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3. Furled Leaders

I'm interested in trying furled leaders. Im curious as to people's experiences with them both in moving and still waters; nymphing/wet flies and dries. Thank you!

Outdoors-
There were quite a few threads and posts on this subject some years back, just click on Fly Fishing Gear and sort through the history.
I've been furling my own leaders for a while now and personally prefer them to mono types; no curlicues, they lay out flat on a cast and they're limp as all-get-out to let the leader and tippet straighten out with less drag. Google the topic and you'll get a lot of sites and a lot of information, formulas for lengths and tapers, etc. to play with.
Shorter leaders around 7-9' with built-in indicators work well for nymphs and I've furled some 12-14' ones with proportionate tapers for dry flies on smooth water. It just takes the required setup on the furling board (and sometimes a longer board, mine is able to furl leaders up to 16').


Roguerat

'Less is more...'

Ludwig Mies Vande Rohe

Thanks. I did a search after I posted my question and I've been reading other posts. I really appreciate your information.

Roguerat, what are you using? I had used Unithread but the new Veevus thread is much stronger.

Louis-

I use these 4 as the basis for leaders, favoring the Coats and Gutermann: Berkley XL 2# test, UNI-Mono Clear Monofilament in fine and medium, Coats Transparent in 'smoke' color, and Gutermann Invisible Thread also in smoke. I draw the finished leader through a block of softened beeswax as floatant, never have any problems keeping them on top.
I also use a 'tippet base' of 3X on the end of a furled leader, this gets sacrificed bit-by-bit as I change tippet..saves the end of the leader from being nibbled away.
For a nymphing leader I use Berkley ICE Line fluorocarbon in 1# test, roughly equivalent to 6X material. I'm getting away from in-line indicators and using Lightning Strike 'football' indicators more lately, in the smallest available.

Roguerat

I built a jig last night and made my first thread furled leader using 6/0 uni thread. I'm quite thrilled with the ease of it and the fun. It turns over so easily just using my hand I can't wait to see it in action. I used these directions: http://www.hatchesmagazine.com/page/may2006/185

Outdoors-

Cool! You're getting familiar with peg-placement, loop-count, and all the other stuff.

I joined the Furled Leader Forum a couple+ years back, you can find them at furledleaders.proboards.com.

These guys are REALLY into it and the information runs from the basics to mind-numbingly esoteric- take your pick. It's all good, just a lot of it.

Remember- if one leader is good then more are better...and too many is just enough.

Roguerat

Addendum to the furled-leader thread: I saw some commercially-made furled leaders at Cabela's yesterday and was dumbfounded at a) how loosely they were furled, and b) the cost...$ 8.50 on clearance!?

Something I am curious about is how to figure out your number of twists if you want to build it using the drill rpm/stopwatch method. Anybody know how to do it? Thanks!

Thank you roguerat I'll have to check them out!