Leaders with least memory? (Also, wallet suggestion?)
 

"Mike" wrote in message
oups.com...
On 18 Sep, 17:24, Mike wrote:


You might also like to try the technique described at the bottom of
the following article. These work very well indeed for a lot of
things, and can be made limp and straight by dipping them in boiling
water, and keeping them straight while they cool;

http://www.mike-connor.homepage.t-on...nes/lines.html

Just as an interesting aside, many guitarists boil their strings
before a concert, this "re-formats" the molecular orientation of the
string, ( both nylon and metal strings like steel or bronze wound),
and they sound crisper. The effect does not last long though, and can
only be used a couple of times at most, but it saves spending a lot of
money on brand new strings every time.

TL
MC



I do like the warm water technique for straightening out leaders.
-tom

Leaders with least memory? (Also, wallet suggestion?)
 

Mike wrote in news:1190133973.500953.165950@
22g2000hsm.googlegroups.com:

While there are some dry fly designs and
techniques which allow one to fish with a sunken leader, the majority
rely on a floating leader, as a sunken leader merely pulls the fly
under.

My point exactly. The leader/tippet sits on the film, deforming it, and
this is more visible than the line itself.


--
Scott
Reverse name to reply

Leaders with least memory? (Also, wallet suggestion?)
 

On 18 Sep, 18:49, Scott Seidman wrote:
Mike wrote in news:1190133973.500953.165950@
22g2000hsm.googlegroups.com:

While there are some dry fly designs and
techniques which allow one to fish with a sunken leader, the majority
rely on a floating leader, as a sunken leader merely pulls the fly
under.

My point exactly. The leader/tippet sits on the film, deforming it, and
this is more visible than the line itself.

--
Scott
Reverse name to reply

That is true, but a de-glinted or matt finished tippet is less visible
even when floating. Also easy to try, just float a couple of pieces in
a light coloured dish. Observe the shadows thrown under various light,
and then look up at the pieces in a glass.

MC

Leaders with least memory? (Also, wallet suggestion?)
 

On Sep 17, 11:39 pm, wrote:
Just lost my leader wallet, and all of my leaders. Before I go out
and by a whole new set, figured I'd get your collective opinions on
your favorite mono-tapered leaders, and leader wallets. But also, let
me describe my experience, and complaints:

I generally use Orvis Super Strong Nylon leaders (usually 9ft, 4x -
6x), and very occasionally their flourocarbon. I love the lines for
their strength. I rarely break off a fish with this stuff. But, one
thing I really hated about this last batch was the memory. Every time
I'd get out a new leader I'd have to use my leader straightener 2-3
times, and even then it still had some curls. I tried out a different
brand today (I believe it was Dai Riki?), and it definitely had less
of a memory issue.

So - what're your favorite leaders, with little memory issues? Have
any of the magazines ever done head-to-head comparisons for this kind
of thing?

Then, for a leader wallet, I also used Orvis'. What I didn't like
about that, was that every time I'd get it wet (which was pretty
frequently), the fabric would take a while to dry. I'd prefer
something that didn't hold water at all, I think. Some kind of vinyl,
perhaps? Thoughts?

Thanks guys...

I like Climax for the knotless tapered leader. As Ken said, usually
drawing it through your fingers wil generate enough heat to make it
straight enough fo use. I really have no preference as to leader
wallets. I generally just carry a spare leader in it's original
packaging in a small vest pocket.

Leaders with least memory? (Also, wallet suggestion?)
 

On Tue, 18 Sep 2007 09:46:13 -0700, Mike
wrote:

On 18 Sep, 18:10, Scott Seidman wrote:
Mike wrote in news:1190129081.922670.212140
@q3g2000prf.googlegroups.com:

I consider this to be of paramount
importance, especially, but not only, for dry fly fishing.

I think the deformation of the surface film is so much more visible than
anything having to do with the optical properties of the leader that unless
you can find a way to make the leader magically suspend a few thousandths
above the film, it's not worth worrying about.

