new to flyfishing tippet question
 

i went to buy a new leader. At home I have 4x tippet. The guy at the store said I should use 5x leader. that seems weird because 4x is thicker than 5x. Is it still okay?

i know the thickness but i just dont know if its okay that my tippet is thicker then my leader won't it be off balance

i used a 5xleader with 4x tippet with no issues

Sometimes I don't have a clue what size leader is still on my rod from the last time. I just tie on what I need for the stream/river/lake I'm fishing for tippet and go with it. If you hook into a big fish with a strong tippet and weak leader though, you might be in for a line-snapping fight :)

By that I think you mean that you have a six tippet and want to attach a heavier line, never mind just reread the origanal question. No it's not really OK because the leader should be tapered to it's final thickness. So you could buy the proper leader or just cut the 5X part off and tie in the 4X. On my leaders I buy what ever they have in stock and have spools of tippet material, I just replace the last two feet to whatever I want. To make the leader last longer I replace the two feet preceeding the tippet when it gets to short from retying all the time, For this I use 1 or2X, that way I'm only retying the actual leader once I run out of the 2X and all I do is add another piece to have to tie the tippet to. A leader will last me all year because I do this. At the very least you should have 2 or 3 spools of tippet material to switch to as approperiate. I hope that makes sense, it did in my head. lol
To clarify the tippet size only refers to the last aprox. two feet of your leader.

This might help clarify things a bit. Your leader and tippet should taper.
I use a 2X leader and when it gets too short I taper it down with 8 lb floro, then 6 lb floro.

If I'm not feeling lazy I'll tie my own leader and tippet starting with with 14 lb, 12 lb., 8 lb. , 6lb. floro.

Buying actual "tippet" is a waste of cash in my opinion. A 50 yd roll of florocarbon will last a long time. I'm always left with a 9 to 11 ft leader and tippet.

For pike or walleye I go with heaver lb. test using the same method.

stan

Not necessarily Stan. Not trying to be a smart a ss, but I have fly fished since the late 70's. The actual reason for a tapered tippet is to turn over a fly. So your partially right. If you are fishing a light fly like an elk hair caddis you want the line to turn over nicely. Yes then you would want a tapered tippet. But for the most part if you can cast decently you can use one straight leader. For instance on the Bow I use straight 8lb Maxima Ultragreen. The fish in the Bow are not leader shy what so ever. So you don't need to worry about using florocarbon.
http://img.tacklewarehouse.com/new_product/MUG-1.jpg

Now for other applications like trout lakes for instance I will use straight 8 lb Segar Inviz X. 100% florocarbon line.
http://www.seaguar.com/images/mpi_invizx.jpg

Or I will use 8lb Segar's Abraz X.
http://www.seaguar.com/images/mpi_abrazx.jpg

The difference in the 2 Segar's is the Abraz X is a lot stiffer. The Inviz X is a bit more limp. The Abraz X will turn over nicely and be a bit more resistant if I am going to possibly be fishing in a rocky area (mountain lakes like Maligne Lake).

Segar was the inventor of the florocarbon line. You can pick up all three of those lines at Bass Pro Shop.

Of course if your going for pike or larger fish then the tippet material goes up in poundage. But that's the basis for the tapered leader. It just helps the flies turn over.

Rob

Your using a straight leader for dry flies? How long are you using?

You got me Rob. You certainly have many more years of fly fishing than I do.
I guess I should have said that your leader should generally taper. As you mentioned it helps turn the fly over. I suppose it is also personal preference. I find a tapered leader leads to a few less wind (occasional poor casting ) knots.:)

Mono, flouro, your choice . My point being actual "tippet" is costly compared to larger spools of line.

I also don't endorse or ever shop at bass pro or cabella's.


stan

For a dry fly yes you can use tapered. In fact if you use mono it will not sink as fast as the floro will.

Rob

alright thanks guys. I get the sense its not that big of a deal. defiantly gonna switch to 4x leader after it runs out though

The tippet should be the same or smaller than the leader.
Makes no sense to attach a tippet larger than the leader.