ACA Tournament Leader Formulas

Please also see the rules for each event to understand the limititation for lengths and diameters of leaders.

A table for converting typical line diameters to their lb-test rating, see the end of this page.

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Trout Fly leader by Steve Rajeff
45 inches 0.024″	18 inches 0.021″	12 inches 0.018″	9 inches 0.014″	6 inches 0.011″	20-22 inches 0.008″
Total length: 9'2″- 9'4", Material: Maxima

Trout Fly leader by John Napoli
48 inches 0.027″	24 inches 0.019″	13 inches 0.017″	7 inches 0.015″	2 3/4 inches 0.013″	18 inches 0.008″
Total length: 9'4 3/4", For 6 weight line

Dry Fly leader by Steve Rajeff
24 inches 0.024″	18 inches 0.021″	15 inches 0.018″	12 inches 0.014″	6 inches 0.011″	15-18 inches 0.009″
Total length: 7'6"- 7'9", Material: Maxima

Dry Fly leader by John Napoli
35 inches 0.022″	17 inches 0.018″	7.5 inches 0.016″	3.5 inches 0.015″	3 inches 0.014″	20 inches 0.009″
Total length: 7'2", For 7 weight line

Bass Bug leader by Steve Rajeff
30 inches 0.028″	18 inches 0.024″	9 inches 0.021″	6 inches 0.018″	15-18 inches 0.014″
Total length: 6'6"- 6'9", Material: Maxima

Bass Bug leader by John Napoli
43 inches 0.030″	13 inches 0.028″	9 inches 0.022″	7 inches 0.019″	3 inches 0.017″	12 inches 0.014″
Total length: 7'4", For 8 or 9 weight lines

Angler's Fly Distance leader by Steve Rajeff
48 inches 0.022″	24 inches 0.018″	12 inches 0.016″	24-60 inches 0.014″
Total length: 9'- 12' (*), Material: Maxima

Angler's Fly Distance leader by Chris Korich
48 inches 0.022″	24(36) inches 0.018″	12(24) inches 0.016″	24-30(30-36) inches 0.014″
Total length: 9'- 9'6″(11'6″ - 12') (*), Material: Maxima, tippet is Golden Stren

Single-Hand Fly Distance leader by Steve Rajeff
36-48 inches 0.022″	24-36 inches 0.018″	12-24 inches 0.016″	24-36 inches 0.014″
Total length: 8'- 12' (*), Material: Maxima

Single-Hand Fly Distance leader by Chris Korich
36(48) inches 0.025″	18(24) inches 0.022″	6(12) inches 0.018″	24 inches 0.017″
Total length: 7'(9') (*), Material: Maxima, Tippet is Golden Stren

Two-Handed Fly Distance (17′) leader by Steve Rajeff
60 inches 0.028″	36-48 inches 0.024″	36 inches 0.022″	36-60 inches 0.018″
Total length: 14'- 17' (*), Material: Maxima

Two-Handed Fly Distance (17′) leader by Chris Korich
60 inches 0.033″	36(48) inches 0.028″	24(36) inches 0.025″	12(24) inches 0.022″	24(36) inches 0.018″
Total length: 13'(17') (*), Material: Maxima, tippet is Golden Stren

Skish Fly leader by Steve Rajeff
30 inches 0.025″	18 inches 0.022″	12 inches 0.018″	15-18 inches 0.016″
Total length: 6'3"- 6'6", for 8 to 10 weight lines

ICSF Salmon Distance (15') leader by Henry Mittel
42 inches 0.024″	31 inches 0.022″	26 inches 0.018″	28 inches 0.017″
Total length: 10'7" (*), Material: Maxima, tippet is 17# Golden Stren

ICSF Seatrout Distance leader by Henry Mittel
32 inches 0.024″	31 inches 0.022″	20 inches 0.018″	27 inches 0.017″
Total length: 9'2" (*), Material: Maxima, tippet is 17# Golden Stren

ICSF Trout Accuracy leader by Henry Mittel
47 inches 0.022″	21 inches 0.020″	10 inches 0.015″	7 inches 0.0115″	6 inches 0.0095″	20 inches 0.010″
For large (20mm) fly. Total length: 9'3", Material Maxima, tippet is 8# Golden Stren