--
Scott
Reverse name to reply

If a line is sunk, it does not deform the surface film. If a line is
treated with a suitable wetting agent, it sinks immediately, because
it removes the surface film. While there are some dry fly designs and
techniques which allow one to fish with a sunken leader, the majority
rely on a floating leader, as a sunken leader merely pulls the fly
under.

Mirror finish nylon is more visible under water as well. Easy to
see,just put some in a glass of clear water and view it.

A perfect example...if you are fishing in a glass of clear water...for
people...outside the glass...

If anyone is interested in what mono looks like (to humans/cameras) on
the surface and UW, there are myriad resources, including a number of
line companies. None of the sensible ones involve putting mono in a
glass of water. OTOH, unless one has a fish one can ask, about all that
one can do is make educated guesses as to what a fish sees. And since
people were catching fish long before whatever latest "MIRACLE insert
product here!!!" was being foisted off, the chances of the
aforementioned miracle product being the key to your catching fish where
you couldn't before is pretty slim. IOW, if you ain't catching fish, it
ain't the gear/tackle...

R

Leaders with least memory? (Also, wallet suggestion?)
 

On 18 Sep, 18:48, "Tom Nakashima" wrote:
"Mike" wrote in message

oups.com...



On 18 Sep, 17:24, Mike wrote:

You might also like to try the technique described at the bottom of
the following article. These work very well indeed for a lot of
things, and can be made limp and straight by dipping them in boiling
water, and keeping them straight while they cool;

http://www.mike-connor.homepage.t-on..._Long_Rod/Line...

Just as an interesting aside, many guitarists boil their strings
before a concert, this "re-formats" the molecular orientation of the
string, ( both nylon and metal strings like steel or bronze wound),
and they sound crisper. The effect does not last long though, and can
only be used a couple of times at most, but it saves spending a lot of
money on brand new strings every time.

TL
MC

I do like the warm water technique for straightening out leaders.
-tom

On 18 Sep, 18:01, "Tom Nakashima" wrote:


You're the 2nd person in this newsgroup that suggested Maxima
leaders for good reason, I'll have to try them.
-tom

Actually I only consider it important for tippet, it is not necessary
to buy the whole leaders;

http://www.flyfishusa.com/leaders/maxima.html

I am not sure about the other blurb on it. I don´t know whether "infra
red sensitivity" makes any difference, but it sounds suspiciously like
bull****! :)

It would also be pointless to use the leaders with the wrong tippet.

Many old time anglers dyed their tippets, either of gut or horsehair,
to suit particular conditions. This made a big difference with gut,
and many considered it essential to success. All the old wet fly books
give recipes for dyeing tippet, and many of these will work on nylon
as well. I have tried a couple, but to be honest I never noticed any
major difference to other nylon. I have however noticed major
differences when using matt maxima. I get fewer refusals to dry
flies, and it also works better for a lot of "shallow", ( barely
subsurface) spider techniques. I also use it for droppers in this
regard, and as it is somewhat stiffer than many other products of the
same diameter and breaking strain, it tangles less.

People get to prefer some things out of habit, and because it works OK
for them, so they don´t bother trying much else. I prefer to base my
choices on more concrete reasons, and so I have tried many things over
the years. It is not enough for me to know that something works, I
like to know why.

Attention to detail catches more fish than any other single skill.

TL
MC

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Leaders with least memory? (Also, wallet suggestion?)
 

Also, practically any other nylon will work just as well if it is de-
glinted and is not completely clear. ( or some ridiculous colour like
fluorescent yellow or red etc) I dyed some nylon blue, and de-glinted
it with Fuller´s earth, and it worked just as well as the maxima. But
the maxima saves me messing about like that. It is already dyed and de-
glinted.

TL
MC

Leaders with least memory? (Also, wallet suggestion?)
 

On Tue, 18 Sep 2007 09:55:48 -0700, Mike
wrote:

On 18 Sep, 18:49, Scott Seidman wrote:
Mike wrote in news:1190133973.500953.165950@
22g2000hsm.googlegroups.com:

While there are some dry fly designs and
techniques which allow one to fish with a sunken leader, the majority
rely on a floating leader, as a sunken leader merely pulls the fly
under.

