Bead Chain Eyes vs Leader Strength

[Pete Davis]

Do bead chain eyes ever compromise leader strength when a fish is fighting???
I like 'em~

[chadk]

Not in my experience.

[Jerry Daschofsky]

Nope, never had a problem with it myself either.

[Jason B]

Nice looking fly! I used to tie a lot like that but without the chartruese. I find the steelhead are usually well warned about that color.

[Nooksack Mac]

I don't think they lower a fly's strength. And they often add just the right amount of extra weight, as contrasted with solid lead or brass eyes. One slight problem with all hourglass-shaped eyes is that they can wedge between rocks and get torn off or twisted when pulling the fly loose. For that reason, I add a few half-hitches both before and after tying in protruding eyes. Sometimes they tear away, but the rest of the fly stays together, and a new set of eyes can be tied on later.

[Grey-Sedge]

nope, don't even worry about it, the strength is in your knots...

[Les Johnson]

It is probably not a bad idea to bump your tippet strength a notch or two to accomodate the harder turnover of a fly with bead chain. For the most part though, a sparsely dressed fly with bead-chain eyes of approriate size is pretty easy to cast. One such is the old reliable Comet, which I still use during the fall and winter.
Good Fishing,
Les Johnson