Both the trout spey and trout switch rods were tested with our own hand tied Yellowstone Angler leaders. On the trout spey rods, we used the shop’s hand tied trout spey leaders. These leaders come with a perfection loop so you can easily loop the leader into the thinner end of the FLO tip. Our Trout Spey leaders consist of 12-15 inches of 20 pound Maxima tied to a size 10 or 12 owner micro swivel, followed by 36 inches of Trout Hunter 1X fluorocarbon. With a longer tippet section like this you can change flies 4 or 5 times before having to re-tie some 1X to your swivel. We use a swivel over a tippet ring because it helps eliminate line twist, especially when stripping your fly back after you have completed your swing.
For the trout switch rods, we used our hand tied trout switch leaders, that are built for nymphing. These are composed of stiff Maxima but sections, a longer “knotless section” for ease of changing your indicator depth, a size 10 or 12 owner micro swivel, followed by 2 feet of Trout Hunter fluorocarbon tippet. Having the ability to quickly change the depth your nymphs are being presented at is the key to catching more fish. If you are fishing a riffle you might have your indicator 2-3 feet above your weight or fly, but on a deep cliff hole, you might have 7 feet between your indicator and weight. We like the easy to adjust Air-Lock indicators for these leaders.