I did a search and read through several threads in regards to furled leaders, but I’m still missing the big picture despite the great information I did get. Can anyone give me a nudge in the direction of a website(or a part of this one) that would give someone who’s never used a furled leader “the basics”? At this point, I’m just interested in using them as opposed to making them(that may come later!). Thanks in advance!!!
Matt
Matt, pm me an address and I will send you a couple to try.
FG
Matt, if you read the threads I would think you have “the basics”…I have a fairly extensive file on them but most deal with making them…have you seen this?
you just tie on your tippet and go fishing. They last forever. I accidently cut one of mine in half and ended up with a two and a half foot leader. I re-knotted the end, glued the knot and dang - the leader turns over just fine. They sure are worth a try. Take up FlyGoddess on her offer because it is a good and generous on.
Thanks folks! I thought perhaps I got the “basics” but wasn’t 100% sure. Seems the more I learn about fly fishing, the more there is still to be learned so I thought I’d cover all my bases. I’ve yet to latch onto a “fly fishing rabbi”, so most of what I’m learning about the parts, pieces, etc involved I’m learning by hunting for the information here and elsewhere.
Duckster…I’ll check out your file and Fly Goddess… thanks so much for the offer!! I will PM you my address, thank you very very much now and probably thank you several more times down the road! Appreciate it.
Matt
Can someone tell me the difference in performance between a furled leader made from mono vs. uni thread.
Thanks in advance for the replies.
Hazmat,
I think you are going to love the furled leaders.
Bakerloo,
Mono leaders, especially the ones tied from monofilament thread, are going to stretch more than the thread leaders. Thread leaders, unlike mono, will mildew if not properly stored and cared for. I’m sure there are more differences; just thought I’d share what I have experienced.
I would say the mildew would be a problem if the thread is cotton, but not so much with polyester…right?
I have never had one mildew is all I am saying, plus I think that the mono are slightly stiffer :lol:
Fly Goddess, does that mean they (mono) will turn over better?
I don’t know. I have used the mono on my heavier rod, but use thread on my 2 to 5 weight and I love how soft they are. Specially Kathy Scott’s formula.
I have another formula I use that is a 5 1/2’ leader that is more of a gradual taper. A 14-12-10-8-6 that turns over very nice on my 4 and 5 wt.
I guess I will go make a nylon one out of Coats and Clarks and give it a try LOL
As far as fishing line mono…no I have not used it, but I made one for a friend who told me it worked great and he landed some monster Salmon with it.
Guess it is the “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” thing 8)
http://www.furledleaders.co.uk/
http://www.midcurrent.com/articles/gear … eader.aspx
http://www.canerod.com/rodmakers/tips/f … urled.html
http://globalflyfisher.com/fishbetter/henk/
One more:
The other posts seem to have the ‘making’ well covered. I’ll try the ‘using’…
I use my furled leaders for trout, and I like them fairly light with a heavy butt, 9’ long or 7’-6" long in 6X or 5X. I use a mono tippet section approx. 26" long that steps 6"2X, 6"4X, 18"6X. My leaders are made from UNI brand 6/0 tying thread.
For dry fly fishing I recommend treating your leader with floatant prior to fishing. I use a paste floatant such as Loon’s Aquel. I squirt a peanut sized globe onto my thumb and forefinger, then run the leader through several times. Twisting and untwisting the leader to work it well into the fibers. A well pasted leader will float all day. For a sinking leader use no treatment, or for a fast sinking leader use some ‘sink’ paste such as 'Xink". You can re-treat a wet leader, but it never seems to work as well as a well treated dry one.
I live in a dry climate, I have never had a problem with rot or mildew. I just leave the leader on the reel to air dry on the ride home.
I get about a years service out of a leader, replacing tippet sections as needed. I use a nail knot to place about 10" of stiff mono over my flyline, then I use a blood knot to attach the furled butt section. Normaly I would use 5 turns each side for a blood knot, for less bulk I use 5 turns on the mono, 3 turned on the thread butt. I’ve never been able to get a goot nail knot out of the furled leader. I like to use double surgeon’s knot for tippet to furled leader.
Remember that the furled sections will unravel if not bound by a knot. When I replace a tippet section I clip the old tippet just next to the knot, leaving the the old knot on the tag end of the furled leader. Tie on fresh tippet in the normal manner, but leave this knot in place until finished, then clip it off with the tag.
I experimented with many materials for leaders. My favorite is UNI 6/0 tying thread. It comes in a wide range of colors and has just the right stiffness/limpness for my style of fishing. Mono leaders are stiffer than thread, were prone to breaking during contruction of a 6X leader. Mono leaders didn’t absorb as much floatant. Probaly better for heavy leaders in the 3X 2X range.
I get few wind knots in my furled leader. It can be very difficult to remove a knot when it does occur. The worst case was when I got stuck way up in a tree and had to break off most of the tippet. The furled section bounced back a hopeless birds nest of twists.
I prefer to nymph with a tapered mono-leader. My local streams have a wide rnage of deopth and current, I’m constantly adjusting the stike indicator or cutting into a leader to change length. I find that easier to do in mono.
:shock: I think my head’s going to explode… lol… great information. 
Kengore… question… why the “stepping” of the tippet?
I sent you a couple to try. Went out yesterday so you should get them the first part of next week.
All you need to do is attach tippet.
