Best Fluorocarbon 7x tippet
- Thread starter Flytyer
- Start date
Trouthunter says their product's tensile strength is 2.5#. Any knot reduces that tensile strength by what, 20% - 40%, more or less? So you aren't dealing with much strength to start with. A quick search shows the following fluorocarbon 7X tensile strength:
Trouthunter 2.5#
Rio Strong 2.5#
Orvis 2.0#
SA Absolute 2.9#
Forum member @Jake Watrous started and interesting thread (https://pnwflyfishing.com/forum/index.php?threads/tippet-lies.6187/) so I don't know how much truth there is to the tensile strength ratings I provided. Man, 7X! What size flies are you using? ;-)
Trouthunter 2.5#
Rio Strong 2.5#
Orvis 2.0#
SA Absolute 2.9#
Forum member @Jake Watrous started and interesting thread (https://pnwflyfishing.com/forum/index.php?threads/tippet-lies.6187/) so I don't know how much truth there is to the tensile strength ratings I provided. Man, 7X! What size flies are you using? ;-)
I'd ask the starting question. Why are you using 7x in the first place and especially 7x fluorocarbon?? I have never used anything smaller than 6X and that only for small dry flies. If I am fishing small dries i don't use fluoro in the first place because it sinks which can be counterproductive to fishing dries.
if breaking at the knots perhaps change to a 'stronger' one.
Used to regularly fish a crystal clear spring creek fishery with some very large rainbows in it, incredibly fussy fish requiring 7x tippet and #20 midges, so used Bungi Butt to avoid tippet breakoffs. Doesn't appear to still be made, - was a thin 12" pre-looped elastic 'bumper' between flyline and leader that absorbed shock...without it never would have successfully landed the bigger bows.
Used to regularly fish a crystal clear spring creek fishery with some very large rainbows in it, incredibly fussy fish requiring 7x tippet and #20 midges, so used Bungi Butt to avoid tippet breakoffs. Doesn't appear to still be made, - was a thin 12" pre-looped elastic 'bumper' between flyline and leader that absorbed shock...without it never would have successfully landed the bigger bows.
Orvis Mirage punches above its stated strength, even when wet, by about 20%. SA Absolute Fluoro by about 30%.
Brian in OR.
Steelhead
I dont think 7x fluoro is going to sink any faster than mono... maybe less refractive light but both leaders will still be visible...
Brian in OR.
Steelhead
Forgot all about that stuff. I think i still have some of that somewhere,,,,,
Aren't SA and Orvis the same thing?
Yes and no? To my knowledge, SA makes most of/all of Orvis’ lines and leaders as well as their own. But it seems, based on testing, that there are differences. So maybe it's one of those "all Orvis tippets are SA, but not all SA are Orvis" things. EDIT: Upon reflection, I think it’s in part because SA iterates more often than Orvis does.
Interestingly, it also appears that there are only a handful of places in the world that extrude nylon and fluoro lines but to different specs for different companies.
Last edited:
I am fishing in gin clear water to wild educated Trout
Ok I have fished Silver Creek, Harriman Ranch, DePuys, Armstrongs etc and have never even though about 7x.
the gin clear spring creek I fished with 7x and bungi butt required gentle dapping casts without a strike indicator... if a fish moved into position, a flash of white from a mouth indicated the trout was taking the micro nymph. If no one used 7x, they wouldn't make it.
Any of the flagship fluorocarbon lines from Rio, SA, Umpqua or Cortland will be fine. I use Rio Fluoroflex Strong, personally.
