Leaders
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Hand Tied Clear Butt Leaders designed by George Anderson
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Our famous hand tied compound leaders, are the best performing leaders we've ever used.   If you want great accuracy and presentation look no further.

Presentation and accuracy are the keys to catching fish, and these are the best leaders we've ever used. They will turn over far better in the wind or with larger drys and nymphs than other leaders, yet still give you wonderful and delicate presentations.  By tying this leader in sections, we utilize stiffer clear Maxima for the butt and mid sections,and softer, stronger co-polymer materials like Rio for the tippet sections.  These compound leaders allow any angler to cast tighter loops with far more accuracy than knotless leaders.  The knots are rarely a problem and the performance and accuracy you get with these leaders far outweighs any small inconvenience suffered in weeds or slime.   These are relatively stiff leaders so you need to stretch them once after you rig up to get them nice and straight.  Then they will cast like a dream.  We tie these with a perfection loop at the butt end, which make them easy to "loop to loop" to your butt section.  We have been tying and selling these leaders here in our shop for over 30 years, making slight changes in design and materials as the technology has improved.  We use the strongest tippet material we can find,  then use an improved blood knot for the tippet knot to give close to 100% knot strength.   You simply won't find a better casting leader anywhere!

Hand tied Hot Butt Leaders designed by George Anderson
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Our famous hand tied compound leaders, with red fluorescent butt sections,  are perfect for short line, for high stick nymphing especially when you are fishing without an indicator.
Our Hot Butt leaders are tied with fluorescent red Amnesia butt sections for the ultimate in hi-vis and  turnover.  Like our compound Clear Butt leaders, the Hot Butt leaders will cast better into the wind and form tighter loops than any of the knotless leaders you can find.  Using short casts and a high stick technique or with the new Czec style nymphing techinques these Hot Butt leaders are deadly.   By holding your rod up high, it's easy to watch the red hot Amnesia sections of your leader throughout the drift.  You'll be able to notice strikes that were nearly  impossible to see before with a clear leader and you'll react more quickly, hooking more far more fish.  If you see your leader slow down or stop quickly just set the hook!   Fishing at longer distances, just use a strike indicator as you normally would.  This is a great all around leader for fishing both nymphs and drys if you like to switch back and forth. You'll be impressed with the accurate and delicate presentations you'll get fishing drys.  Only the first 4-5 feet of this leader is fluorescent and the rest is clear.  We've found from experience that the fluorescent butt sections don't spook trout.  The12 foot  length is our most effective nymph fishing leader, especially if you are using some weight like split shot. If you like  nymph fishing, you'll love this leader!  

Hand Tied Bonefish Leaders designed by George Anderson
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Our 12 foot Bonefish Leaders are designed to turn over in the hardest winds, yet deliver extreme accuracy and perfect presentations.  Seaguar GrandMAX Fluorocarbon tippets for the ultimate in strength, stealth, and abrasion resistance.

Once you try our bonefish leaders, it will be tough to go back to what you have used in the past!   George Anderson has designed these leaders after many years of experience using Mason's Hard Nylon for the butt and mid sections. We tie these leaders right here in our shop to insure perfection and strength. For the butt and mid-sections we use stiff Mason's Hard Nylon, starting with a .025" butt with loop. Then we utilize Seaguar's GrandMAX fluorocarbon, the strongest we've tested, for the last two tippet sections. The final 1X tippet is 14.5 lb. test, and we tie this in with a Stu Apte improved blood knot that gives very close to 100% knot strength. If you do break off, you will usually break off at your fly, and not lose the whole tippet. Our Bonefish leaders are 12 feet in length, with a final tippet of 30 inches, to give you the best chance to catch even the wariest bones. The compound construction and our quick taper design allows the leader to turn over quickly with great accuracy, yet still giving you the delicate presentation you need to avoid spooking those big bonefish.   You will find our 12 foot bonefish leaders a dream to cast, and the performance is far superior to any of the knotless you have used in the past. 

