I recently bought a furled leader (9 foot section of mono), and add my own tippet material to the end (up to 36 inches if needed).
The leader really can turn a fly over exceptionally well, extending the whole tippet out as far as it will go, which is why I purchased it - to see what it can do.
My issue is that the leader wants to sink - and bring the tip of the fly line down with it on long drifts (I’m talking about dry fly fishing here, and I’m not planning on using a furled leader when nymphing or streamer fishing)- thus effecting the drift, the presentation, the possibility of spooking anything viewing the sunken leader and tip, and the action of the fly.
I was thinking of adding floatant to the leader, but that’ll wear off fast, and I’m not sure that’ll work at all.
Any suggestions to help with this - or is the leader doing what it is supposed to do.
Floatant will really help. I use the thread furled leaders for dries, and usually apply floatant as I string up the rod, and again after a lunch break. Most mono will sink anyway, so adding floatant should help, even if you have to re apply it periodically during the day. While adding floatant can seem to be a drag, I think the castablility of the leaders makes the added maintenance very bearable.
Happy casting, Jeff
Tis my time on the water, in the mountains, and in my driftboat where I can see things as they really are.
I too use thread for two reasons, I prefer the casting qualities over that of mono and also that it will hold a WaterShed treatment for quite a long time (so far none have given out on me).
If there is a permanent treatment for mono I do not know what it is and would be delighted to of it
The furled leaders made of mono will benefit from a paste floatant. In my experiance however the ones made from thread will absorb the floatant better and don’t have any problem with sinking in a days fishing.
Making your own is really a rather simple process and quite cost effective. I made four 9’ leaders this weekend and still have enough thread left for a couple more at $1.99 for a spool of 6/0 thread that comes to about 40 cents per leader! Plus I can fine tune them to fit my specific requirements.
Yep. Thread for the top water, and Fluoro for the rest. Thread does a great job with holding floatant. It will also not kink up if you have to untie any knots. I do not use mono. Salmon season is coming up, so the fluorocarbon is coming out soon.
Ditto the above, tread for drys - I use Abolene as a waterproofer. (You get Abolene in the Make-up section of your local drug store…ladies use it to remove mascara. It lasts a long time on the leader which sheds the water on the back cast.)
Snow on the roof but with fire still in the hearth
Excellent advice from all!!! My decision will be to go to a thread for Drys - and for now, I’ll use a paste for my mono.
I love the benefits of a furled leader, and the way in which it turns over the fly - seems better than my own tied “knotted” leaders.
Thanks again!
tws, you can make a furled leader out of just about any sort of material so the Fireline is a definite possibility. However the action of the leader is definitely determined by the material used to build it. How stiff is the Berkley stuff? What is the diameter? A basic taper of 10-8-6 is going to have 6 threads at the tippet end so 6 x 4lb test is a 24# test tippet end. A Fireline leader might be a bit too thick and stiff to use for delicate dry fly fishing. This is reason we use tying thread for dryfly leaders. A furled mono leader made from Fireline might work for bigger flies or for saltwater fishing.
Firewire may indeed be strong, but unless you get badly tangled in trees, etc, the tippet is the weak link. The tippet should be strong, but it doesn’t have to be super strong. Fluoro is my super strong material of choice, and I use that for salmon / steelhead because of rock and whateverelsemaybeintheriver abrasions.
[This message has been edited by troutgeek (edited 10 August 2005).]
