Fly Fishing Leaders for Bass Anglers

A selection of commercial and hand-tied leaders, along with some mono. Tying your own leaders can be as fun as tying your own flies, but much simpler!

Most fly anglers fall down the same rabbit hole when they start chasing bass. We obsess over rods, reels, fly lines, and (of course) flies, but somewhere down the line, we realize the humble, unassuming thing that connects the expensive rod the fancy fly—the leader—isn’t working the way we hoped. For me, that moment came on the Perdido River when I tried, once again, to turn over a deer-hair popper with a store-bought trout leader. The fly collapsed midair, the leader coiled like a slinky, and I started wondering what I was doing wrong.

To make sense of it all, I called up Peter Jordan, a Selma native who grew up fly fishing for bass on the Cahaba. Peter has been on just about every side of the industry—from outdoor writer to fly shop owner—and now works as a sales rep for Grand Slam Group. More importantly, he’s spent years figuring out how to build leaders that actually work for bass flies.

When I asked him if most pre-packaged leaders are up to the task, he didn’t hesitate. “The problem is most pre-packaged leaders are based around trout fishing,” he told me flatly.

That right there is the heart of it.

The Trout Problem

Almost everything in fly fishing—rods, lines, leaders, (culture)—has been built around trout. And trout, as Peter points out, don’t behave anything like bass. “A big trout fly might be a size 10,” he said. “But with bass, even your small red-eye flies might be size 6 or 4, and your big largemouth flies can run eight to ten inches long. There’s just no comparison.”

Trout leaders are soft, supple, and long to deliver delicate, drag-free drifts. Bass leaders need backbone. They have to unroll heavy bugs and bulky streamers. That’s why the 5X–3X “tippet mentality” doesn’t translate here.

“The best bass-specific leader I’ve tried is the one Cortland makes,” Peter said. “It’s a solid, monofilament leader with just the right amount of stiffness to turn over deer-hair bugs and big, air-resistant flies. It’s strong, easy to cast, and does a great job handling those big topwater patterns.” He explained that it’s one of the few pre-made leaders that actually feels purpose-built for bass fishing rather than adapted from trout gear. “You can tie one of those Cortland bass leaders on and go straight to fishing—it’ll turn over a popper clean and lay it out straight,” he said.

Still, Peter sees it as a good starting point, not a one-size-fits-all solution. “I like the Cortland for quick trips or when I’m fishing around a lot of vegetation,” he said. “It’s smooth, it won’t grab grass like a knotted leader does, and it saves me time when I just want to get on the water.” But when he’s targeting bigger fish or fine-tuning for specific conditions, he goes back to his own formulas. “In general, I build my own because I want that stiffness, that control. Most store-bought leaders just can’t turn over a big fly as well as one you build yourself.”

Building the Perfect Bass Leader

Peter’s system starts with understanding what kind of fly you’re throwing. “If I’m fishing streamers or anything that sinks,” he said, “I go with fluorocarbon. It’s got less stretch and it sinks faster. But if I’m fishing topwater flies, I’ll switch to monofilament because it floats better and keeps my fly riding high.”

That’s the first rule of thumb: fluoro for sinking, mono for floating.

From there, it’s about proportion and stiffness. Peter uses a simple three-section formula—about 50% butt section, 30% taper, and 20% tippet. For everyday bass fishing, he recommends something like a 25-pound butt, 15-pound midsection, and 10-pound tippet. “That’s a great setup for poppers and topwater bugs,” he said. “It’s simple, strong, and easy to rebuild.”

If he’s throwing big streamers or glide-bait-sized flies for largemouth, he beefs it up. “I’ll go 30, 25, 20, and 16-pound test for those,” he said. “That gives me enough stiffness to turn over the fly and drop it right where I want it.”

Many bass anglers go even heavier. On my desk sits a copy of Bob Clouser’s Fly Fishing for Smallmouth Bass, which recommends two leader formulas, one for 6–8wt rods and another for 8–9wt rods, which respectively start with 40lbs and 50lbs test for the butt, and taper to 12lbs and 15lbs test for the tippet-end of the leader. Alvin Dedeaux’s formula roughly follows Peter’s 50/30/20 rule, but uses 50, 35, and 20lb mono. Those numbers might seem shocking, but again—big, wind-resistant, decidedly un-aerodynamic flies require heavier, stiffer material to turn over cleanly.

Personally, I currently gravitate to the “3…2…1” formula. I use inexpensive and widely available Trilene Big Game Mono in 30, 20, and 10lbs test, and measure the Old Testament way instead of using the metric or English system. I measure a wingspan (roughly six feet) of butt section, one arm-length (about two feet) of midsection, and another arm-length of 10lbs test. For the small creeks I fish and for the “fencerider” bugs I throw that can attract both bass and panfish, this works well enough and is easy to tie and remember. It gives me a fairly standard eight- to nine-foot leader once the knots are tied, and if I want a little more finesse for panfish I can quickly add a couple of feet of 6–8lb test. The extra length and lighter tippet offers a softer presentation and lets me tie into the eyelets of smaller flies.

