Furled Leaders

[dorian.ducker]

What's the big deal with these? Pro's/Con's etc. I know nothing about them except I see them in magazines.

 

[plland]

Pros- they have effectively zero memory and a significantly longer life than mono leaders, their casting characteristics lend to more delicate presentations, you can tie on a slightly longer tippet than you can to tie to a mono tapered leader
Cons- they are not clear (certainly not near-invisible) like mono, they sink more slowly (though if you're fishing dry flies with them, it's not an issue), they are attached to leader and tippet with loop-to-loop connection which doesn't slide through the guides as easily as a nail knot, more expensive than mono leaders

 

[Jakeway]

I've tried three or four Furled leaders from different makers, and they all fell apart for me. I don't know why, but they seemed to loosen up and untwist after using them for awhile. I've never heard of anyone else having that problem, but I think it's quite interesting that this happened to samples from three totally independant sources.

Must be the big fish I catch wear them out...NOT!

 

[Joni]

Now if you had signed up for the wet fly swap you would have got one of mine.
I make mine out of Uni Thread and most popular is the 5 1/2' ers. I do a very small shorb loop at the end to connect to your line so very smooth going through the guides. On the end for tippet I use small rings.
The ones that have bought mine really seem to like them.
I also make a small 5' for 2 wt. to 4 wt. with a micro ring.
I can make them natural colors like Cahill, Tan, Dun, Rusty Dun, even blue, but I also can make them with the first section a bright color for an indicator.

 

[Greenwood]

I've been using Joni's leaders ever since the wet fly swap and I like them a lot! I keep one greased up with Mucilin when I want a high floating setup and another soaked with Xink when I need to get it a little deeper. Add several feet of appropriate sized tippet and you're set. In fact, the only time I haven't been using the furled setup is when I'm fishing a group of 3 wet flies. I'll usually go with an 8-10 ft. hand built fluorocarbon setup for that type of fishing.

 

[mikeak]

Hi,Would you care to go into a little detail about the flourocarbon setup you use for multiple flys?
Thanks Mike

 

[Greenwood]

Nothing too complicated. If I build them at home, I'll use something like a Joe Humphry's formula but switch to flouro for the last two sections. At home I'll tie blood knots (although I'm too clumsy to tie them on the stream)! Leave about 3 inches of the heavier tag hang for a dropper on the upper last two knots and run your tippet to the end. I like to keep about 18-20 inches between droppers and go with about the same on the tippet. I've started using a Duncans loop to tie on the flies. I 'think' it lets the fly swing a little more naturally. My limited experience tends to show that droppers must present the fly a little better than tying off of the bend of the hook because I seem to catch more on the upper droppers when they're rigged that way (although the point fly always seems to be the deadliest fly - maybe 'cause it's always the smallest?!)

Now, for my 'cheater' leader. If I'm on the stream and need a similar setup, I carry 9 ft 5x flourocarbon tapered leaders. I 'll 'snip' the leader about 4 1/2 ft from the top, retie with a surgeons knot [much easier than a blood knot on stream] and leave the heavier tag section as my dropper), snip again about 2 feet from the end and do the same at that knot. It gives me 2 droppers plus a point fly on about an 8 1/2 foot leader. It has worked really well, is quick and easy to do on stream and I end up with a 3 fly setup of pure flourocarbon. :frogdance If I want to drive the leader a little deeper into the water column, I'll use a weighted or beaded softhackle as my middle fly - same as they do in czech nymphing, except I'm usually fishing all soft hackles ....from big to tiny.

Today the water was higher, fast and cloudy. I started out with a floating line and was doing nothing. I switched to a sink tip line and it made all the difference. Just something to keep in mind.

Hope this helps!

 

[mikeak]

Thanks for the help.I've been having problems with my droppers tangling.I think I'll look into getting one built like you use.
Thanks again
Mike

 

[Greenwood]

I tend to get tangled droppers if/when they're too long and made with material that's too limp. Tippet that is ideal for drys, ie. very limp, doesn't seem to work too well for dropper material. That's another reason I like to tie the fly on with a Duncans loop. It allows the fly to move around even if it's on a somewhat stiffer dropper material. You don't want your fly to appear as if it's attached to the end of a stick!

 

[Joni]

I use a surgeons loop. Have for years. That is how I am able to use 6X on a #32.

 

[MacFly55]

I can personally attest to the quality of Joni's leaders.. I will tell you honestly when I first started using it I beat the crap out of it.. I even got the looped end so tangled that I had to cut off the loop to untangle it.. I then tied a perfection loop to that end and continued fishing.. when I told Joni what I had done later she laughed at me and asked if I had thrown it away.. I said no.. I am still using it.. I thought she was gonna split a side laughing..:frogdance




MacFly :icon_cool