What We Learned from Ken Milton in the 1980s
Why We Use Polyleaders for Riffling Hitch & Dry Fly Fishing
At Fishmadman we have used polyleaders for many years — especially for riffling hitch and dry fly fishing for salmon and sea trout. While lightly sinking leaders for surface fishing may sound controversial, we have found several major advantages in real fishing situations.
A Small Historical Background
I visited the Sue Burgess company in Brecon, Wales with my parents as a child, where I first saw a wide range of coated leaders and fly lines. Even back then, it made a huge impression on me to see how much thought and development already existed behind modern fly line systems.
Later, the environment around Sue Burgess became part of what many anglers would come to know as Airflo. Airflo themselves describe how Richard Wothers developed the PolyLeader concept in 1996 — and since then polyleaders have become an important part of modern salmon and sea trout fishing.
Not just another leader setup
The setup shown above is the exact foundation we use for much of our riffling hitch and dry fly fishing at Fishmadman.
It may look slightly unusual at first glance — especially because the system is built around lightly sinking polyleaders for surface fishing — but over time we have found several major advantages in real fishing situations.
The short working section and replaceable tippet setup make the system both practical and durable, while the clear intermediate polyleader helps reduce shadows and improve presentation in shallow water.
Reducing surface disturbance & shadows
A lightly sinking polyleader slips just below the surface film, reducing shadows and drag that may easily spook fish — especially in shallow or clear water.
Keeping the focus on the fly
Because the leader stays below the surface, the fly itself becomes the main trigger. This is especially important with riffling hitch flies, where subtle movement and wake are everything.
Better turnover of larger dry flies
Short polyleaders help turn over larger dry flies such as bombers, Wulff-style flies and riffling hitch flies with far better control — even in difficult wind conditions.
Better energy transfer & movement
A polyleader creates a smoother transition between fly line and tippet, helping transfer small movements naturally down to the fly — particularly when fishing with more powerful rods and lines.
Increased versatility in low water
Polyleaders can soften aggressive fly lines and improve presentation dramatically in low summer water, where delicate fishing with smaller flies often becomes critical.
Why this surprised us
At first, using lightly sinking polyleaders for surface fishing felt completely counterintuitive to us.
Like most anglers, we assumed floating leaders would always create the most natural presentation for riffling hitch flies and dry flies.
But over time — especially while fishing low, clear rivers for salmon and sea trout — we began noticing several small but important problems with traditional floating setups.
Floating leaders often created:
- more visible surface disturbance
- increased drag in uneven currents
- unstable turnover with larger flies
- and subtle surface shadows that sometimes seemed to alert fish before the fly arrived.
The change to clear intermediate or hover polyleaders solved many of those issues immediately.
The leader slipped just below the surface film, while the fly itself remained the visible trigger point.
That small difference changed both presentation and control more than we initially expected.
Typical setups we use
We rarely use very long leader systems for riffling hitch and dry fly fishing.
Instead, most of our setups are built around relatively short clear intermediate or hover polyleaders combined with two simple tippet sections.
The exact diameters and lengths vary depending on water level, fly size and species — but the principles remain the same.
Typical riffling hitch setup
Polyleader: 5–8 ft clear intermediate or hover
Section 1: 0.35 mm nylon, approximately 50 cm
Section 2: 0.25–0.30 mm tippet, approximately 1 meter
This setup gives excellent turnover, reduced surface disturbance and very natural movement of riffling hitch flies.
Personally, I have never felt that relatively short leaders reduced my chances of hooking fish.
Short leaders? Yes.
One thing many anglers question is the use of relatively short leader systems for surface fishing.
In my experience, fish are far more affected by shadows, movement along the riverbank, vibrations in shallow water and poor positioning by the angler than by the simple fact that a leader happens to be short.
If I want the fly to fish deeper below the surface, I may absolutely use longer sinking leaders — but that is a completely different situation.
In my experience, fish are far more affected by:
- shadows
- movement along the riverbank
- vibrations in shallow water
- and poor positioning by the angler
than by the simple fact that a leader happens to be short.
A fly line shadow can absolutely become a problem in some situations — particularly in low, clear water — but a short leader in itself does not automatically spook fish.
At the same time, shorter systems often maintain several positive qualities:
- better control
- cleaner turnover
- more stable presentation
- and more direct transfer of movement to the fly.
For us, the overall balance of the system matters far more than simply making the leader longer.
Typical dry fly setup
Polyleader: 5–8 ft clear hover or intermediate
Section 1: 0.30–0.35 mm nylon, approximately 50 cm
Section 2: 0.22–0.28 mm tippet, approximately 1 meter
We prefer relatively short setups for better turnover and more controlled presentation — especially when fishing larger dry flies or bombers in moving water.
This setup works especially well with:
- bombers
- Wulff-style flies
- waking flies
- and larger surface patterns that require stable turnover and delicate presentation.
We prefer relatively short systems because they maintain better energy transfer and more consistent presentation in moving water.
Final thoughts
In the end, we do not see polyleaders as a trick or shortcut.
They are simply another tool — and in many situations they allow better control, less disturbance and more natural movement than traditional floating setups.
Especially in low and clear water, small details often matter far more than leader length alone.
See the leaders & tippet we use ourselves
Much of our riffling hitch and dry fly fishing is built around relatively short hover and intermediate polyleaders combined with carefully chosen tippet materials. Explore the leaders and tippet materials we use ourselves for surface fishing.
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