Fishing furled leaders

How do you fish with your furled leader and what length do you use for that purpose?


I am fairly new to furled leaders. 95% of the time i fish streamers, nymphs or soft hackles. My leaders are all 5 ' to which i add 4 or 5 ' of tippet

My closest trout water is a tail water which is has more like a lake or very slow current when the Corp is not generating( when generating it is not safe to wade). Generally i strip a small pine squirrel streamer or fish it under an indicator. i have been using a 6x mono furled leader which is very soft with fluorocarbon tippet. i have tried a uni furled leader which casts great but requires more attention to keep it floating. This river does have march browns & cahill mayflies that hatch sporadically so soft hackles can be effective at times, and midges are usually prevelant in the winter months but they have been so tiny ( size 32 ++)since some major flooding that i have not messed with them
For warm warm fishing i probably use a 4 lb fluorocarbon furled leader the most on a 6 wt fly rod. The fluorocarbon helps the streamers get down a little quicker. i do use 4lb mono furled leaders if i think i might fish poppers . For blue gill waters i primarily us my trout leader with a foam bug

I fish them almost the same as you but I use 6' 6" leaders. Thread for drys or hopper dropper rigs and 4# fluoro for streamers, wooly buggers, etc. with up to 6' of tippet.

Most of my furled leaders are thread ranging from trout size to bass size. For trout I use a 4 to 6 foot fluorocarbon tippet, 4X to 7X. For pan fish and bass usually a 3 to 4 foot fluorocarbon tippet between 8 to 15 lb depending on what I'm fishing for or if I'm throwing poppers. I have a couple heavy fluorocarbon furled leaders that I use for heavier fresh and light salt water, 5 to 6 feet long. Normally I fish a 4 to 6 foot 25 lb fluorocarbon leader with them.

Various reasons I haven't fished much. But I made a floating leader out of Coats and Clark green thread from Wal-Mart.

I soaked it in a silicone liquid. There is a spray can with an orange top at Wal-Mart in the sporting goods section. It is for spraying and waterproofing leather boots and shoes and such. I sprayed it into a contaier until I got enough liquid to soak the leader. Let it set overnight. Hung it out to dry the next day. The fellow I sent it to said he fished a very rough raging river....or something like that....Anyway he said it floated all day.
Jim

I fish Zen Outfitters furled leaders almost exclusively. I buy them in the 78in length and add about four feet of nylon tippet. He also has a big streamer leader and a sinking leader both of which I like very well. I also have a Moonlite Flies leader that I like but I have to dress it with Otter Butter so it will float, which is no big deal. I do prefer thread leaders over any other material they are softer give a good hook set and lay the dry fly on the water very easily.

I've been fishing furled leaders for 17 or 18 years now. All but two are made out of tying thread. I didn't make them. Over the years I've swapped flies and materials for them. Most are 5 feet in length. Some are made specifically for trout, others for tossing bass bugs. I store them coiled in small clear plastic envelopes. Over the winter I add several drops of liquid floatant to the bags, so they're ready to go in the spring. If I'm fishing for trout I use a 7 foot fluorocarbon leader from 7X to 4X. For warm water 4 to 6 foot fluorocarbon leaders ranging from 8 lb to 25 lb test. I use the two fluorocarbon ones with my intermediate line in salt and fresh water with 6 to 8 foot fluorocarbon leader, 15 to 30 lb test.

For streamers I prefer a straight FC furled leader at 42", this gives better sink profile and power. You can also fish nymphs on this, but I prefer a thread FC combination where the FC is a core transitioning to straight FC tip at 72". The Mic of materials gives you a good combination with suppleness of thread and stiffness from FC, and density. Either of these fish poppers as well and help get the poorer just below the surface to help give the fly more of pop when stripping it. For wets our dries I like a thread lesser with a mono core. This gives a supple leader with just enough stiffness to cut through wind, and longer tippet. I treat my leaders with Otter Butter so they stay floating for the day.

Tight lines
Brandon