Leaders, Dry Flies

[wsender]

What do you use, and why?

 

[gfen]

Furled. Because it was easy to make, resists wind knots, and lasts and lasts.

Same one, more-or-less, as the wet fly leader. I've got like 4-5' of furled, then I'll just attach the tippet in the length I figure seems right, usually there's a 1'-2' of 2x, 3x, and 4x just sort of on it. Add what I gotta add.

 

[jayL]

Hand tied or furled. About 50/50.

 

[MKern]

Tapered mono or floro just because of it's easy to pick one up for $4.

 

[sandfly]

Hand tied 99% of the time...

 

[WildTigerTrout]

Handtied 100% of the time. A good friend showed me how to tie knotted leaders and I have tied them ever since. I think they turn over better! I tried a knotless leader one time on a friends flyrod and did not like it. I like the fact that I can adjust the leader how ever I want to fit a given situation.

 

[jdaddy]

Was pretty much all hand tied until I found a stash of extruded I bought at super clearance at Cabelas. May put some up for same soon.

Sender check out LeaderCalc. It is the bomb.

http://globalflyfisher.com/fishbetter/leadercalc/download.php

Get the PDF on the same page above as well. Explains advantages etc. Basically customization is the up shot, that and repair ability. Down side is knots in the guides having a hard time getting through guides.

 

[PaulG]

I use the ones tied by FFP, they work fine for me, with no problems.

PaulG

 

[pcray1231]

I use hand tied. The reason is flexibility.

Depending on water type, I'll use the FFP formula or the Harvey slack line formula found in Humphrie's book. The FFP formula is stiffer, casts and turns over better and I'm more accurate with it. Works great in fast water or unpicky fish. In slower water or extremely drag shy fish, I use the Harvey formula.

Sometimes in "in-between" situations I use the FFP formula, cut off a few feet off the end, and use a long tippet with it.

 

[Bruno]

If I anticipate a hatch and know that it will be a dry fly day I like a Harvey Slack line leader

10" .017
20" .015
20" .013
20" .011
12" .009
10" .007
28" .006

Hand tied

 

[bam]

I use all three equally. Nymphing I like a tapered mono with a small barrel swivel for attaching tippet... which also works great to eliminate line twist. If I know I might be switching to dries along the way, I tend to go with a furled or hand tied leader so I don't have to swap out the entire leader if bugs start popping up.

To those of you who use furled leaders, What's the best way to keep them floating high? Gink? I have to work harder to shed water and they are harder to mend when on the water, IMO.

 

[afishinado]

bam wrote:
I use all three equally. Nymphing I like a tapered mono with a small barrel swivel for attaching tippet... which also works great to eliminate line twist. If I know I might be switching to dries along the way, I tend to go with a furled or hand tied leader so I don't have to swap out the entire leader if bugs start popping up.

[color=990000]To those of you who use furled leaders, What's the best way to keep them floating high? Gink? I have to work harder to shed water and they are harder to mend when on the water, IMO.[/color]

I use Mucilin (green), but most paste type floatants work just fine. My furled leader butts float well, don't hold water, and mend very easily.

 

[jayL]

Mucilin.

 

[gfen]

bam wrote:
To those of you who use furled leaders, What's the best way to keep them floating high? Gink? I have to work harder to shed water and they are harder to mend when on the water, IMO.

Never really noticed a problem, but I do know that when I've got too much Abolene on my fingers, I'll run 'em up the furled bits and over the line and back down.

It probably gets this once every other trip, at most once a trip.

 

[bam]

Thanks. I have a couple of the Blue Sky furled leaders and they tend to sink after they've been in the water for a little while.

 

[gfen]

When treating the furled leaders, be warned that if you squeeze too hard while pulling it through your fingers you'll make a wicked tangle on the tippet end as you pull the furls "apart" or "open," and then let 'em close back up.

 

[afishinado]

bam wrote:
Thanks. I have a couple of the Blue Sky furled leaders and they tend to sink after they've been in the water for a little while.

Most of the Blue Sky Furled leaders are made from thread I believe and will absorb water eventually if not treated with some kind of floatant. I make my own mono furled leaders. They are simply thin mono twisted together by hand. Most of the furled leaders made commercially are made by using a jig and twisted thousands of times using a power drill or similar machine. They tend to be stiffer and curl up if you pull on them or break your tippet on a snag or fish and it whips back.

 

[gfen]

The Bluesky furled leaders I started with were a sort of greenish tint nylon something.. Don't think it was thread, and would assume it was mono.

 

[afishinado]

"Premium nylon" (thread I believe)


http://www.blueskyfly.com/products.html

 

[jayL]

Not a fan of the blue sky furled leaders.

The loop/tippet connection dongle comes undone all the time.