Hello everyone,newer fly fisher here with a question.What is everyone’s exp. with(edit) furled leaders in relation drag to free drifts and preference over mono leaders?It seems to me that the braided leaders tend to drag a nymph like a fly line that’s is not mended.Any responses are appreciated.
ne;
Are you refering to a “Braided” or a “Furled” leader? Braided leaders are hollow and tent to spray water. Properly constructed Furled leaders will not.
Thank you jack.Yes furled leaders,do they create more of a drag when nymphing than mono?From what i have read they are the best leaders but when i watch one i see it creating a drag on the nymph and speed up its drift.
ne flyfissure -
Methinks your question is a bit broad to really answer, but I’ll post a couple thoughts on the subject and expect others to chime it.
For background, I started furling my own thread leaders about five years ago. I have used them almost exclusively since then for dry fly fishing, nymph fishing, and wet fly fishing. The exception would be fishing tandems of large weighted stonefly nymphs under an indicator with mono leaders for a period of time until I furled a beefed up thread leader that would handle that load.
Regarding nymphing, I almost always use an indicator, but I have fished nymphs with the thread furled leader without an indicator on occasion. When using an indicator, it is placed on the furled leader, with the current speed and depth pretty much dictating where along the leader it is placed. Faster and deeper, the indicator is near the butt end of the leader. Slower and shallower, the indicator is near the tip end of the leader. The exceptions would be when using a dry fly as an attractor / indicator while trailing an emerger or nymph.
With a thread furled leader, which is very supple, drag has never been a problem. My casting, or mending, or other line control issues might have caused a problem, but not the leader itself. In fact, it is my firm opinion that the thread furled leader is the best way to avoid drag for almost any kind of fly fishing because it is so supple. Also, whether fishing dries or nymphs, a submerged furled leader does a better job of eliminating drag in most situations than a floating furled leader or one made from a stiffer material.
The thread furled leader above the indicator does a great job in achieving a drag free drift of the indicator, which means the nymph is likely being presented drag free also. The part of the leader below the indicator is also contributing to the drag free presentation by absorbing whatever currents there may be between the indicator and the nymph.
Another plus with a thread furled leader. For the type indicators I use, it is quite easy to adjust the depth from the indicator to the nymph, and if the right method is used to secure the indicator to the leader, it will stay in place.
John
ne flyfissure,
I will not attempt to answer your question as it is written. I make my own Furled leaders and nymph fish 99% of the time and have no problems with the drag.
I think the most important thing we need, in order to answer your question accurately, is to know for sure if your question is in regard to a Braided leader or a Furled Leader because they both exist and a lot of people have tried Braided leaders and do not like them and they assume that a Furled leader is the same thing and it is not. There is a difference between them.
I am a very big fan of furled leaders and in their niche, I think they excel.
One application that I recommend single strand mono is when you want some portion of the leader to sink. By design, a furled leader is going to have a wider cross section than a “equivalent” single strand leader. So there is going to be more resistance to being sunk, and more area to be caught in the currents.
Of course as mentioned above, if you are using a strike indicator, a furled leader does a good job of getting the indicator out and under control, but I would recommend you go to single strand downstream from the indicator, i.e. the portion of the leader you want to sink.
I actually love braided leaders for dry flyfishing. I prefer a tapered Mono with a flourocarbon tippet for nymphing.
Furled leaders do not IMO affect the drag on a drift during nymph fishing, it is the fisherman that does that. Same goes for dry fly’s. Micro drag is the main issue, and you will have that problem no matter what kind of leader you use. When nymph fishing it is the mend that makes the difference.
Thank you to everyone for all your help.YES i do mean FURLED leaders,not braided.This site is the best.Thanks again!(Please feel free to continue with your opinions.)
Not to hijack the thread - but someone said that furled leaders are a bit of a drawback in the wind - I am thinking about changing over, but wondered about this. Also, are they as useful on a light rod as a heavier one? I don’t fish a 3 wt in the wind, maybe this would be the place for a furled leader?
Karen -
It depends. The thread furled leaders I use are very supple, and they do tend to “collapse” when cast into the wind. Doesn’t mean you can’t fish with them in the wind, just that you have to take that into account in those conditions.
I use identical thread furled leaders regularly on my 3 wt, 4/5 wt, and 5 wt rods. I can use the same one on a 7 wt, but it does tend to be over powered by that big fast action rod. Since I only use the 7 wt for big nymphs, I built a beefed up thread furled leader for that rod and it works fine, casting a tandem of weighted stonefly nymphs under an indicator with no problem.
There are many different materials used for furled leaders and a lot of configurations and lengths. Some, I’m sure, are much better in the wind than the ones I make. Hopefully someone will come along and chime in on what material, configuration, and length work best for them in those conditions.
John
Herefishy,i have been trying a furled leader on my 3wt and it makes rollcasting a lot smoother as far as turning the fly over.The majority of my fishing is light on small streams using a rollcast and so far iam pleased with the furled leader in this respect.