Leader material for stiff hands & poor eyes

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Pete from MA	Leader material for stiff hands & poor eyes		Lead	[-]
Posts: 75 07/10/2009 10:39	Tags : None This is the year I seem to be falling apart ...my eyes are going & my hands have become stiff and I'm having trouble tying up my leaders. What do you guys recommend for "cooperative material"? I prefer tieing up a complete leader but this season I've been buying a 7 1/2 or 9 ft Orvis leader and then adding my 6x or 7x tippet. but I'm still having trouble with the material...just twisting it is becoming a little trickier. and then pulling open a space to insert the tags is also a challenge. Have you guys found a material that is manageable for a guy loosing his finger dexterity. Thank you.
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FrankB		#1	[url]	[-]
Posts: 26 07/10/2009 12:24	Hi Pete, I just started using one of these Ty-Rite tools this years: http://www.llbean.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?categoryId=36013&storeId=1&catalogId=1&langId=-1&feat=sr&freeText=ty-rite The hold the fly at the bend, and allow you to *easily* twist and tie the ordinary leader. I've also begun using one of the C&F threaders for smaller flies. You don't have to buy the entire C&F box and threader outfit, just the threaders. I've seen the Ty-Rite tool at every shop I go to, and C&F is widely distributed.
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Bob M		#2	[url]	[-]
Posts: 22 07/10/2009 13:08	Pete Regarding a blood knot tool. I use a Dennison tool and it works great. Here is a link for one: http://www.dennisonspecialtyflyreels.com/servlet/Detail?no=12 The Frog Hair looks like a step-up with the same mechanics. http://www.cabelas.com/prod-1/0029852317952a.shtml I have the same issues with eyes. I'll tie leaders at home at a work bench with a circular florescent light with a large magnifying glass mounted in the middle. The light is attached to a retractable arm and it will reach the tying vice too. It helps a lot. I picked-up one of those flip-focal lenses in a raffle earlier this week. They mount on a hat bill and I'd heard good things about them. A dry run confirmed the truth in the assertions. Bob
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Yawning Owl	Frog Hair tool	#3	[url]	[-]
Posts: 13 07/10/2009 13:23	The Frog Hair knot tool is the best by far. Hands down - no question. Get one.
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creakycane		#4	[url]	[-]
Posts: 2254 07/10/2009 13:35	I use Maxima brown and always have - I like stiffer material and the 5x and 6x is my tippet 90% of teh time, with 4x and 8x at times..... Dark color make it realtively easy to see - however, in a few years, I'll either have to get my arms lengthened, or buy one of those magnifyier for my hat brim....
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mr flymph		#5	[url]	[-]
Posts: 148 07/10/2009 14:08	creakycane wrote: or buy one of those magnifyier for my hat brim.... I already have one of those Creaky! Without it I would never get a fly tied on the tippet!
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FrankB		#6	[url]	[-]
Posts: 27 07/10/2009 16:12	Guess I read the first post too quickly. I use a double surgeons knot when adding tippet. Actually, I use blood knots down to 0X, and all sections after that get a double surgeons knot. Even with young eyes and hands, a blood knot is a pain in smaller diameters. You could also tie a perfection loop at the end of your leader, and add tippet using a loop to loop connection. Tying perfection loops onto tippet sections could be done at home, and then simply added as needed on the water.
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fisherman911		#7	[url]	[-]
Posts: 144 07/10/2009 18:12	I also have some of these problems. Double or triple surgeons knots are much easier to tie then a blood knot in fine diameters and very secure.
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Battenkiller		#8	[url]	[-]
Posts: 53 07/10/2009 21:24	I'm in the same pickle, but not so much because of age as it is from injury. A couple of years ago I nearly put my right eye out in a shop accident. A long, tortuous healing process culminated in surgery and an artificial lens implant. Not a typical cataract operation, I had to go to a specialist in Philadelphia to repair the support structure that holds the lens capsule in place. Sequelae of the operation caused the macula at the back of the eye to develop edema and I ended up with a hole in my central vision. Blown pupil, glaucoma, "secondary" cataract, dry cornea... you name it, I got it. I only started fishing again this spring. Worst part is trying to climb down banks and wade heavy pocket water with bad depth perception. Luckily my feet still have eyes on the bottom, but I've taken a couple of good spills already, something that rarely ever happened before. The surprising thing is, I can still tie a blood knot in under 30 seconds. That's because I do it mostly by feel. An old timer showed me how to tie a bomb proof blood without ever letting go of the tag ends. If I knew how to take a video and put it online I'd share my method. It's really quite simple, even in fine material, and the tags both go in opposite directions automatically. It's the damn double surgeon's knot that's now giving me fits. I also use it for the finer sections of the leader and, of course, the tippet. I have a quick way with this knot as well, but it requires me to reach into the opening and grab the tag end and tippet by sight, and I'm always just seeing one, or four or none. So I'm back to the blood, which I am happy enough with. Most of the fish I loose are lost due to my stupidity, and no knot I am aware of can help with that. But then there's the little problem of getting 6x through a size 18 hook eye. And now the tricos are starting to come on, so things are bound to get worse.
