I’m a little confused about what exactly a furled leader is. I’m still pretty new to flyfishing, but building my own leaders is something I would love to learn to do to save a bit of money; my wife nearly freaked when she saw the prices of some flylines and tapered leaders! So my questions are:
What are the benefits of furled leaders?
How can I learn to make my own furled leaders?
What are the best materials for making my own leaders?
~Rick
My Fishing Blog!
[url=http://www.flyanglersonline.com/prorevw/kathyscott.html:04190]http://www.flyanglersonline.com/prorevw/kathyscott.html[/url:04190]
Do a search on the FAOL forums and you’ll get a lot. Here are a few examples:
[url=http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/Archives/Archive-000001/HTML/19991224-1-000047.html:33d9d]http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/Archives/Archive-000001/HTML/19991224-1-000047.html[/url:33d9d]
[url=http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/Forum1/HTML/012817.html:33d9d]http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/Forum1/HTML/012817.html[/url:33d9d]
[url=http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/Forum1/HTML/014149.html:33d9d]http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/Forum1/HTML/014149.html[/url:33d9d]
there are several good resources, here and across the 'net. Fire up that Google 
RRhyne56
[url=http://www.robinscustomleadersandflies.com:d21a3]Sweetness On The Water[/url:d21a3]
[url=http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/wild/species/bgl/:d21a3]Good Ol? Lepomis Macrochirus[/url:d21a3]
Is a furled leader a braided leader???
No, it is furled.
[url=http://mywebpages.comcast.net/freaner/furling/furled.htm:d1348]Here[/url:d1348] or [url=http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:SW8-H63F0yAJ:www.peninsulaflyfishers.org/Tackle/furled_leader/furled_leader.html+shorb+loop&hl=en:d1348]here[/url:d1348]
I hear the DVD from Kat Scott is da bomb.
I’m confused about that as well Chris. I hear people using Fusion or Firewire for leaders. How can that be applied appropriately?
First, if you can get a copy of Kathy’s DVD do it. It’s a fantastic piece.
A furled leader is made in much the same way as rope, by twisting strands if strick togther. Tapering is done by the number of strands at each end. Basically it is built on two legs, each leg will consist of interlocked loops, one end will have 5 looops the midde 4 and the other end 3. This makes a taper of 10 - 8 - 6. Perfect for 3-5wt lines.
I build most of mine 5’ then use 24" of 4x and then another length of what I need to fish with.
Pete
Furled leaders may remain a mystery to you until either you see someone make one or buy the video from KS for $15.00. [I am a satisfied customer].
Here’s an analogy. Take a piece of thread or yarn, twine etc. Twist it tightly and then loosen your hold and let it twist around itsel. [I make extended bodies for flies like this all the time]
Now with a furled leader you are twisting a bunch of interconnected loops and performing a similar process. Is it as clear as mud?
BTW Fly Fishing-Tying CAN be expensive but it doesn’t have to be. Kind of like golf You can buy a used driver for three bucks at a tag sale or spend six hundred for the latest high-tech driver.
One of my favorite fly fishing books is “The Colonial Angler” It allows you to step back in time and see that there are many ways to fly fish and that what is advertised today is today’s style of fishing, not the only way to enjoy fly fishing.
Ed
[url=http://www.EdEngelman.com:ad2aa]www.EdEngelman.com[/url:ad2aa]
my humble low budget fishing site