.

By: Joey

Joey — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 05:35:39 +0000

Intersting artical. Are poly leaders only for scandi heads or can they be used at the end of a skagit head?

By: Spey Casting and Fishing Articles

Spey Casting and Fishing Articles — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 03:50:52 +0000

[...] Polyleaders [...]

By: Jes Hultqvist

Jes Hultqvist — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 21:13:10 +0000

Hi Andrew!
I am in Sweden and I may be wrongly informed.
Jes

By: andrew

andrew — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 17:50:14 +0000

Hi Jes! Yes, I’d certainly say that in our neck of the woods (the Pacific Northwest), the use of polyleaders is very much on the rise.