Hand Tied Permit Leaders Designed by George Anderson
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Our Permit Leaders are designed for maximum performance in the most demanding conditions. These hand tied leaders will turn over bulky permit flies in hard wind, with precise accuracy.  Seaguar GrandMAX Fluorocarbon tippets for the ultimate in strength, stealth, and abrasion resistance.
In permit fishig good accurate presentations are the key to success.  Once you try our hand-tied 11 foot Permit leaders, you will never want to go back to those softer 9 foot  knotless leaders you have used in the past!   George Anderson has designed these leaders after many years of experience. We tie these leaders right here in our shop to insure perfection and strength. For the butt and mid-sections we use stiff Mason's Hard Nylon, starting with a .028" butt with loop.  and then we utilize Seaguar's GrandMAX fluorocarbon, the strongest we've tested, for the last two tippet sections. The final 02X tippet is 20.5 lb. test, and we tie this in with a Stu Apte improved blood knot that gives very close to 100% knot strength.  Our permit leaders are 11 feet in length, with a final tippet of 34 inches, to give you the best chance to catch spooky permit.  This compound construction and quick taper allows the leader to turn over quickly. Anglers find they can cast  tighter loops than ever before, drive a heavy Permit crab through 15-20 knot winds, and deliver it with extreme accuracy. 

Quick Change Tarpon Leaders Designed by George Anderson
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Tied to perfection by the Yellowstone Angler staff in Livingston Montana!

Our tarpon leaders, designed by George Anderson, are very similar to the quick-change tarpon leaders used by the best Florida guides but with a few notable improvements.   We use  20 lb.(10Kg)  Mason Hard Nylon for the class tippet, and super tough 80 lb. Seaguar flourocarbon for the shock tippet.  It is easy to straighten, nearly invisible and extremely abrasion resistant.  We make the shock tippet an extra long 30", so you can change flies many times or catch several tarpon using the same leader.  The longer shock tippet also gives you an advantage while fighting and landing big tarpon. To make our leader  IGFA legal, just trim the long shock tippet and tie your fly on so that there is no more than 12" of shock tippet from the fly to the end of the Slim Beauty knot.  The class section is 15"-16" and is already IGFA legal.  Every leader is tied with a Slim Beauty knot, connecting the class tippet to the shock tippet. It tests almost 100% in knot strength, but is much smaller and far less visible than knots used in the past.  At the other end of the class tippet we have a Bimini twist, and a double surgeons loop. Using a loop to loop connection to the perfection loop in your butt section allows you to change out leaders very quickly.  By having other leaders with flies already tied on, you'll be back in action in a matter of seconds!   We build and test every tarpon leader here in our shop, to insure maximum strength and reliability.

Rio Leaders
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Our most popular knotless leaders.  Strong and supple.

Larger diameter butt sections and quicker tapers make these Rio leaders turn over better in hard wind and with larger flies and nymphs than most other knotless leaders.  Proven performance over many years have given these leaders a great reputation and are the favorite of most of our guides.

Rio Leaders 3-Pack
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These are the same great Rio leaders as above, but in a more economical  3 pack.

Umpqua Leaders
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A wide variety to suit your needs

From 5 foot shorty leaders to 3 packs of 9 foot 4X, Umpqua provides an unbeatable selection of quality leaders to match your specific fishing situation.  Going hopper fishing with clients?  Try the 7.5' 3X for a quicker turn over.  Plan on spending an afternoon dry fly fishing the Creeks?  Tie on a 12' 6X leader.  Going streamer fishing with a sink tip?  Give one of Umpqua's freshwater shorty a shot...

Umpqua Leaders 3 Pack
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The same great leaders as above in a 3 pack.

ORVIS
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 Two pack

Here is an excellent knotless leader that comes in a two pack, so you have an extra leader at a great price.  This is always a guide favorite whenever they are taking people fly fishing for their first time. 

Dai Riki GTS Leaders
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The same great tapered leader Dai-Riki has  provided for years, but with a new resin coating that  improves knot strength.   These leaders have stiffer butt sections with larger diameter material allowing for better turnover under windy conditions. 

Dai Riki Flurocarbon Leaders
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A good full length fluorocarbon tapered leader that performs well at a great price!  

It seems like every year the knot strength with flurocarbon gets better. This combined with a less visable leader naturally increases your chances to hook into the big one.