Anyone Use(d) Furled Leaders?

[tyeager]

I use a furled leader on two small stream rods (6'6" 4 wgt and 7' 4 wgt). They do cast nicely and turn over easily. I haven't had any issues with them sinking but my drifts are relatively short and usually in broken water.

I like them and will continue to use the ones I have but I don't know if I will buy more or not.

Just to point out the obvious you can attach a tippet ring to any mono or flouro leader and get the same "leader saving" quality that has been mentioned. Also, leaders with memory can be stretched back to normal quite easily.

 

[Alnitak]

tyeager wrote:
I use a furled leader on two small stream rods (6'6" 4 wgt and 7' 4 wgt). They do cast nicely and turn over easily. I haven't had any issues with them sinking but my drifts are relatively short and usually in broken water.

I like them and will continue to use the ones I have but I don't know if I will buy more or not.

Just to point out the obvious you can attach a tippet ring to any mono or flouro leader and get the same "leader saving" quality that has been mentioned. Also, leaders with memory can be stretched back to normal quite easily.

On the tippet ring issue, that's true in part, but I still find that the mono and fluoro leaders break far more easily, and at some point you've got just a short section of thick filament to deal with, or you knot progressive sections of tippet to step it down. Just not my cup of tea.

Yes, you can stretch it out, but that's a pain in the a$$, and you have to do it fairly often. In addition, I've found that when I'm out fishing for any extended period of time the cold water makes the line return to its coiled shape, especially up at the butt end, which results in annoying tangles around the tip of my rod.

Of course, it could be that most people don't mind the memory issue or the stretching, but it drives me batty. In the end it was this frustration that led me to try out the furled leaders.

Jeff

 

[PennKev]

fadeaway263 wrote:
Our guides in Montana told us to lose the furled leaders for dry fly fishing and use them soley for nymphing. I think they were correct as it is hard to mend a leader that sinks.

It sounds like your guides didn't know much about furled leaders.

A properly dressed furled leader will float with little further trouble. A long day on the water might require a second application of floatant. Mucilin works works better than anything IMO.

As for nymphing I wouldn't use them if fishing more than and a foot or two below the surface because even if undressed and sinking, furled leaders have a lot more water resistance than mono. They don't sink as quickly and do some funky stuff that can ruin your presentation when submergered. I'm not a fan of the common solution of adding a 6ft tippet ( or some other stupid length) to the leader so that you can get your fly down. Why even have the furled leader if you do something like that? Its pretty much forcing square pegs into round holes at that point.

However they are great for fishing emergers high in the water column, but again useless for deep nymphing IMO.

Kev

 

[poopdeck]

I use the mucilin green as well and have zero problems with sinking. In fact it never sinks.

Stags I started fly fishing, fly tying, and leader furling all in the same week. I wasted so much of my life not fly fishing that I have some serious catching up to do.

 

[AugustWest]

Yes, Stagger Lee, just like Pearly Baker's been true to WR's dying day's end as was Delia DeLyon true to Billy.

 

[ryguyfi]

PennKev wrote:

fadeaway263 wrote:
Our guides in Montana told us to lose the furled leaders for dry fly fishing and use them soley for nymphing. I think they were correct as it is hard to mend a leader that sinks.

It sounds like your guides didn't know much about furled leaders.

A properly dressed furled leader will float with little further trouble. A long day on the water might require a second application of floatant. Mucilin works works better than anything IMO.

As for nymphing I wouldn't use them if fishing more than and a foot or two below the surface because even if undressed and sinking, furled leaders have a lot more water resistance than mono. They don't sink as quickly and do some funky stuff that can ruin your presentation when submergered. I'm not a fan of the common solution of adding a 6ft tippet ( or some other stupid length) to the leader so that you can get your fly down. Why even have the furled leader if you do something like that? Its pretty much forcing square pegs into round holes at that point.

However they are great for fishing emergers high in the water column, but again useless for deep nymphing IMO.

Kev

One of the purposes of a furled leader is to be more flexible with little to no memory to cast more accurately. I agree I wouldn't use a nymphing furled leader for dredging, but if you have around a 4ft nymphing furled leader and added 3-5 feet of tippet from there (even tapered), then it can serve it's purpose rather than using any form of mono.

 

[sandfly]

Alnitak wrote;

Yes, you can stretch it out, but that's a pain in the a$$, and you have to do it fairly often. In addition, I've found that when I'm out fishing for any extended period of time the cold water makes the line return to its coiled shape, especially up at the butt end, which results in annoying tangles around the tip of my rod.

don't you stretch your line before casting ? or don't you mind the coils in line ?

 

[JJZ]

I fish with silk lines most of the time and use silk tapered leaders. When fishing plastic, its a ferruled leader. Turnovers are a breeze...