"furled" leaders

Larry L wrote:
laid up for a week now by a couple surgeries, I've been browsing and ran
across ads for "furled" leaders

Bummer. Try Budweiser and grapefruit juice (not together). I
believe in the healing power of Budweiser and grapefruit juice.
It may not be standard medicine but it's always worked for me.

OF COURSE, the ads promise these will change my life, and guarantee I make
100% accurate casts, truly brilliant presentations, EVERY time g

I tried "braided" leaders many years ago and didn't find them worth the $
and hassle,

... are "furled" leaders just another name for the same thing?

.... care to relate any "furling" experiences you may have?

Tried 'em, didn't like 'em. Furled leaders make a hell of a
splash that negates whatever "delicate presentation" advantage
they allegedly provide.

..... bored as I am ?

The guy who was really bored is whoever decided to "furl" leaders
in the first place.

--
Ken Fortenberry

"Ken Fortenberry" wrote

The guy who was really bored is whoever decided to "furl" leaders
in the first place.



looking at the instructions on making one ..... I'd say you are right
.....bored when he started, likely half mad by the time he finished

Larry L wrote:

looking at the instructions on making one ..... I'd say you are right
....bored when he started, likely half mad by the time he finished

It's not as hard as it looks. I do mine with an old "eggbeater"
hand-drill and simply twist each leg until it shortens enough so that
when it's transferred to the nail it is kept taut. Pick up the two legs
together and reverse the direction of the drill. As you rotate the
drill you will feel the leader start to relax and lengthen. If you go
too far it will start to tighten up again. Simply reverse it for a
couple of turns; when you have the right amount of twist it will simply
lay out flat.

Maybe I'm crazy, but after the first couple of tries, I started to
enjoy myself. I'd put on some music, set the board on my workbench and
in about 30 minutes I'd have a leader.

So it looks like I'm the only ROFFian who admits to using a furled
leader (much less making them). I got a similar reaction when I first
asked about them a while back.


Chuck Vance (who figured they'd at least have some adherents
among the bamboo and silk "crowd")

"Conan the Librarian" wrote

So it looks like I'm the only ROFFian who admits to using a furled
leader (much less making them). I got a similar reaction when I first
asked about them a while back.



I'd like to try one made with UniThread ( but not bad enough to try and make
it :-) but the only ones I see for sale are made of nylon. I seem to be in
constant search for better leader solutions. I fish mainly flat looking,
but actually very complex, water where any added limpness in the leader is a
bonus. But the fish have very narrow feeding lanes so accuracy is
essential, and I'm targeting large fish in weedy water so frail tippets are
a waste of time. On such water, casting distance isn't usually needed and
two pieces of tackle ... the fly and the leader ... are the difference
between success and none .... I'd far prefer to fish a 'crappy POS rod' than
a poor leader on my 'adopted home waters'

I'm pretty happy with my current choices ... i.e. a slightly modified
packaged tapered leader, tippet ring, and longish fairly heavy tippet. But
I can't help wondering if a furled leader would add accuracy to a similar
long tippet package ... and maybe some suppleness to boot

"Larry L" wrote in
:


"Conan the Librarian" wrote

So it looks like I'm the only ROFFian who admits to using a furled
leader (much less making them). I got a similar reaction when I
first asked about them a while back.



I'd like to try one made with UniThread ( but not bad enough to try
and make it :-) but the only ones I see for sale are made of nylon.
I seem to be in constant search for better leader solutions. I fish
mainly flat looking, but actually very complex, water where any added
limpness in the leader is a bonus. But the fish have very narrow
feeding lanes so accuracy is essential, and I'm targeting large fish
in weedy water so frail tippets are a waste of time. On such water,
casting distance isn't usually needed and two pieces of tackle ... the
fly and the leader ... are the difference between success and none
.... I'd far prefer to fish a 'crappy POS rod' than a poor leader on
my 'adopted home waters'

I'm pretty happy with my current choices ... i.e. a slightly modified
packaged tapered leader, tippet ring, and longish fairly heavy tippet.
But I can't help wondering if a furled leader would add accuracy to
a similar long tippet package ... and maybe some suppleness to boot




I'm always shooting for lower profile leaders to promote a dead drift.
My guess would be that the furled leader would be a disaster for sub
surface work.

Scott

"Scott Seidman" wrote


I'm always shooting for lower profile leaders to promote a dead drift.
My guess would be that the furled leader would be a disaster for sub
surface work.



Yes, I'd think so too. Mainly I fish dries, or sit and wait for a hatch.
FWIW, I don't think this is 'better' and I'd like to be a more accomplished
sub surface fisherman. I hope to be able to physically get around better
this next season, as I had two surgeries aimed at that goal. If so, I'll
spend more time trying to improve my nymphing and pocket water skills.

