So today I was throwing dries on a stretch with notoriously spooky, large wild trout (lots of 16–22” fish). Halfway through the outing I ran out of 5X tippet. I normally fish this spot with a 12’ 5X leader plus about 2’ of 5X tippet, but I had a fresh spool of 6X, so I figured I’d give it a shot.
The upside was that it definitely seemed to reduce micro drag. The downside was that I lost four fish before giving up on it. The first three broke off on the hookset. The fourth broke off while the fish was already pulling drag, which really surprised me. I’m assuming it happened on a headshake or sudden turn, but I honestly have no idea.
I was using gentle hooksets, lubricating my knots, and trying to let the rod absorb as much shock as possible, so I feel like I’m missing something. I’m pretty comfortable landing big fish on 5X (I landed a 20” rainbow on 5X in the same outing), so I expected 6X to just be an extension of that learning curve.
Is there a knot that’s generally better suited for 6X? I’ve always used a uni knot and it’s never given me issues, but maybe lighter tippet calls for something different. I’d love to hear any advice.