how to make my furled leader stay afloat

hi, i had a member in our group graciously give me furled leaders awhile back and I finally fished them today. I noticed that even though they were made out of monofilament, the leaders always sank. I switched to another furled leader and placed a very liberal amount of floatant on it and it worked for about 15 minutes but after that it just started to sink again. Now, I wouldn’t mind this leader if I was nymphing, however I need it for dry flies and using a strike indicator. I fish and mainly roll cast because of the structure behind me so the sinking line effects my casts tremendously. Is there any way of making a furled leader float better or should I go back to buying a monofilament leader for my dry flies and fishing under an indicator?

John

I believe that some of the sponsors of FAOL sell this stuff:

http://www.phoenixclassics.com/product/33

Mucilin is worth the moneypaid for it. Works great.

John,

  1. Are you SURE it was straight mono, or fluorocarbon? Fluoro looks like mono but sinks readily.
  2. Mucilin is a fine paste floatant. I use red tin, but USE IT SPARINGLY! Putting a paste floatant on in large amounts will also cause your leader to sink.
    Mike

Good point about the floro. Floro is great for nymphing in gin clear waters. However, I only use it as a tippet. Yet to try it as a leadr but I will do so for my lake and river streamer fishing. Looks like the next time I go to Wal-Mart I will have to get some “Vanish”. Sorry, I did not intend to high jack your post.

mucillin

Most of the fly fishermen I know that fish a furled leader and dry fly fish, are using a furled leader made from 6/0 tying thread which will accept floatant very well.

I recently went through this myself. I recommend the red can Mucilin.

I tried the liquid or “gel” floatants but they didnt work very well. The Mucilin is a real paste and seems to do the job.

Just be careful with the Mucilin in the hot weather…It WILL melt and seep out of the container onto anything that it is near.

So don’t just leave it lying around in your car or anything like that.

Brian

Mucillin Red Can

John:

I was about to shred my mono furled leaders because I could not keep them afloat with l gel style floatants. I could not get Mucilin locally but found that Loon Payette Paste and some old Cortland paste both work just fine. I think the trick is to use paste not get floatant.

David

Mucilin if you live where it doesn’t get too hot in the summer 'cause it WILL liquefy.

Loon Payette for Hades and most other places where it may get hot.

Like the rest said; thick paste works the longest although I have had good luck with Poo Goo gel.

I have always used the Green Label Mucelin which contains silicone. Works great for fly lines as well as a paste fly floatant applies with the finger tips

Tom

Can the green label mucelin be used on thread furled leaders?
Rich

Absolutely!

Coincidentally, I’ve been thinking about learning to furl my own leaders, lately. In my internet reading, people have claimed that furled leaders made from unithread float like a cork. Is this not true?

Not quite true. While furled leaders made from thread do float BETTER, they don’t float like a cork. They will absorb water and sink, but it takes a little time. When I make furled leaders from thread I soak them in WaterShed or CampDry and then let them hang until dry. They then float much better (higher) and take longer before they start to absorb water (and sink). Also, thread furled leaders take paste floatants much better than mono furled leaders.

Thanks for the information. I hope to build a jig this weekend and get started.