Thanks TZ. I like the look of the minis in particular. I shall give them a try.

Apparently not a Whitlock Splice, but here it is anyway.

You know, the one where you thread the leader up the end of the fly line with a needle and fix it with Zap a gap. Bit like a needle knot, but instead of knotting it, you put zap a gap on the thick end of the leader and pull it right inside the fly line so it’s a smooth knotless join. I wouldn’t trus...

“Sir” (Isaac ...)

Interesting.

Maybe a tapered leader with a Whitlock splice, would mitigate this effect?

You could try the short tapered section of a trout leader with further mono backing knotted to the tippet or a longer carp shock leader without knots (but which would have a longer thick butt section).

Have a look at these. Varivas 2200BL (Curved shank, fine wire) Wizard 661BL Maruto D9626BL (Similar hooks - Short shank/wide gape. V fine wire) Short shank, so you can tie smaller flies but still have good hooking power. If you want stronger hooks, you can go for something like a Kamasan B981 which ...

The V is probably ideal with a high trajectory cast, where the top leg of the V loop aligns with the direction of the cast, but where the cast is parallel to the surface of the water, whilst the top leg of the loop is nice and straight, it is not in alignment with the cast. If the apex of the loop i...

Happy New Year! Hope you don’t mind me asking this one and if it has been answered before, do let me know where. What is the ideal shape of the D-loop for a jump roll or Spey cast? We are commonly told that a V shape is ideal, but I’ve not been buying that one for a while. If not a V shape, then wha...

And another thought - If you extend the line, but stop before it fails, how does that affect subsequent performance of the line (fluoro/copoly etc)?

Cheers
Trev

Nice one, James.

Have you done the test with fluorocarbon? I would be interested in how the results compare.

Cheers
Trev