Not much action here lately!? Anyone testing out any new materials for furled leaders. I’ve had some great results with 7 & 6X tippet mono. Expensive but a very nice leader!
[b]Jack,
Here is the description of the 7X fluorocarbon tippet I was telling you about and it is $5.95:
[/b]100% Fluorocarbon
50 M/.14mm dia.
7X Tippet/2lb Test[b]Just incase you were interested…
[/b]
Yep, have to check that one out/
Here is the link:
https://www.troutmagnet.com/store/Phantom-Leader-Line-c-9_20.html
Jack -
I fished the Stroft mono ( I believe that is the brand name ) leader you sent me until an operator error resulted in its destruction.
I got a length of 4X mono tippet looped around the leader and decided to just “pull” the tippet free. Instead of pulling free, the tippet actually sliced through a couple strands of the leader and that was that. I was quite surprised when it happened, and will add that I am bit embarrassed :oops: to admit to this kind of operator error. But I did tell you that I would fish it until it didn’t do the job for me or wore out.
The leader worked well enough for medium size flies, but bogged down with the larger stonefly dries well and wanted to sink smaller dries after a rather short drift. Qualify that with the fact that I will not put a floatant on my leaders for any reason.
The upshot is that I am back to the Danville 210 and 140 Flymaster Plus thread leaders. I’ve used the 210 for the most part since I started furling my own leaders about eight years ago. It makes the best all around thread leaders for the fishing I do. The 140, which I started using last year, is a better size for medium and smaller size flies.
The fluoro and mono that I have experimented with just don’t come up to the performance standard of the Danville threads. Performance for me is all about drift, and that is about suppleness, and that is about thread. I have tried Uni 6/0 thread, both my own homebrew and a couple leaders sent to me by others, and I like the suppleness but the Uni wants to sink a dryfly after a fairly short drift.
For presentation accuracy in a wider variety of conditions ( think wind ), mono does have some small advantage. And perhaps for those who prefer a floating leader, the Stroft mono with a floatant will perform better than a thread leader with some kind of floatant. So personal preferences and priorities definitely come into play.
John
I agree with John, it’s all a matter of what you’re trying to get done. I fish smallies and need to get my large flies down deep quickly. I use flourocarbon because it works best for this type of fishing. However, two winters ago I found a spool of 2 lb. flouro (thanks to winter ice fisherman up in this neck of the woods) and furled up a few leaders. Liked suppleness of the finished product but was disappointed when I started fishing it. It didn’t turn over the bigger flies as nicely as my 4 lb flouro furled leaders. My 4 lb flouro leader lasted all of last season and I put many, many hours on it.
As long as we are discussing “new” material, I will throw in the ring my favorite new material…Berkley Fireline Crystal. I use the 2lb and 4lb test for almost all my leaders. I have gone the mono, floro, and uni route and I have yet to find a longer lasting, better turn over, more versatile leader. I know I am most likely alone on this one because I only know of one other furler that uses Fireline Crystal. I have used 6x tippet to furl and I agree that it makes a very nice leader. My biggest objection is when I snag something (and the way I cast, the fly could end up anywhere) and I have to put a lot of pressure on the leader to break the tippet, the leader comes back in a hyper curled mess due to the stretching. Floro is not as bad as mono but with the firewire, there is no stretch and thus no curling problem. Fireline is expensive but I have some leaders that have lasted 3 seasons. The longer you use them the more supple they become.
caribe
Not sure why one wouldn’t just purchase 2lb Maxima fc in 200yd spools as it is $20 and .13 mm. It furls nicely as well. As far as new material I’ve done Berkley Nanofil, and Wapsi GSP. Not sure how I like thejust yet but they are STRONG, and very light. Not what I would use to throw big critters with.
Brandon
Never tried Nanofil. I waiting for a sale I guess. Plus, I have a 5 years supply of fireline to use up. I have a feeling that the Nanofil is a lot like fireline. Remember… it gets better the longer you use it.
caribe