Tippet Rings, are they any good...

We at Cutthroat Leader Co purchase 1000’s of rings per month.  With that said, we have been sent rings from just about every supplier out there.  I can tell you there is a big difference between various tippet rings available.  There are multiple distributors pushing rings on ebay / amazon that look decent in photos, but when you get them they are very thin…  Thin rings equal cut tippets. 

Such as in many aspects of life, you often get what you pay for.  Sure, you can find cheaper rings out there, but when one ring can / will last many trips out if not dozens, what is a few cents more per ring…?

Not pushing just our rings as there are other rings on the market available that are well made. Just make sure the cross section of the ring is equal to the thickness of the ring..  Think a piece of pipe being bent into a circle.   Having this same cross section all the way around the ring eliminates any weak points in the tippet knot / ring connection.   Jewelry rings WILL NOT hold up over time or on decent fish.  Also, Jewelry rings tend to be larger than 2mm in Dia.   I have been sent more than a few emails from fishers that have had bad experiences with jewelry type rings over the years.  

I use tippet rings on some of my personal Furled Leaders, but I also use the shorb loop often.  On my Hi-Vis Nymph leaders, I use the rings as the leaders are much stronger than Dry Fly Leaders so I do not worry about pulling the ring loose.  On my Dry Fly leaders, I use loops.  For one, the loop is stronger than the ring connection. It adds about 1 lb. of strength to the dry fly leader.  

On my streamers leaders, (for chucking meat), I use a swivel.  

I tell fishers to use the same knot they tie on a fly with to attach tippet to the ring.  I sometimes use an improved clinch on the ring and a standard clinch on the fly.  I honestly have not noticed any breaking strength difference between the improved or the simple clinch.  As with any fishing knot, having moisture on the tippet before the knot is pulled tight is EXTREMELY important. 

If you have any questions at all, please fee free to email me at mike's email

Link to Cutthroat Leader Mico Tippet Rings

We at Cutthroat Leaders are known across the country and beyond for our Trout Leaders, but our loyal following among Ocean Fishers is really catching on.   Check out our line of Furled Leaders for the Salt.

Ocean Leaders

We are often asked to to attach a furled leader your line.  Most new lines have welded loops which make attaching leaders very easy.  If you do not have a welded loop, or you choose to cut the loop off, you have a few options.

Our thread leaders can be attached with a standard nail knot.  I like to use only three wraps as if you use too many, the knot becomes BIG.  For fishers that have one dry fly rod and one nymph/streamer, rod, this system works great.

Another option is to attach a length of 20# nylon with a loop.  (on heavier lines, 7,8,9 wt, use 30# nylon.  First nail-knot the nylon onto the fly line.  Then you tie a perfection loop in the nylon.  I Prefer the length of nylon to be short (3-6"), yet others like a longer length (12"-16").

Hope this helps.

We keep hearing from fly fishers, guides and shop owners that our leaders are one of their best kept secrets.  Well, the secret is getting out.   Our Ultimate Dry Fly Furled leader is copied by many, but no one has been able to replicate the taper / turn-over/ presentation that we offer. Simply put, this leader will impress you...  If not, let me know and we will take care of it.  We stand by everything we sell with a 100% satisfaction guarantee.  

Why a Furled Leader....  Better Mending abilities.  Because of the grooves in the leaders, it creates a higher co-efficient of friction compared to that of tapered mono.  Therefor you can mend line and get great drifts like never before.  Because our leaders have no memory, they un-furl (open up and deliver a fly) just beautifully.  They do not smack the water, they come off the water quietly.  You can cast to a pod of rising fish over and over without putting the pod down.

If you have yet to try one, give your self a small gift.  No other small priced item will have such an affect on your casting / presentation as a Cutthroat Furled Leader.

                                             https://www.cutthroatfurledleaders.com/

My buddy Adam invited me along on a trip to Montana, we fished the Beaverhead as well as some spring Creeks in the area.

First day started out floating the Beaverhead.  We arrived at the put in early in the morning only to find many boats / trucks already there waiting to start their float.  We all decided that moving further down river would be best.  I would rather catch less fish and be alone, then catch many fish and be surrounded by other fly fishers.

We Caught lots of fish on the double dropper rig with our indicator leader.  I was using our 36" indicator leader with extender.  This system worked flawlessly.  The 36" furled nylon leader give the fisher enough energy to turn over an indicator and multiple weighted flies.  Having the 36" of adjustability was more than enough depth adjustment.

 The fly fisher simply ties his/her tippet onto the ring. and the your fly.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    











                                                                                                                                                Gearing up and getting ready.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              We caught many fishing in this size range.  No true monsters, but all decent.

 The best fish of the day came to a dry fly.  We stopped to have some lunch.  While sitting and watching the water, we notice a decent fish sipping flies off the surface.    Our guide grabs for his dry fly rod and makes a few cast.  Nothing, the guide is quick to say the fish is put down and not catch-able.   I grab my rod with a 76" Ultimate Dry Fly Furled Leader, an a length of approx. 5'-6' of tippet.  I was using a larger dry as an indicator, then tied on a size 20 CDC-Caddis fly.  Small buggy looking thing.  I had a couple of drifts that went un-answered and then on the third cast, bang.... Fish on.  As mentioned our guide was eating lunch, so he was a little slow to the net.  I was fishing with only 5x tippet and that proved to weak for this fish in the current.   At least I got to fight him for a brief minute.  Good times.                                                                                                                                                                                                      

Big Rattle Snake on a 6wt Fly Rod, look at the bend…

So I recently returned from a quick fishing trip in Montana with Dan “Rooster” Leavens from the StoneFly Inn located Twin Bridges MT.  First day we floated the BeaverHead,  pics and report to follow soon.  Second day we fished a walk and wade section of the Beaverhead…  This is where the Video Below takes place.  My buddy Adam was walking the bank when he heard the telltale rattle of a big snake, just about 12” from his feet… 

A quick slip knot was tied onto the end of Adam’s line and Rooster went to work.  Watch the video link below.

Snake was 9 ½ years old.  Glad the day ended the way it did… no one getting bit.