Furled leaders, school me

[franklin]

I've seen some references in recent posts to furled leaders. This has peaked my interest as I have no experience with them and know very little about their use. Fill me in.

 

[Swattie87]

I use them exclusively. Feel they're easier to turn over as the butt section is more supple and they seem to allow a smoother, more relaxed transfer of energy. I feel this part is just a personal preference deal vs. traditional leaders.

Biggest pros IMO, and why I ultimately use them though are based more from a convenience/ease of us perspective. You spend wayyyy less time messing with your leader, and they last a long time. There's a loop to loop type deal on the tippet end and you just add your tippet to that. You never really have to replace the furled section til it wears out...My Brookie ones that get beat to all heck last a season+. My WW and big stream Trout ones last multiple years. I've never had one catastrophically fail and had to replace it while on the stream. When they start to wear out the individual furled pieces of line start to fray, so you can tell its demise is coming and just swap it out at home before your next outing. At $10ish a piece, they're more expensive than a tapered leader, but are still more cost effective because of how long they last...you're never cutting it back and never have to "rebuild" a leader on the stream.

At the tippet end if I'm fishing anything 4x or bigger I just loop it straight to the loop on the furled leader. 5x or smaller I'll step it down once...so maybe 18"-24" of 3x or 4x looped to the leader, then my desired length of 5x or 6x.

 

[troutpoop]

I've been using furled leaders exclusively for several years. There are quite a few good ones out there. This year I'm using Zen but I have tried Blue Sky, FeatherCraft, Streamside and Cuthroat.

I just tie on tippet for the correct application, most often 5X. I'm primarily a dry fly or traditional wet fly guy. If you end up nibbling away the tippet material tying on flies you can just cut it at the tippet ring and retie or knot on an extension.
Its very easy to see the tippet, unlike problems that sometimes occur with an extruded leader. I've seen guys way into the leader portion tying on flies because they cannot discern where the leader stops and the tippet portion starts.

The original furled leaders were developed for the stream of the UK for dry dry fishing. I use the same leader for an entire season and change it every year just as a precaution.
I have one extra with me for catastrophic loss like a tall tree fish etc.

For nymphing the extra diameter of the furled leader isn't optimal but can be done in a pinch.

 

[fishbaithohaha]

Have woven several furled leaders in many different colors; olive, blue, yellow. red/black, white. .....

My observations;

Like tying flies, in the short run, it is not cost effective to weave leaders.

Furled leaders easily cast, allowing flies to softly alight.

Any color is OK, except reds. If your old, like me, use a color easily seen.

Soak the leader in flotant prior to first use.

Use furled leader that terminate in a solid, continuous tippet ring.

Use a perfect knot in fly line to connect furled leader. Most furled leaders use Schrob (sp) knot at the thick end.

Add appropriate size an length tippet material as needed. For longer leaders or smaller flies, step down the tippet size. "Swat's" recommendations are spot on.

When tangled, take your time undoing the "bird's nest. In the vain hope leader will dis-entangle, DO NOT PULL THE LEADER TAUGHT, .

 

[Toofish]

This is my first year using furled leader. I must say my casts are better because the leader is not all curled up coming off the reel or out of the package. Good luck.
Sean

 

[JerryC]

I've been using them for 16, maybe 17 years now. Mine range from ones light enough to present a size 30 to ones that will turn over my bass and pike flies. All the thread ones I have I got by swapping materials or flies for them. Mostly yellow or gray, but you can use permanent markers to alter the color. Take care of them and they'll last several seasons. As already mentioned I treat mine with floatant(Water Shed) they serve as a strike indicator when I'm drifting a nymph. They're also a lot easier to get wind knots out of for those of us who have that occasional problem.
Good luck with them I think you'll enjoy fishing with them.

 

[724flyfishing]

I just bought one to try based on the recommendation of some others. I haven't tried it yet. I'm curious to see how they preform. I've been tieing my own leaders lately. It's easy to do and they turn over better than the tapered leaders. For like $15-$20 worth of Maxima leader material I can tie probably 20+ leaders. I'll have to compare to see which I like more.

