[James Laraway]

question for everyone.

I have a selection of polyleaders and most of them come out of the packet with a loop already formed ( the loop being formed with the 'mono core'

do people use these loops are they designed to be cut off and disgarded ?

I ask as i was on a Spey beat a few years ago and the gillie was setting up my rod . I had a (Rio) tip already loop-to-looped to my AFS head  but when i picked up my rod i saw to  my horror he had cut off the loop off the polyleader and had used a knot to tie the tippet material to the polyleader …..

is this what people are meant to do ?

[Fred Hay]

The preformed loop on the polyleader should be used as a loop to loop connection for your tippet/leader - not cut off ..........but maybe I and thousands of others have been getting this wrong for years !!!!!!
Your ghillie must have only used to silk lines and/or double taper lines and not up  to these new fangled methods -hope you didn't tip him !!!

[Duncan Inglis]

Loop to loop for the polyleader to line every time. However polyleader to tippet is another matter. I tend to use a perfection knot loop to loop but I have seen people tie the tippet direct to the polylleader.

[Euan Innes]

Loop to loop or tippet ring. Clearly the ghillie was trying to sell you a new poly at the end of the day after he had shrunk your one.
Not a fan of ghillies doing stuff with my tackle (oh er missus) especially if I turn up with a Commando head on a Vision 11'6 Tool because most of them don't know what to make of it. Add a HUGE fly and they just stare 

Euan

[James Lehmann]

I ask as i was on a Spey beat a few years ago and the gillie was setting up my rod... when i picked up my rod i saw to  my horror he had cut off the loop off the polyleader and had used a knot to tie the tippet material to the polyleader

I use Orvis Polyleaders all the time - factory loop goes to the fly line and at the other end I always add a tippet ring and put a tiny dab of glue over the knot. Just add tippet to suit. These last me for years.

But the same thing happened to me as James' story above... was blethering to friends on the bankside while the ghillie very kindly set up my rod for me. When I inspected it to start fishing I realised he'd whipped off the tippet ring and tied a loop in my Polyleader!

I could almost hear him muttering under his breath: "We'll be having none of that tippet-ring nonsense around here, sir!" 

[James Laraway]

I'm glad I'm not the only one its happened to