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Pete from MA		#9	[url]	[-]
Posts: 77 07/10/2009 21:42	For my eyes .... at first I was using a fold down magnifier (it was plastic) that I picked up at a fishing shop in Concord ..... I just didn't like it. But then I found an old fashioned looking Hat clipon fold down magnifier (the clip is metal and the lense is glass) .... it cost something like $30 but Wow ... is it nice...I can see again!!! & have no problem with midges & 7x tippet. its called "HatEyes" by "MagEyes" I think its very well made. Last Edited By: Pete from MA 07/10/2009 21:45. Edited 1 time.
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Aransas		#10	[url]	[-]
Posts: 242 07/10/2009 22:26	59 here and feeling the same pain. Sometimes while fishing, I'm reminded of the final scene in "A River Runs Through It'. Old Norman reminiscing while tying on a fly with shaky hands. Anyway, I took the easy way and quit tying my own leaders. I now use Terenzio silk leaders or the Quigley furled leaders. To make things easier while fishing, I use Flip Focals for magnification and a Ty-Rite tool for tying on the fly.
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FrankB		#11	[url]	[-]
Posts: 28 07/10/2009 23:45	In addition to my previous comments, I use the tip of my forceps to pull the tag ends of a double suregeons knot through the loop. I just put the tip under the tag ends and lift them through. I don't grasp the line with the forcep's jaws.
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mer		#12	[url]	[-]
Posts: 3138 07/11/2009 03:27	For those that don't have to wear glasses all the time (yet) the MagEyes are the way to go for on stream help. My local fly shop carries them plus the all plastic ones and when I was looking Dan (one of the owners) said "those are crap" (referring to the all plastic ones). The MagEyes have different strength lenses you can get and are pretty much bulletproof. Just remember to flip them under the brim of your hat; if you don't there's a good chance you'll burn something. As for tying up the leaders, the knot tools help. This signature left intentionally blank.
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Bill Lambot		#13	[url]	[-]
Posts: 160 07/11/2009 09:42	Pete, I used to snicker at my father when he held his fly up to the sky and squinted as he tied it on his leader. Now that I am a certified old fart, I understand. I have a few suggestions. Tie your leaders in batches under very good light wearing whatever eye glasses work best. I tie my leaders at my fly tying desk using the same high intensity lamp.Good light and good optics reduce the challenge considerably. Batching gives you speed and consistency. Simplify your leaders. I tie 3 section leaders up to 9' length and down to 5X. Beyond that, I reluctantly go to 4 sections. The old days of 6-7-8 section graduated leaders are over. They are unnecessarily fussy. For 3 section leaders you want a butt, transition and tippet. You know the tippet that you want, you match your butt roughly to your line size per any of the books and for the transition you simply split the difference. The big steps down in diameter should produce terrible hinging but don't. Fewer knots is better. Simplify your knots: for your end loop use a double overhand loop instead of a perfection loop and join your sections with a double surgeons knot instead of a barrel or blood knot.A double and a triple surgeon's knot have the same wet breaking strength and the double is faster. Wet this knot when you tighten it and pull the tails (forceps or pliers) to lock the knot. I am assuming you are using a loop to loop connection for your fly tine to leader connection. This allows you to replace a shortened leader with a fresh one by simply using the L-L connection. I am experimenting with eye exercises to strengthen my failing vision and recommend them highly. Specifically; I am spending as much time as possible in the very bright light of the tropics looking for bone fish, permit and tarpon. For improved focus you might observe young women in brief swimming costumes. For better night vision practice in dimly lit bars. Conclusions are not complete but preliminary results are satisfactory. I'll stick with it; doctor's orders. Good luck. Best, Bill Lambot Last Edited By: Bill Lambot 07/12/2009 06:59. Edited 1 time.
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tedgolden		#14	[url]	[-]
Posts: 2933 07/11/2009 19:43 Moderator	A dark background helps tremendously for sticking a hook eye or a loop in a clinch knot... Aw, heck you guys knew that.
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philpsych		#15	[url]	[-]
Posts: 333 07/11/2009 21:10 Moderator	A.K. Best made his secret leader formulas public in his book about fly fishing, "Fly Fishing with AK", I think. They have a moderate butt, quick transition, and long tippets, 3' to 4', which I add on the stream. They consistently turn over better than any store boughten leader I've used, are inexpensive to make yourself, from Maxima spools. Good luck! Mark
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Leader material for stiff hands & poor eyes

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