Leaders

"Mike" wrote in message
Am still waiting for some replies on this from various people. It
seems one or two also prefer to err on the side of caution, which is
basically fair enough, although not really very informative. Two other
manufacturers quoted temperatures of 80 and 90 °C respectively, but
they were unable to explain why they thought higher temperatures might
be harmful. One guy said he didn´t know why boiling might be
detrimental, but if it is he would find out and get back to me. He
said hot water would not hurt them.

I sent the same question to three manufacturers, and received three somewhat
different replies.I wasn't planning on posting any of it except that Zach
Dalton's name popped up.

The other two were Climax:
My advice for you would be to obtain one of the inexpensive leader
straighteners that consists of a pair of rubber pads. By pulling your leader
slowly through the rubber pads, you create enough heat to remove the coiled
memory of being in a plastic bag. I have never boiled a leader, and would be
very worried that touching part of the leader against the hot pan may
seriously compromise the integrity of the leader, so I would have to advise
against doing so.

And Maxima:

It's true, heat and light are bad. Unless you are out fishing, you want
to keep your line stored in a dark cool place, like a closet, some people
even put their spools in the fridge. Anyway, if you are talking about
leader, you can stretch it with your hands when you get to the spot and
ready to fish.
The thing about using your fingers is ok also. I wouldn't put a lot of
pressure on the line when using your fingers because I have heard that the
abrasion from fingers isn't good to run line through. When a tackle shop
spools line on, they use a metal tool, or a soft cloth is ok also. On the
tuna boats, when we spool reels up, we use our fingers to get the line on
tight, and it works out fine. That is heavier lb test though.
We also dunk the line in water sometimes, fresh better than salt and I
wouldn't use hot water. Cool or medium water is better. You are right about
the heat. It shocks the line and causes structural damage. Now, I'm sure
your friends aren't using reallly hot water, so It might be ok.
I think the best thing to do, is just give the leader a slight tug when
you get to the spot. Some of the line conditioners are great also. The Kevin
Van Dam line conditioner is great, and there are several others. You might
be able to put some in a pan and dunk your leader the night before.
It's really a good question because I'm sure that both techniques are
ok, although I wouldn't use hot water. I think the conditioner is a great
way to go, if it does what you intend it to do. I was actually impessed at
how they help the line cast, but that is on a conventional reel, not fly.
Lastly, The coils that remain in line from memory are not permanent,
especially with maxima. The nature of a good line is to take the shape of
that which it is surrounded by. I do demonstations and show people who
complain about memory, that when you take the line, and give it a slight
tug, the coil comes right out, especially with new line. Try it, take a coil
and give it a slight tug and I bet it will stay.
If I get more info from Germany I will send it to you. Have a great time
fishing, and let us know how it goes. If you get good pictures, feel free to
send them in, I will do a newsletter soon and need some fly shots. I think
that it is not a serious detriment to the line strength, the way your are
doing it now, but try the others. Take care.


FWIW,
Joe F.