Fly leaders have three sections: butt, midsection and tippet. Fly leaders are tapered from the thick, heavy butt to the narrow, thin fly tippet to help turn the fly over in casting. Fly fishing leaders are either hand-tied, with segments between knots; or they are knotless with a continuous taper from butt to fly tippet end.
Lanceleaf tickseed, or Coreopsis lanceolata, is from the aster/daisy family and is an easy to grow perennial. It has 6-inch-long linear leaves and 1 Â½ to 2 Â½ inch wide flowerheads on 2 feet tall stems. Flowers are yellow and bloom in summer. Plant this in poor soil in full sun or partial shade.
Echinacea, a North American genus in the Daisy family, produces big, bright flowers from late June until frost. Plants thrive in average soils, withstand hot, dry conditions, and shrug off cold. Blooms last well cut or dried, and the seeds in the large cone at the heart of the flower head provide nourishment for birds.