There is a larger loop at one end, do the loop to loop with your fly line, then the other end is a smaller loop.
Put a loop in the tippet you decide to use (4X,5x, 6X whatever) and attach the fly to the end of that the same way you do on a regular leader.
As I told you, the one with the indicator is a delicate leader for like 4wt’s (Kathy Scott) the second is a more gradual 14, 12, 10, 8, 6. I use this on on anything from 3wt. to a 6wt. You can also add up to 6ft of tippet if you want, but I generally do 3 to 4’.
The leader have been treated with Muslin, so you don’t need to add floatant unless it starts to sink in that case be sure and dry it off.
They were made with Uni 6/0.
If you find you like them and want to try a nylon, you know where to find me.
PEACE and TIGHT LINES
FG
Help! I must have done something wrong.
After reading all of the above posts and thoroughly studying the suggested websites, I built my jig yesterday and tried to construct my first furled leader this morning. I used 2-lb. Trilene XL and the plans calling for an 88" (untwisted) length, I twisted the raw leader until it had shortened ap. 10%, then retwisted the two legs in the opposite direction, as per the website instructions.
At that point, I hung the “finished” leader from a hook in the ceiling with a 1-oz. weight suspended on the bottom end. The leader continued to turn for a short time, but after a minute or two the weight stopped spinning. Great, I thought…
The problem is that after removing the “finished” leader, as I coiled it loosely around my hand, the loose circular wraps turned/twisted to form a “figure 8.” My impression from the reading is that it should have remained limp, especially since I was using such a light line with reputedly “low memory.”
Any idea what the problem is, or what I might have done wrong?
OldBaldGuy,
It sounds to me like what you have done is the same thing as wrapping up an extension cord and still have it plugged into the receptacle. Each wrap put a twist into the leader which could not come out because you were holding the end as you wrapped. When I finish my furled leaders, I will wrap them around my fingers so I can store them in small zip-lock bags. With each wrap I let go of the long end of the leader so that the twist I just put into the leader can come out. Try that and see if that works for you.
hazmat,
Been awhile since I have talked to you and hope all is fine.
I make and use furled leaders and will never use anything else! I just love them! They will turn over a very long tippet and are a joy to use and fish with. I would recommend that you contact Kathy Scott and order her DVD on furled leader making. You will not regret it. I promise you that after you try a furled leader you will want to make them, so, bite the bullet, and get the DVD! 
I am a nymph/wet fly/streamer fisherman and I use Kathy’s formula with the only change being that I have increased the distance between pegs so that my leaders are around 7 foot long. To the end of these I attach about 5 to 6 foot of fluorocarbon in 6 pound test for tippet. I really like the furled leader made from Berkley Vanish flurorcarbon in 4 pound test. I use it on my 4 weight, 5 weight and my 6 weight rods and it turns over beautifully. Most of my flies are tied on #10 and #12 hooks with a few in the #6 and #8. These leaders will turn them over great. If you are fishing mostly dry flies then the thread furled leaders, as mentioned, will work great with treatment. You can also make a furled leader with Coats & Clark 100% Nylon Quilting Thread in the .005 diameter and it will almost float on its own since nylon has almost the same density as water. I think one could use the nylon leaders and not have to treat them. Just a rule of thumb here is that nylon wants to try and float, mono will sink slowly and fluorocarbon will sink much quicker then mono which is a nymph fisherman’s dream for getting flies down deeper! I have also made some furled leaders with 2 pound test Berkley Ironsilk and they work great. This will be the leader I use if I am going to fish mainly for bluegill with surface poppers. It will sink, but, with a 5 to 6 foot tippet, I am ready to recast the popper before the sinking furled leader begins to affect the popper.
I hope some of this helps to answer some of your questions. Just order Kathy’s DVD my friend and you will not be sorry!
I use a 3 oz weight on mine. Allow it to spin till stop. Then take off weight and let it spin till stop. Then I run my fingers down the leader to make sure all the turning is done.
I then take it and put my loops in both ends. Wrap them up in a loop and use the ties for bread or buns to hold them together.
I am not a big fan of using mono. Very stiff to me. If I were I would use no more than 2lb. considering, if you use Kathy Scott’s you are going to have 10 stands at the butt section and to me that is too thick with 4lb.
I fish primarily 5X and 4X leaders though. The heaviest tippet I have used is a 6lb.
As far as Flourocarbon, I like P-Line over Berkley. It seems a little softer.
Good luck on you new addiction.
FG
I sent you a couple to try. Went out yesterday so you should get them the first part of next week.
All you need to do is attach tippet.
There is a larger loop at one end, do the loop to loop with your fly line, then the other end is a smaller loop.
Put a loop in the tippet you decide to use (4X,5x, 6X whatever) and attach the fly to the end of that the same way you do on a regular leader.
As I told you, the one with the indicator is a delicate leader for like 4wt’s (Kathy Scott) the second is a more gradual 14, 12, 10, 8, 6. I use this on on anything from 3wt. to a 6wt. You can also add up to 6ft of tippet if you want, but I generally do 3 to 4’.
The leader have been treated with Muslin, so you don’t need to add floatant unless it starts to sink in that case be sure and dry it off.
They were made with Uni 6/0.
If you find you like them and want to try a nylon, you know where to find me.
PEACE and TIGHT LINES
FG[/quote]
I’ll keep my eyes open and thanks!!! Can’t wait to try them!!