First Furled Leaders

[dal]

Well, after studying up on making furled leaders I made a jig tonight and furled 3 5' leaders with my cordless drill--2 out of Danville 210 and 1 out of 2# mono--all 10/6/4, mostly for my recently acquired 7'6" 3wt. They didn't turn out too bad for a first effort but I will do a couple of things differently next time. Shorb loops didn't give me much problem but I spent quite a bit of time figuring out how to put on a tippet ring without a small crochet hook and finally resorted to pulling the leader through the ring with needle and thread looped through the tippet end and then looping the leader back on itself with the slightly larger crochet hook. Because I took the paper clips out the ends had come unfurled a little so I didn't get as tight a connection to the rings as I would like (one of the things I will do differently next time). Once I got them situated I put a little head cement on them. Do you all think that will last? All in all, a very satisfying evening. Thanks to all for your previous posts that I learned so much from.

Dennis

[pszy22]

Of course, everyone has an opinion, and mine is that I'm not sold on terminating your leader with a tippet ring. I personally prefer to attach a single strand of mono. If you want, you can tie a perfection loop in the end of the mono for ease of changing tippet material.

I think using mono better transfers energy from the leader to your tippet than does the tippet ring.

Give both a try and see which you like best.

[SonOfMartin]

I personally don't use tippet rings on my furled leaders nor do I use Shorb loops. I double back the furled section about an inch and a half and then tie a simple overhand knot and use loop-to-loop connections with my fly line and my tippet. I see absolutely no difference in performance and some of my leaders are on their 5th year (and I fish a lot).

[JohnScott]

Dennis -

Congratulations on your first furled leaders !!

Personally, I'm all for tip rings.

There is a very easy way to incorporate them into a furled leader before you start the twisting / furling. It's simply a matter of knowing how to slide them down one leg to the point of the "V" before you start the initial twisting.

In my set up, the third post ( at the end of the "V" ) has a fish hook to hold the strands of thread / mono while configuring the leader. When the thread / mono layout is complete, slide the tip rig down one leg, take the threads / mono off the hook and put the tip ring on it.

To slide the tip ring down one leg, thread a piece of thread or fine wire through the very end of the loops of leader material at the end of one leg and bring the end of that thread or wire together. Slide the tip ring down the thread / wire. Take the leader material off whatever it is you have it attached to. Slide the ring onto the leg and replace the leader material on whatever it is you have it attached to. Slide the ring down to the tip end.

Gemrod, as I recall, dispensed with the fish hook that I recommended and simply put the tip ring behind the end post on his set up, as I recall. Seems that he said that when he took the leader off the end post that the ring found its way into place at the very end of the leader just fine.

John

[Kathy Scott]

Congratulations!

Looks like you've also discovered the joy of experimentation with that 10-6-4 taper.

You might also want to try a smaller diameter thread sometime for the 3 wt line (8/0 Uni, say), but this may work just the way you hope, too. Fun.

Kat

[Jack Hise]

Dal;
One of the fun things about making furled leaders is experimenting with different materials. After a couple of years I've found that Uni tying thread holds the loop after the paperclip is removed while other thread do not. The same goes for mono and fluorocarbon lines.
I use 2mm rings on my thread leaders and use a #14 crochet hook to install them.

[pszy22]

I personally don't use tippet rings on my furled leaders nor do I use Shorb loops. I double back the furled section about an inch and a half and then tie a simple overhand knot and use loop-to-loop connections with my fly line and my tippet. I see absolutely no difference in performance and some of my leaders are on their 5th year (and I fish a lot).

I originally just knotted the top loop on my leaders and they worked just fine. I do use a shorb loop now, only because I like the way it looks. I've actually experimented with doubling the leader over on itself, and securing the loop using a double 4 wrap nail knot. That made a very clean connection, and I never had one fail.

That's the nice thing, whatever you like and works for you is the way to go.

[JohnScott]

Almost anything goes !!

A couple times when the thread around tip ring frayed to the point it was ready to go, I've just removed the tip ring, tied an overhand knot as close to the end of the leader as possible, trimmed the tag close, and tied on tippet above the knot using a clinch knot, sliding it down to the knot in the leader before pulling it tight. Worked fine.

[Lotech]

As far as durability goes, depending on how much you fish, don't expect to use one for more that 5 or 6 years. I'm still waiting for my first furled leader to wear out, and it's been 3 years I think. It still turns flies over like nothing you've seen. I love 'em.

[Shakeyfly]

Im not familiar with the production or use of furled leaders, but can you have shorb loops on both end?