Danville's 70 Denier Flymaster 6/0 Waxed

[moonlitflies]

I use the Gutermann thread as well, and the Skala 360 is the same diameter of the 70 denier. It does require a bit more wraps but I don't mind and it makes a really good leader. If I'm not mistaken though the reason John likes the Fly Master thread is because of its properties in comparison to polyester thread. The Fly Master is pre waxed and wont absorb water like the polyester allowing it to stay in the surface film where the polyester if left untreated will absorb water and sink. My leaders float when I apply the floatant to them to allow them to stay on top. This is why I use polyester though as if left untreated it sinks well, and if treated floats just as good. I do have some leaders made from the Fly Master 70, 140, and 210 denier thread. Sportsmans here in Idaho Falls carries the 140 denier John if you would like I can get you some and snail mail it to you. This was atleast last I checked some time last year!

[Jack Hise]

Had to recall some 25 years in plastics to maybe help with this thread. Polyester is Hydrophobic. Which means It does not absorb water and will be quick to dry. Nylon is Hygroscopic which means it will absorb water (I still have some faint scars on my thumb from trying to mold with "Wet" Nylon, moisture does not like 525 degrees!!). Some precision Nylon parts are actually packaged with a few drops of water to let them "Normalize". Nylon also can become stronger when normalized.

I did do a search on this subject an found a report from a professor of science that stated exactly the opposite about Nylon?? Lord save us from those that teach!! I present my thumb as proof!

[moonlitflies]

John glad to hear you got the 140 thread! I prefer the finer thread. Ithink it gives a tighter furl. No wrong answer just personal prefrence.

Cheers,
Brandon

[Denny]

John, I have been making / fishing my own FL for between 8 to 10 years now. I have never used the rings.
Skip Shorb is a personal friend and when he did the thing on the "Shorb loop", having one of the original write ups with photos, done by and given to me by Skip, I have used only the Shorb loop on both ends of all my FL.
I have never had any fraying of my different threads I have used. Of course I am not sure if the rings are causing your problem but I might suggest omitting the ring and see if your problem might go away.
I would be happy to send you a copy of the Shorb Loop that I have. I find it far easier to use than some other write ups done by others.

Hope to see you next week.

Denny

[WarrenP]

John, I cannot answer your question and this may be a hijack of your thread and I will apologize up front, but, several times you have posted that you have been using the BVK 5wt and using 4wt line on it. Is there a reason for underlining the rod? I am just curious and nothing more.....Maybe I can learn something here.....

Just asking and nothing more....

[WarrenP]

Thanks for explaining the use of 4wt on a 5wt. Each time you posted you stated that is how you fished the 5wt and it got the best of me and I just had to know the reason for it. I have used fast rods for several years and like them, but, lately, I have started to overline my fast rods by one weight. For some reason I cannot "feel" the rod loading when rigged with the recommended line and I get the feeling I am "standing in the river waving a big stick" and do not know what my fly line is doing during the casting stroke and when I overline the rod one weight, I can "feel" the line as I pull it off the water and "feel" the line as I come forward with the cast. I feel I have more control of my cast by doing this. I will admit that there are a few times my casting is not what I wanted and that was because I was making the cast too quickly and all I needed to do was slow down the stroke and everything would work out great. It is difficult to explain, but, when I overline the rod by one weight, the line, the fly rod and my arm feel like they are working together and more smoothly. I guess I just need to feel the rod do it's thing throughout the entire casting stroke and my casting is more controlled and less effort, at least for me.

Thanks

[ducksterman]

John,
You mentioned that your furls were not as tight as before.....could that make them more subject to abrasion?

[caddisfly777]

I did have another thought, and am very interested in your thinking on it. How about adding some kind of glue ( zap-a-gap comes to mind ) just at and above the tip ring ?? Would that strengthen the material and / or reduce fraying ??

Far be it for me to offer any suggestions but instead of 'zap-a-gap' which is nothing more than Thick CA which will dry hard and stiff. I use a lot of CA from Thin, Medium and Thick.

Will that create a new stress point below where the CA ends on the leader and the threads can still fray?

How about something like Flexment or Shoe-Goo so there's more give and flexing at the tip ring but impedes fraying?