George Harvey Slackline Leader

I've been using the Harvey Slackline for going on 15 years and still love it. Are there better leaders for dry fly fishing? Maybe...it is all conjecture and personal opinion. The beauty of a Slackline is that it turns over, and leaves the last 25% of leader, the tippet, slack so you can achieve the proper drift for the sometimes difficult fish that inhabit the Missouri.

It starts with Maxima Chameleon which allows for a good turnover of the leader, and depending on which mono materials you prefer can continue with Max until the tippet portion. All the old schoolers like Max, still popular with the steelhead gang too, and especially if you are from the East Coast. Another benefit of hand tied leaders is that you can truly design a leader to do exactly what you want. Sometimes store bought machine tapered leaders will "kick" in a direction that you do not desire. I'm sure you have encountered this. If you are casting downstream at a giant rising brown...and as the leader unfolds, the fly "kicks" upstream. That is enough to drive a guy to drink! You may only have one shot at a fish like that. So, you really need a leader that does the right thing in this situation. That is where a hand built leader like the Harvey is clutch. I always tie these with Blood Knots, mainly because it is nice looking, I don't believe in the Surgeon's Knot...but that is neither here nor there.

Here is the Harvey Slackline All Around 10' Formula:
I start with a larger diameter butt section Chameleon Max .022"-.024" with a loop to loop, or not. Then tie on:
10" .017 Maxima Chameleon
20" .015 Maxima Chameleon
20" .013 Maxima Chameleon
20" .011 (0X) Maxima Clear
12" .009 (2X) Rio Flouroflex Plus
10" .007 (4X) Rio Flouroflex Plus
28" .006 (5X) Rio Suppleflex Mono

This leader starts with stiff Max Mono/brown, tapers to Max Mono/Clear, Flourocarbon, and finally to soft/limp mono. A damn good dry fly leader. I generally cast down and across to rising fish, and this works well for myself and my clients. It unfolds straight, and drops to the water with slack built in. Most guides have their own dry fly leader formula, and there is commonly arguments about leader design on the porch at night...this is just my favorite.

There are a ton of leader designs that are effective. Check out the Leader Formula Bonanza http://www.flyfisherman.com/skills/50formulas.pdf