My point exactly. The leader/tippet sits on the film, deforming it, and
this is more visible than the line itself.

--
Scott
Reverse name to reply

That is true, but a de-glinted or matt finished tippet is less visible
even when floating. Also easy to try, just float a couple of pieces in
a light coloured dish. Observe the shadows thrown under various light,
and then look up at the pieces in a glass.

Wow...that makes the "tossing a fly at a bowl" that you (and
interestingly, a couple of your sock pup...er, anonymous supporters)
offered up as proof of concept seem like big-time science...

By-the-by, for those that might wish to take ol' nappy-headed's
"experiments" seriously, don't forget to take the "various lights" used,
as well as the glass so as to let the fish use it to view your leader on
the surface...

Here's a hint: Ask someone to put a pencil with writing on it writing
side down, AHEM, _on_ a piece of paper and hold it up so you can look at
the _underside_ of the paper. OK. Now, what does the pencil have
written on it?

HTH,
R

Leaders with least memory? (Also, wallet suggestion?)
 

On 18 Sep, 19:27, Mike wrote:
Also, practically any other nylon will work just as well if it is de-
glinted and is not completely clear. ( or some ridiculous colour like
fluorescent yellow or red etc) I dyed some nylon blue, and de-glinted
it with Fuller´s earth, and it worked just as well as the maxima. But
the maxima saves me messing about like that. It is already dyed and de-
glinted.

TL
MC

If anybody would like to try this, just place a spool of nylon in cold
tea, or the infusion from a good number of onion skins. It certainly
is less visible to human eyes then, and in certain water conditions,
is doubtless also less visible to the fish. When also de-glinted, it
seems as good as the maxima.

Dickie boy, you might like to try the following;

Fill a bath with water, float some nylon on the water, after you have
removed it from your living room ceiling, you may also tie a pencil to
it if you wish, and then immerse your head in the bath for twenty
minutes or so to observe the results. Come back and tell us how it
worked.

MC

Leaders with least memory? (Also, wallet suggestion?)
 

May also be of interest; Full text here;
http://www.mike-connor.homepage.t-on...al_angler.html

QUOTE

Lines are now usually made by a machine, and if care be taken in their
construction, they can be made much better in this manner than by the
hand. They can be bought at such a moderate price, that it is not
worth any angler's trouble making them for himself. They are made of
horse hair, or a mixture of hair and silk; those made of hair entirely
are more durable than any other kind, as they are not so liable to rot
as all lines are of which silk forms a component part. The latter,
however, are stronger for their bulk, and are much more easily thrown;
two considerable advantages. Lines made entirely of silk, prepared in
some patent manner, are now in very common use, and seem likely to
supersede every other kind. They are very strong, and are more easily
thrown than any kind of line, but like all lines made of silk, they
will rot unless dried after being wet. As to the length of line, the
angler should he guided entirely by the size of the river he intends
fishing in. For small streams, twenty yards will be quite sufficient,
but in first class rivers and lochs three times that quantity will be
necessary.

After the ordinary winch-line, it is usual to have a casting-line of
horse hair loosely twisted, or triple gut. Some anglers prefer the
hair because they think it lighter, which, however is a mistake, as
gut is stronger for its weight than any material the angler can use,
and is also heavier for its bulk, which is a great assistance to
casting.

Gut.-This article is made from the entrails of the silk worm before it
casts its silk, and is principally manufactured in Spain, Portugal,
Italy, and Sicily.Of all the materials used by the angler, it is the
one which it is most difficult to procure good, and which it is most
necessary should be so. For angling in clear water, inhabited by
cunning cautious trout, fine thin gut is absolutely necessary for
success, and we think that anglers in Scotland are in general not
sufficiently aware of the importance of fine gut. An immense quantity
is imported annually, put up in hanks of about a hundred threads each.
So far as we can judge, a good deal appears to be spoilt in the
manufacture. As it is made at present, nine hanks out of ten are
totally unfit for fine trouting purposes, and even the very finest
hanks seldom contain more than twenty threads fit for dressing flies,
or bait hooks upon. The first angler who travels in Spain should try
to prevail upon the Spaniards to pay a little more attention to the
manufacture of this article ; it would amply repay them for their
trouble, as they would get three times the price for it.

