Parnelli -

Seems to me that the varnish treatment will stiffen the leader, and perhaps very much so. That would enhance the casting qualities and maybe make the leader float endlessly, but it seems to me that it will inhibit the ability of the leader to absorb all the mini-currents between the end of the fly line and the fly.

The thing about floating leaders is that they only absorb the currents between the end of the fly line and the fly in TWO dimensions. When the leader is submerged it is absorbing those currents in THREE dimensions. The better the currents between the end of the fly line and the fly are absorbed by the leader, the better the drift. And, after all, isn't the drift what it is really all about ??

Another thing came up in a discussion with one of my friends today. We both fished the same stream in the past week, separately. He used a tapered mono leader from Rio and I used my Danville thread leader which submerges. He missed a high proportion of "takes" by pulling the fly away from the fish. I hooked a much higher proportion of "takes".

He is a better fisherman with a better sense of timing, and even thinks about letting the fish get the fly before he raises the rod tip and strips. I just start to raise the rod tip and strip when it seems right. What occured to me is that his mono leader which is floating and in a pretty straight line to the fly in two dimensions starts moving the fly as soon as he raises / strips. Because mine has a lot of "slack" in it as it drifts along all curled up and swirling around in three dimensions, I don't pull the fly away from the fish, even if I start my raise / strip sooner than he would.

Stretch is not necessarily a bad thing, and for some situations is definitely a good thing. For fishing for trout in moving water in the Intermountain West, I consider it a good thing. The Danville 210 Flymaster leaders are very supple, and if stretch comes with it, that is a small price to pay. Admittedly, they don't cast the fly as well as a couple others I've tried, but I'm not out there to cast.

The most desirable qualities of a leader will be different for different people with different priorities and different fishing situations. I know there are a number of people who agree that leaders that submerge are preferable for trout fishing on moving water. I wonder how many people who pursue "floatation" techniques so ardently have ever tried the alternative - the submerged leader ??

John

P.S. Next time out, my friend is going to use a furled thread leader as an experiment. Will be interesting to see what comes of it.