Furled Leaders

"Conan The Librarian" wrote ...
Daniel-San wrote:

Just got the Feather Craft catalog, and they have a full page with
these.

Anyone use them?

Pros/cons? Worth the extra few bucks?

I'm assuming that Feather Craft's are the nylon ones. If so, I
don't see any real advantage over a standard tapered leader. The thread
ones are pretty nice though. I make my own from 8/0 (for my 3-wt.) and
6/0 (for my 5-wt.) Unithread. (See Mike McGuire's webpage at:
http://www.peninsulaflyfishers.org/T...ed_leader.html
for a great tutorial on making them.)



Very cool site. Don't know if I'll ever make one, but that is now filed in
the ol' favorites folder.

As far as the material in feather craft's leaders, they don't say whether
they're nylon or thread-based, so dunno.

After the learning curve, how long does it take for you to make one of
these?

They really do turn over nicely, they don't have any residual
memory, and I haven't noticed any great problem with spray. I treat
mine with "red tin" Mucilin before using them, and I think that helps
reduce spray. I tie on those tiny "tippet rings" to the tip, and that
facilitates adding/changing tippet.

By using thread, you can make them up in different colors; I've tied
them in light olive, dark olive, tan, etc. depending on where I'm
fishing, and what species I'm going after.

They haven't replaced nylon tapered leaders for me, but I do
sometimes use them, especially on my 3-wts. If I'm worried about spray,
I just let the fly drift down below me, do a rollcast pickup and a false
cast to shake any water that might be there before casting back upstream.

So my take on it is: If you make your own out of thread, they are
worth it. :-)


Chuck Vance

Thanks Chuck,

Dan

Daniel-San wrote:

"Conan The Librarian" wrote ...

(See Mike McGuire's webpage at:
http://www.peninsulaflyfishers.org/T...ed_leader.html
for a great tutorial on making them.)

Very cool site. Don't know if I'll ever make one, but that is now filed in
the ol' favorites folder.

Mike's is the best of all the tutorials I've seen out there.

As far as the material in feather craft's leaders, they don't say whether
they're nylon or thread-based, so dunno.

I'm guessing they're nylon. Most of the commercial ones are, which
is really too bad, as nylon furled leaders still have some of the
characteristics that furled leaders are supposed to improve upon. (In
particular, memory.)

After the learning curve, how long does it take for you to make one of
these?

It depends on if I break the thread or not. :-) If everything goes
smoothly, it takes maybe 10-15 minutes. I use a hand drill (old Stanley
"eggbeater") on mine, so that adds to the time, but it gives me better
control. When I finish furling it, I hang it up so it lays out straight
and then apply Mucilin to it; rubbing it in well from top to bottom.

Thanks Chuck,

You're welcome, Dan.


Chuck Vance