Meantime all anglers should use none but the very finest threads, and
if they continue doing so, coarse gut will become valueless, and the
demand will soon influence the manufacture. We are informed by an
importer that gut used to be made much better, but that the price has
fallen so low, that it will not remunerate for the trouble required to
make it fine so that anglers have themselves to blame. The qualities
good gut should possess are roundness, transparency, and thinness.
Unless gut is round it glitters in the sun, which renders it useless
to the angler ; it must also be perfectly free from that white glossy
appearance which round gut frequently has, and which renders it more
easily seen than clear gut of twice the thickness. Thinness, however,
is the great desideratum, as the thinner it is there is the less
chance of the trout detecting it. Some anglers, particularly those in
the north, seem to think that gut cannot be had too thick, whereas the
reverse is the case, it cannot be had too fine.

Of late years, fishing-tackle manufacturers have been in the habit of
reducing the size of gut, which is done by drawing it through a
machine, and paring away a considerable portion of the gut. By this
means it may be made of any thinness, but it injures the texture of
the gut, and destroys its transparency, and it is certainly better if
it can be had sufficiently fine without reducing. Gut prepared in this
manner is also very expensive; costing from ten to sixteen shillings a
hank.

***************
All gut is more or less of a clear colour, which glitters in the sun,
and in order to divest it of this it requires to be stained. The
colour of the dye used is of little consequence; the object being to
render it of a dull colour, and this may be best accomplished by dying
it of a bluish green. This dye may be made by boiling a handful of
logwood in a pint of water, and adding copperas till it is of the
required colour. A piece of copperas about half the size of a pea will
be sufficient; if too much is put in it will make it quite blue. The
gut should be put into the liquid when cold, and allowed to remain
till it is of the required colour.
***************

( Similar passages to this may be found in many books. MC)

Gut plays a very important part in the formation of all trouting
tackle; hooks of every description should be dressed upon it; and all
casting-lines, and, indeed, every part of the line that is intended to
touch the water, should be made of this material.

After the ordinary winch-line, there should be a casting-line composed
of seven or eight lengths of triple gut twisted together. This can
only be done properly by a machine for the purpose, which may be had
in any fishing-tackle shop. Only the longest threads should be
selected for this purpose, and they should be as nearly as possible of
one thickness.
Before attaching them to the machine, they should be soaked in cold
water for half an hour, or they will be certain to break After the
lengths are twisted, they may be joined together according to the
angler´s taste, taking care that they taper form one end to the other.
The most secure method of joing them is with the single slip-knot,
lapping the ends over with well waxed silk thread; a little spirit
varnish makes all secure.

Another way of joining them is by whipping the ends together with
silk; this is the neater plan of the two, but it is continually giving
way, andrequires to be done over again; so that, unless the angler
makes makesup hos own tackle, he will find it excedingyl troublesome;
anglers practising this method, should always keep the joinings well
varished.

After the triple gut line, there should be four or five lengths of
picked gut, tapered in thickness to where the fly or bait tackle is
attached; these should be joined together by a common knot. Instead of
fastening the fly or bait cast to this by a loop, as is usually done,
it is better to fasten it by a knot, as this is neater, and makes less
show in the water.

There is nothing so apt to slip as gut, and therefore thr knot by
which to tie threads together is of some imoportance. The water knot
is made by laying the two ends toghether, rolling them round the
forefinger of the left hand, and passing one thread and the adjoining
end through the loop thus formed; this is called the single water-
knot, an dis very neat,but apt to slip. The double water-knot is done
in the same way; but the ends are passed twice through instead of
once, making a very firm knot, but rather clumsy.

The single slip-knot is made by laying the ends together, and simply
knotting the one round the other; in the right direction it will hold
together, but may be separated by pulling the short ends.
UNQUOTE