dcrzfitter,
Your response was more of what I was looking for in my question. Thanks for the tip. The way I see it is if the water is fairly fast and clear so I need a small corky I want to use a longer leader in order to get the hook out of the rocks. When I know I'm going to use bait in clear situations I like to go longer than if I'm going straight corky and yarn to give my bait a little more lift. I'd say most my leaders range from 24" to 48". The only time I go to six feet is if I'm drifting flies for summer runs. In dirty water I go with bigger corkies so I shorten my leader to get the hook down. I guess I look at what size of offering the water requires, then look at the speed of the water, then adjust my leader length in order to get the hook in the strike zone. I know there are a myriad of variables but is this a logical approach?
I almost forgot, I got a #15 buck at blue creek yesterday. He spanked a glob of eggs and small corky with a 4' leader. I fished around some really nice people, and thanks to the stranger willing to go out of his way to net my fish!

[This message has been edited by Monty (edited 12-15-2000).]