leaders/tippets

[flygirl]

I cannot seem to get my leader & tippet to lay out straight. I've flyfished for about 10yrs now, catch plenty of fish so I'm doing something right but would like any info or suggestions. thanks

[Troutfitter]

This isn't an easy question to answer without seeing you cast.

Laying out your leader straight isn't 100% desireable and will actually hinder your ability to catch trout.... but you do want to avoid having everything land in a pile.

I want to think a little about what advice I have for you and will add to this later.

[Richard W. Fleet]

Everything I have read says it is preferable to create gentle S's in your leader/tippet. These gentle S's will allow for an extended drift while still allowing for quick hook set.

[AvoDrake]

Flygirl as others stated its tough to offer specific advice without seeing you cast but here are a couple of thoughts.

If what is occuring is that your line tends to collapse instead of extending out on your forward cast, 2 common causes of this are: 1) Swinging the rod behind you on your backcast. So if right handed instead of backcast going straight behind you you twist your body and the backcast goes to the left. 2) Timing - not waiting long enough for your backcast to unfurl.
Often false casts will be fine but on final cast you may give it that extra ummph and don't wait long enough for backcast to unfurl and the line tends to collapse on forecast.

If line unfurling o.k., but your leader and tippet not rolling out ,your tippet/leader tippet configuration may not match the size of the fly you are fishing - for example putting on too much 7x-8x tippet and your fly does not turn over.

[The Patriot]

I've also seen this problem when I have too long a tippet, especially the very light stuff, or as AvoDrake said, if you have a mismatch, ie the fly is too large for the tippet you're using and it's not turning over properly.

Do you stretch your leaders with a straightener? Often they are all curled up from the packaging, and need to be straightened.

[Todd K]

All very good points. This may also come in handy.

http://www.flyaddict.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=21&Itemid=25

[pvansch1]

You may want to try a different leader, I gave up on mono leaders as they always seem to have some curl to them no matter what you do.
I started making my own furled leaders which have no memory what so ever. Upcountry sells them as well. They tend to be much softer then mono and take a little getting used to but they lay out straight and turn over very well.
Pete

[Ray]

Flygirl, Is your line laying out straight but not the leader & tippet, or is the end of the line collapsing too? If it's just the leader & tippet, your leader/tippet may be to light for your line or your fly is too big for the tippet. If the end of the line is also falling in a pile then your "puddleing", a puddle cast is done by dropping the rod tip and not stopping the rod high enough on your forward/presentation cast. Try aiming your forward cast above your target about 5'. Keep us informed as to how your are doing.