 

[chromid]

I have been using furled leaders for many years and am more of a dry fly guy than nympher.

The drawbacks I see to the furled leader are:

They have a tendency to create more drag in faster currents than the standard taperd leader and yes they do spray water during casting.

Both of these have a beneficial value as over the years my lifting and mending techniques have improved dramatically.

Their benefits far out way their detractions and if you pay attention will improve your technique.

 

[csoult]

I've tried them all and have settled on a braided leader for dries. Best fishing leader I've used. There can be spray, but that's only if you false cast over the fish, and even at that I haven't seen it affect the fish other than in low and clear conditions.

 

[turkey]

I've been happily using a furly for the last few years for dry flies. I still try to use a mono knotted leader with droppers for wets. My only issues with the furly are drag and it tends to sink after a bit. I think the convenience outweighs the drawbacks. I'd like to check out a braided leader sometime.

 

[NPflychucker]

Ive been using furled leaders for quite a few years now. I love them. I fish nymphs, streams and dries with them. They work pretty well in all applications in my opinion. Biggest plus for me is the ease of use, when my tippet starts to get short, ill just clip it and put a new piece on, loop to loop connection, done back fishing in under a minute. Take care of them and they will last a few seasons for you.

 

[poopdeck]

I was spending way to much on tapered leaders since I pretty much suck at casting. Started furling my own and use them religiously. Best thing about them is they Can be made easily for pennies on the dollar or about 50 cents. Short loops on both ends. Loop to loop to the main line and I just tie the tippet to the end.

 

[franklin]

I ordered a couple to give them a try. I should probably cast one once before asking this but; when making your own what "recipe" do you use?

 

[poopdeck]

I use a spreadsheet called the Big Furled Leader Formula (BFLF) that I got from a furled leader forum. The recipe that I am most fond of for my 4wt is 62" 4 step, 4-3-2-3-4. For my 5 wt I use a 4 step 70" 5-4-3-4-5. All are made with 6/0 uni thread. Color is unimportant to me but generally they are white, tan, or olive. Depends on what I have most of at the time I start furling. You will find that there is not much uniformity to the way that furled leaders are labeled.

Furled leaders are infinitely adjustable in length, amount of taper and suppleness or twist. At 10 bucks a pop it may get pricy finding the one that suits you best which is why I make them.

 

[ryguyfi]

I've used them for about 3-4 years now. They have virtually no memory so no need to stretch out that mono leader and run it through a leader straightener any more. All those coils on a mono leader will create drag. A furled leader is great for that reason and I exclusively use them for dries. Apply a paste floatant of some sort and have a go. Also look for ones with a tippet ring on the end. Helps to make sure you're not clipping off the built in loop at the end of the leader. I won't go back to a mono leader for dries after using furled.

Also there's a difference between furled and braided. Furled are furled of course. They are twisted compared to braided. I've never used a braided leader but I hear they capture more water inside and that can cause issues with casting, drag, etc.

 

[fadeaway263]

I agree with what all the pros given in this thread. Great leader for us older guys as changing tippet with the tippet ring is a breeze. Was talking to Paul Weamer about them at the past Lancaster FF Show. Since they do trap some water he showed me a lift/mend technique to get trapped water out of the leader. I do have to say that some of the Montana Guides hate them.

 

[franklin]

Got my first one in the mail today from cutthroatleaders. Have to try it in the back yard.

 

[englishprof]

fadeaway263 wrote:
Was talking to Paul Weamer about them at the past Lancaster FF Show.

It was Gary Borger, not Paul Weamer!!!!!

 

[shakey]

i have been using braided leaders by cortland lately.i quite like them.

they are better than my own tyed leaders.

a fantastic leader to treat yourself to are the ones tyed by christopher fave. great leaders.

i would like to compare braided against furled leaders.

 

[fadeaway263]

I always get those guys mixed up