Larry L wrote:

I'd like to try one made with UniThread ( but not bad enough to try and make
it :-) but the only ones I see for sale are made of nylon. I seem to be in
constant search for better leader solutions. I fish mainly flat looking,
but actually very complex, water where any added limpness in the leader is a
bonus. But the fish have very narrow feeding lanes so accuracy is
essential, and I'm targeting large fish in weedy water so frail tippets are
a waste of time. On such water, casting distance isn't usually needed and
two pieces of tackle ... the fly and the leader ... are the difference
between success and none .... I'd far prefer to fish a 'crappy POS rod' than
a poor leader on my 'adopted home waters'

I'm pretty happy with my current choices ... i.e. a slightly modified
packaged tapered leader, tippet ring, and longish fairly heavy tippet. But
I can't help wondering if a furled leader would add accuracy to a similar
long tippet package ... and maybe some suppleness to boot

I'll tell you what. I'll look through my stuff and see if I have an
extra furled leader that you can have. If not, when I get some extra
time I'll make one up for you.

Given what you describe, I'm guessing you are fishing about a 5-wt.,
no? A furled leader made of 6/0 Unithread should probably fill that
bill. Do you have any color preferences?

Disclaimer: I have not used mine on heavy fish, so I make no claim
as to how it will hold up. I expect it should be fine, but do not take
responsibility for any lost fish. :-)


Chuck Vance

My furled leaders are made from UniThread. I got them really reasonable
a couple of years ago from a nice guy on Ebay.com. I think 3 bucks a
piece?? I used the same leader all last year. I still have it. I think
I had to make a new tippet loop once or twice. I add a length of
fluorocarbon tippet to it. I really like them for wet flys. They were
used on my St. Croiz Pro-Graphite 6/7 weight. Thanks
Mike Bernardoni

Conan the Librarian wrote:

Larry L wrote:

I'd like to try one made with UniThread ( but not bad enough to try and make
it :-) but the only ones I see for sale are made of nylon.

--
http://www.bfro.net/

Grab your pig’s feet, bread, and gin,
there’s plenty in the kitchen.
I wonder what the poor people are eating
tonight?
Albert J."Fats" Waller

"Larry L" wrote in message
...
SNIP
I'm pretty happy with my current choices ... i.e. a slightly modified
packaged tapered leader, tippet ring, and longish fairly heavy tippet.
But
I can't help wondering if a furled leader would add accuracy to a similar
long tippet package ... and maybe some suppleness to boot



It would help turnover a little, but it will not make you any more accurate
per se. I have quite a few such leaders. They are marvelous on grass!

Depending on materials and construction, they all suffer from various
disadvantages on water.

TL
MC

"Mike Connor" wrote



It would help turnover a little, but it will not make you any more
accurate
per se. I have quite a few such leaders. They are marvelous on grass!

Depending on materials and construction, they all suffer from various
disadvantages on water.


Accuracy is my major casting weakness, in my own opinion. Not that I can
cast a long line, OR tricky curves and piles and tight loops. I'm a ****
poor caster period, but I can nearly always compensate for distance and
tricky casting weaknesses by approach and position ( and I like the 'hunter'
element of fishing far more than the golf like 'stoke' elements anyway, I've
always seen casting as a necessary skill, not something to pursue for it's
own sake )

I would be interested in any suggestions you might have for improved
accuracy .... I very often fish in places where 2 inches too far is in the
weeds and 2 inches too short is ignored ... plus at least some drag free
drift is needed after an accurate cast. Honestly, I often go looking for
fish I don't think I can catch, assuming I'm not too hungry from days of
skunkings ... as I type this I can see a lie on Silver Creek that I treid
daily for a week without success :-( .... I think I caught nearly all the
fish NEAR the big one in the 'impossible' spot' but only managed to make him
chuckle.

Anyway, I'm probably off base, but I spend a lot of time thinking about that
last few inches of tippet and how to get it where I want it ... and still
lying with enough curves to absorb some drag ... and still heavy enough to
have a fair chance of turning the fish away from his safe haven.

Here is a report of one of my better memories from last season ... this one
involves sunk flies .... I just love situations like this. If you look at
the photo, I had to crouch on the bank behind the tree leaning over the
water and the fish were tight to, nearly under, the downed trees in water
way too deep to wade. The trees ate a few flies, both those in the water
and those on shore :-(

http://www.kimshew.com/flyfish/displ...php?log_id=118

Anyway, I need to improve my ability to hit THE spot with both dries and
nymphs ... all suggestions appreciated