furled leaders

[Airdog]

I had some time on my hands (and a spool of 6/0 uni, a piece of 1-by-6, a cordless drill and a 1/2" dowel) the other day, and pulled out an old set of instructions for making furled leaders that I printed off the internet (I'll remember what fishing magazine it was from in a few minutes...). I'd never done this before, and I don't think I'd ever even seen a furled leader, but, what the heck, if a trout will take one of the butt-ugly flies that I tie, why not give this a shot? It only took a half hour or so to set up the jig, and then another 10 minutes to make my first leader. It was pretty darn easy; the technique takes advantage of the tendency of twisted thread to wrap around itself. After the leader had settled into some kind of torsional equilibrium, I took it off the jig and, by golly, it looked **** good! I was so excited, I tied the 60" tapered uni-leader onto my little 3-weight and went down to the pond to throw dry flies at unsuspecting sunnies. The furled leader is supple and light, and turned the fly over beautifully, even on lo-o-o-ng roll casts (which I like because I tend to fish from stupid locations). Because it's thread (though I understand you can make them out of monofilament, as well), it doesn't have any memory, and is ready to use right out of the box. I haven't tried it out on trout yet, but my new furled leader and I triumphed mightily over several feisty 4" bluegills before it got too dark to see the fly.

I'll let you know if I'm still a fan after I get some time in on the river this weekend.

Tight lines, and don't trip on those @#!!*#*@ cobbles,

[TonyM]

I've been fishing furled leaders on and off for two or three years now. I notice improved layout and I think better casting. I don't tangle near as much, either. These are all purchased leaders, I've used Blue Sky and a couple other names along with one or two I bought from Kathy (forgot last name) who ties them up at shows -- she usually appears with her husband who makes bamboo rods.

Do you recall the internet site you downloaded the instructions from ?

Thanks

[Airdog]

Here's the link to the article, it's from an online version of "Hatches" magazine:

www.hatchesmagazine.com/page/may2006/185

They're way too easy not to make 'em yourself. Let me know how this compares to what you bought.

Tom

[TonyM]

Sorry, been busy. Here's a link to a discussion about Kathy Scott's furled leaders (I couldn't remember the last name....it's the second thing to go ...).
http://www.flyanglersonline.com/prorevw/kathyscott.html

Tony M

[pvansch1]

I know Kathy quite well, fantastic person.
She has produced a DVD on making the leaders and as mentioned does them at shows. She has a couple of books out, has built her own bamboo rod with the guidance of her husband David - A bamboo rodmaker.
I've been twirling them for a few years now and have experimented with different sized thread, amounts of loops and such. I think the Uni 6/0 thread ones are great for lines up to 4wt, but then they get too soft above that. Some have treated then with varnish or linseed oil to stiffen them a bit.
I have a few I bought made from mono and them seem to work very nicely on heavier line weights. I haven't made any though.
Treat them with Mucilin (Red Tin) or even Gink to keep them floating.
Are you building loops into the ends? Or just using the little bit of loop that remains?
The loops are easy to make, but a little tough to describe. I can try to if you aren't already making them.

[Airdog]

I tie these special little loops mentioned in the article I put a link to in an earlier post. You have to use a little thread-working tool or it's really hard to do (especially at the small end). With 6/0 uni, the loop that's left in the small end is too small for me, and it has to be worked open to be useful.

Thanks for the input on finishing them. I'll try making some with mono to see how that works.

PS - Yesterday I was on the Housatonic and saw a gigantic bald eagle just sitting in midriver near one- or two-car hole. He flew over us later a little ways upstream. What a great sport!