Hi my amigos and amigas!
Can someone comment on furrled leaders in freshwater use? How do they affect castability? Do they wind knot less? Presentation?
Thanks for your input! -Migs
Furled leaders cast beautifully. They turn over readily and seem to promote tight loops. But I’m not a fan of furled leaders. They seem to collect just as many wind knots as mono leaders. Getting a knot out of a furled leader is quite difficult. My biggest gripe is that all the furled leaders I have tried in moving water sink like a stone and cause my fly to drag. I know I can treat them with a floatant and keep them on top, but ff’ing is filled with enough things to fiddle with w/o worrrying about my leaders.
Just my $.02,
Harry
I’ve had the opposite results. With my limited experience, i’ve never gotten a wind knot with furled leaders. Something I can’t say for regular mono leaders.
what canerods said except to also add that I like them for nymphing for the same reasons they don’t work as well for dries. They sink fast. I don’t have that many problems with wind knots in them (at least no more than I do with other leaders)but they are a pain to unknot.
I use my homemade furled leaders for most of my dry fly fishing. They layout better than anything else I have tried. I can take a 9’ leader in my bare hand and lay it out to it’s full length with just a flick of my wrist, I doubt anyone could do that with a mono leader.
It’s true that they sink if not treated, I treat mine with the same paste I use as a fly floatant (Loon’s Aquel) and they float just fine all day long. I might spend a whole 30 seconds applying the paste, about the same time I would spend straightening a mon leader. I fish a lot of very fast/rough mountain streams and the treated furled leaders float better than mono.
I have rarely had any wind knots or tangles, but when you do get a knot they are much more difficult to remove.
Furled leaders made from tying thread are very durable. It’s not uncommon for me to fish the same leader each weekend for the whole season, just changing the tippet
as it gets used up.
I don’t like to use the furled leaders for my nymphing. On my local streams the depth changes constantly, so I am always cutting and re-tying leader sections to adjust. So I use a tapered mono leader and cut the heck out of it. I also don’t like to use split shot on the furled leaders, it cuts them up too much.
Hi,
I really enjoy all the different answers to your questions, and I hope you do, too. Its nice to know that there’s room for so many different preferences in fly fishing. Keeps it interesting.
I only use furled leaders. They’re known for their supple turnover and delicate presentation with dry flies (and I can use all the help I can get). I like them wet for nymphing, though I don’t nymph much.
Treating them to make them float doesn’t bother me (I’m using a silk line - the same silk line for years - so I’m treating that anyway), and I like being able to NOT treat part of the leader if I want part of it to sink. While I use Unithread, I’ve heard that leaders made of nymo beading thread and of gel spun both float much better.
As for wind knots, they are a bear, but best if caught early and untied from the middle.
Just my 2 cents,
Kat
I switched over to furled leaders this past season and love them. They lay out more easily for me and I think I only experienced one wind knot during the entire season. If you’ve ever seen me cast, you’d realize how amazing that fact is. They do tend to snag a bit more crud from the water, but not enough to make it a problem.
Great leaders and Kathy Scott’s CD does a terrific job showing you how to build your own. Well worth the investment.
Jim Smith
Friends:
So which furrled leaders (brand?) would you recommend? Ive seen the Feather Craft ones. Are they good? They also have Fluorocarbon ones as well. What to choose?
Migs
Migs, there a a bunch of people here on FAOL that furl their own leaders. If you want to try some out, let us know what sort of fishing you do (line weight, rod length, what type of fish, etc…), and you’ll end up with a bunch of furled leaders to try out.
Regards,
Joe Martin
Migs, PM Kathy Scott. Ive got one of her furled leaders and am planning on buying more. Im not the best caster and they have really helped me. Kathy is right. If you catch the wind knots before they really tighten there not too hard to get out. Regards-Clyde
Migs;
You have a pm. I’ve got so many furled leaders I’ll never use them all in my lifetime. And they cost just pennies to make!
A tip of my hat to Jack Hise (and all of you!) -Migs
Does anybody use the little rings that Feather Craft uses? It sure seems like a good idea for tying on tippet if it works.
Gramps,
Some of the mono furled leaders I have use the small rings to attach the tippet. Makes cutting off the old tippet real easy. I just attach the tippet to the ring with an improved clinch knot.
The thread furled leaders I have don’t have the metal rings, but do have a loop for loop to loop connections. Again, changing tippets is easy. Just tie a perfection loop in the tippet and your ready to go.
The metal rings weigh very little so a bit of mucellin or other floatant would help keep them on top of the water. I have never lost a fish due to a failure of the metal ring. I also have never noticed any hinging when casting this setup.
REE
I’ve been using the BlueSky furled leaders. It has a small loop on the tippet end and i’ve been using a clinch knot to attach my tippet, because I have a hard time making a small enough loop in the tippet. I like the idea of the small ring instead, and was thinking of switching to the Feather Craft leaders. It would be safer with my eyes when I cut the tippet off the leader.
I’ve lost the sight in one eye,and of course my depth perception is poor. I can see with a magnifier, but I can’t line things up. It’s comical watching me tie knots. 
A couple are on the way when I stop at the P.O. tomorow a.m.
I have been making and using furled leaders since 1994. Here is an excerpt from my files on the pro and cons of thread furled leaders. Leaders made of mono exhibit different characteristics.
The following advantages and disadvantages apply to the thread furled leaders. My apologies in advance if the indents in the text get misaligned.
Regards,
Jim Cramer
Advantages
o Memory Free
o Positive turnover provides increased accuracy
o Reduced micro-drag
o Natural elasticity protects light tippets
o Gentle presentation eliminates leader slap
o Compatible with a wide variety of tippet sizes
o User Friendly, not prone to wind knots (however one can form wind knots if they try, S)
o High-visibility assists the angler in the tracking
small flies in adverse light conditions
o Good retention of paste floatants
o Excellent knot strength
o Far less spray than hollow braided leaders, comparable to monofilament leaders
o Inexpensive, if you make your own
o Custom leaders can be designed with a wide latitude in tapers and characteristics to meet many angling situations
o Good longevity, reports of leaders lasting several seasons are not uncommon
o When used for nymphing, a bright colored leader serves both as a strike indicator and a drag indicator.
Disadvantages
o Positive turnover increases difficulty with curve and ‘trick’ casts
o Some thread leaders can mildew if put away wet in a warm dark place
o Will collect dirt if used in scum covered waters and will not float until cleaned
o Knots are difficult to remove
o Keep you back cast up as the leaders are very difficult to remove from the brush
Furled leaders are not the answer to every fishing situation but they do excell at many.
I read this ten times and still don’t know what you said.
Gramps;
It’s a secret code taken from my days working for the National Security Agency!
In reality I asked Migs to pm his snail mail address so I could send him a thread and a flourocarbon leader.
These are 10/8/6 6.5 foot leaders using 24" butt, 30" intermediate and 30" tippit end.
I read this ten times and still don’t know what you said.[/quote]
Insert “way” after “the”
That was easier than breaking the Japanese code 