The proper length of leader varies with the immediate angling conditions. Under no circumstances, for practical fishing, should the leader exceed the rod in length--this entirely in the opinion of the writer, although concurred in by many other anglers. Under rough weather conditions a short leader works best. For long, fine casting a nine-foot leader should be used. For average dry-fly fishing on the general run of American trout streams, I believe a seven-foot leader to be the most practical and efficient.
As regards the color of leaders, the fact that any advantage is gained by the use of variously stained gut (with a view to making the leader invisible) has never been conclusively proved--natural or mist-color leaders answer every purpose.
For attaching eyed-hooks to the leader or snell there are several different knots; one of the best of these, and the simplest, is shown in Fig. 1. The gut must be rendered perfectly pliable by soaking in water before tying on the fly. Pass the end of the gut through the eye of the hook, bend it back and make a slip-knot or half-hitch around the gut; draw the slip-knot nearly tight and slide it up to and over the eye of the hook, and pull tight. This forms a jam-knot easily upset but impossible to disengage by a straight pull. After making the knot, cut off the superfluous end of the gut. For cutting off gut ends after changing flies at the stream-side nothing is handier to carry or use than an ordinary fingernail clip.
In Fig. 2 is shown the method of knotting together two strands of gut in tying a leader or making repairs in one. The two half-hitches should be pulled perfectly tight and then drawn together.
For attaching the leader to the line use the jam-knot shown in Fig. 3.
If you wish to attach a dropper fly to a dry-fly leader without loops use the method shown In Fig. 4, attaching at a point where two strands are knotted together.
So many intricate details are connected with the subject of artificial flies, and with dry or floating flies particularly, that in order to reduce the discussion of the matter herein to a not inordinate length many points must of necessity be merely touched upon.
In later chapters, the efficiency of various patterns, as well as how and when to use them, will be discussed; at this point we are concerned chiefly with the purely material details of the "floater."