While nine feet is pretty standard in the trout world, Peter prefers a shorter leader—around seven and a half feet. “Bass don’t feed in lanes like trout,” he said. “They have strike zones around cover. You’re not trying to drift a dry fly; you’re trying to hit a target. Accuracy is more important than a perfect drift, so I prefer a shorter leader.” In addition to being more accurate, a shorter leader generally does a better job turning over those sometimes unruly and uncooperative flies that bass love so much. If all you have is a nine-foot trout leader, cut a couple of feet off and turn it into a seven- or even six-foot leader. It probably won’t hurt your fishing, and it may make your casting much more enjoyable.

Another small trick Peter swears by for anglers who build their own leaders is to smooth the knots over with Loon’s UV Knot Sense. “It’s basically a clear resin you brush on each knot and cure with a UV light,” he said. “It seals down the tag ends and keeps the knots from grabbing grass or slime when you’re fishing heavy cover.” The result is a slicker, more weedless leader that slides through vegetation and rod guides more easily. “It’s a small detail, but it makes a big difference when you’re throwing in the thick stuff,” Peter added. “Your leader just glides instead of hanging up.”

Bass Fly Fishing Leaders for Sinking and Sink Tip Lines

Not every bass day is about poppers and floating bugs. When Peter switches to a sink-tip or full sinking line, his leader setup changes dramatically. “Once you start throwing those heavier lines with big, weighted flies, you’re not trying to be delicate anymore,” he said. “You’re trying to get that fly down and keep it in the zone.”

In those situations, he shortens the leader to somewhere between three and four feet. “With a sink tip 6, I’ll usually go straight fluorocarbon,” Peter explained. “Something like three or four feet of 20-pound test. That’s it. You don’t need taper because the fly line itself is doing all the work of getting the fly where it needs to be.”

That heavy, straight leader helps transfer energy and keeps the fly tracking naturally through the water column. “If you try to use a long tapered leader on a sink tip, the fly tends to ride too high,” he said. “You lose that connection, and your hooksets get mushy. A short, stiff leader keeps everything tight and direct.”

When he’s targeting bigger bass or fishing deep structure, Peter sometimes steps up to 25-pound fluorocarbon for added abrasion resistance and pulling power. “You’re dragging those flies through brush, rocks, even shell beds sometimes,” he said. “You want something that can take a beating.”

In other words, once you move into sink-tip territory, forget about dainty tapers and floating presentation. Think short, stout, and simple—just a direct line from your fly line to the fish. And, as a side note, a short, non-tapered “leader” is exactly what you want on the end of a sinking or poly leader. You can treat a standard, floating line with a sinking leader as a field-assembled “sink tip” line.

Best Knots for Building Your Own Fly Fishing Leaders

Peter ties a perfection loop to connect his leader to the fly line, then uses blood knots between each section. When he connects his fly, he gravitates towards a non-slip loop knot instead of the more conventional clinch or improved clinch knots, for extra fly movement. For heavier, articulated streamers, he’ll sometimes switch to an improved clinch knot to tone down side-to-side action.

When I asked how often he replaces leaders, his answer was refreshingly practical. “If I’m fishing monofilament, I’ll tie a bunch of them ahead of time, coil them neatly, and keep them in sandwich bags labeled with the formula—something like 25-3, 15-3, 10-2,” he said. “When they get worn or nicked up, I just swap one out.”

With fluorocarbon leaders, he’ll often carry spools of 16- or 20-pound line and make quick blood knot repairs in the field. “Once you’ve tied enough blood knots, it’s just muscle memory,” he said. “Sometimes it’s faster to fix one than to swap it.”

His insistence on simplicity extends to tippet rings and micro swivels. “I don’t trust them,” he said. “It’s not that they don’t work, I just don’t use them. Besides, I find myself more prone to check for nicks along the line if I don’t have them on there.”

Keep It Simple

The thread running through our whole conversation? Don’t be afraid to build your own leaders, and don’t over think them.“There’s no wrong answer,” he told me. “If you’ve got spools of mono at home, use them. Make a few leaders while you’re watching TV and stick them in a sandwich bag. It’s not rocket science.” Nylon mono and fluorocarbon are relatively cheap, and there’s no penalty to playing around with a few standard formulas and tweaking them to fit your individual needs and preferences.

That’s bass fly fishing in a nutshell. It’s not about being delicate or traditional. It’s about finding what works to get the fly in front of the fish, and having fun doing it.