Building Your Own Tapered Leaders
Part-2 (To Part-1)
Last week we discussed the merits and advantages of building your own tapered leaders. Now we are ready for the theories involved in building longer leaders for special applications.  

Most fly casters would agree that  being able to throw narrow loops is an advantage when generating fly line speed for long accurate casts.  In many cases having a leader at the end of the line that allows the tight loop energy to flow from the line to the fly and places the leader perfectly straight on the water is also an advantage, but not always.  High velocity leaders are an advantage when casting flies that will be retrieved or fished under tension.  However, a leader that dissipates energy and and falls with slack may be more appropriate for dry fly fishing drag free.  Such a leader may land on the water with gentle "S" curves that buffer drag.  How a leader casts and lands can be dictated by design.  How a leader turns over and straightens in the air is determined by casting presentation, leader taper and leader material.  The last two factors are constructed into the leader its self. 

A leader that is made from stiff material will transmit more energy than a leader made from soft pliable material.  Large diameter material will hold more energy than small diameter material. 

Generally speaking leaders that are made for delivering a fly with authority are 60% butt, 20% mid-section and 20% tippet.  They can be made entirely from a stiff material such as Maxima Chameleon (Example #1).  Leaders that are designed for softer presentations or to combat drag have shorter butts and have longer mid-sections and tippets.  The butt and part of the mid-section is made from Maxima Chameleon, but part of the mid-section and the tippet are made from a softer material such as Umpqua tippet material (Example #2).  For even softer presentations the butt of the leader is shortened and the tippet and mid-sections are lengthened (Example #3).