Furled Leaders Revisited

I tried furled leaders years ago and decided I didn't
like them. The recent FeatherCraft catalogs have featured
"Next Generation" furled leaders and Tim Holschlag at
smallmouthangler.com recommends Blue Sky furled leaders
so when I rigged up my 6wt for smallie fishing I put on
a "Next Generation", "New and Improved" furled leader
specifically designed for big bass bugs.

I used the bass leader from FeatherCraft and it is an
improvement over earlier versions in that it has a loop
for attaching to the fly line and a small ring for tying
on the tippet. I don't like loops, I much prefer a nicely
tied nail knot, but they are handy and the tiny little
ring is the neat idea that convinced me to give furled
leaders another try.

Furled leaders still suck. If you let your Sneaky Pete
sit on the water for any time at all the leader sinks
so that the only things floating are the fly and the end
of the flyline. Lifting the fly off the water creates a
huge ruckus, enough to scare off any fish for miles
around. Back to good old Orvis SuperStrong tapered leaders
for me.

--
Ken Fortenberry