I am currently using a 3X Tippet on my 5 wt. flyline. My question is.....What size line do i need and how much of it should I use to replace the forward part of my tippet? the problem I am having is that as you tie more Flies on, it shortens the tippet until its too big to work, and then I have to replace the whole thing. can I use some 2lb. test in a 2 foot section to replace the tip and just have a few spare "leader" sections with me?

Thanks!

Personally, I'd either invest in a small spool of 3x tippet material and some mini tippet rings, or (and this is what I did) pick up a furled or twisted mono leader from someone like Quigley's and use standard mono with a perfection loop tied in the end as tippet material.

Get a couple 3X mono leaders and a spool of 8 lb mono. I surgeon knot the mono to the leader. A leader will last just about forever when you do this. When your 8lbh tippet gets too short, cut off and retie a new tippet with surgeons knot.

Unless you're trout fishing, skip the leader altogether and do this: two feet of 12-15lb mono, two feet of 8-10, and 18" to two feet of 8lb if you used 10 for the middle, or six if you used 8 for the middle. With bass and panfish, there's no reason to worry about presentation and turnover. It might not turn large flies well, but it's considerably less expensive and it works just fine for 99.9% of warmwater situations.