Furled Leaders

[StarvinMarvin]

Anyone tie/build their own with a peg board? I am trying to find a good line material to tie with? Also if you could post a photo of yours I'll try and upload mine here in a little.

 

[PennKev]

6/0 and 8/0 Uni-thread are the best materials IMO. Fine, strong, and supple.

Fine monofilament sewing thread (just super fine mono) is usable but is much thicker in comparison to Uni-thread. Some folks like mono furled leaders but they are junk as far as I'm concerned.

Try a search of the board for "furled leaders" we had several long threads with plenty of info and different opinions.

Kev

 

[jay348]

PennKev wrote:
6/0 and 8/0 Uni-thread are the best materials IMO. Fine, strong, and supple.

Fine monofilament sewing thread (just super fine mono) is usable but is much thicker in comparison to Uni-thread. Some folks like mono furled leaders but they are junk as far as I'm concerned.

Try a search of the board for "furled leaders" we had several long threads with plenty of info and different opinions.

Kev

I've never used mono, but +1 to the uni thread. I've only used 6/0.

 

[StarvinMarvin]

The ones I got from feathercraft were a thin mono from what I could tell. I was thinking of trying a flourocarbon one.

 

[dsmith1427]

I fish a lot with nymphs and started using a furled fluorocarbon leader last year. I am not sure if it was the fluorocarbon leader or not but I had better than usual outings. I made my leader using 2 lb test spider wire. I used the following website as a guideline for making my leaders:

http://www.hatchesmagazine.com/page/may2006/185

Until I got the hang of it, I did break a couple of leaders twisting the line too long.

Don

 

[JackM]

Thanks for "hatches" link. A video on that page called Mending The Line is worth a watch, and cry.

 

[pszy22]

I've been using mono for my furled leaders for the last 15 or so years and have never had a problem. At least for the types of fishing I do, they preform well and are long lasting.

Of course, that's part of the fun of making your own leaders, you can experiment with materials and tapers to find what works best for your application.

 

[dsmith1427]

Yeah. Mending the line trailer is definitely worth the watch. thanks for pointing it out. Also search Frank Moore mending the line to see more.

Don

 

[afishinado]

Here are instructions I've posted before for making furled leaders without a jig. The mono segments are twisted together by hand and combined to make a tapered furled leader.

 

[Fredrick]

Here is a good tutorial on how to do it by hand

 

[poopdeck]

Let me begin by saying I am no expert, but. I began furling leaders this year after much research. There is not a lot of good information on the web. I first started by hand furling which produced something less than I was expecting. I then tried using the boards already mentioned. The method of laying it out, taking it off the board to twist with a drill, hanging weights and swapping back and forth to twist different legs was slow, frustrating, and the consistency was horrible. Then I salvaged some gears from an old vcr and with a couple scraps of wood I made a gear box powered by a drill to twist both legs at the same time. It is easy to use, fast, and produces uniform and consistent leaders. The best and worst thing about furled leaders is they are infinitely customizable by length, thickness, percent of taper, and percent of reduction or the tightness of the furl. I would humbly suggest that those who have had bad experiences with furled leaders just had the wrong leader for their casting abilities, rod action, and a host of other variables. The only way to fine tune your leader to you is to make them and experiment with them. I have made hundreds with various material. I find that the thread does not matter as much as the slope and reduction factors. all thread can be made more supple or stiffer simply by the amount of twists and the degree of taper. When I get the chance Ill post pictures of my board. It can be made in one rainy afternoon for next to no cost depending on what you have laying around.

 

[PennKev]

poopdeck wrote:
Let me begin by saying I am no expert, but. I began furling leaders this year after much research. There is not a lot of good information on the web. I first started by hand furling which produced something less than I was expecting. I then tried using the boards already mentioned. The method of laying it out, taking it off the board to twist with a drill, hanging weights and swapping back and forth to twist different legs was slow, frustrating, and the consistency was horrible. Then I salvaged some gears from an old vcr and with a couple scraps of wood I made a gear box powered by a drill to twist both legs at the same time. It is easy to use, fast, and produces uniform and consistent leaders. The best and worst thing about furled leaders is they are infinitely customizable by length, thickness, percent of taper, and percent of reduction or the tightness of the furl. I would humbly suggest that those who have had bad experiences with furled leaders just had the wrong leader for their casting abilities, rod action, and a host of other variables. The only way to fine tune your leader to you is to make them and experiment with them. I have made hundreds with various material. I find that the thread does not matter as much as the slope and reduction factors. all thread can be made more supple or stiffer simply by the amount of twists and the degree of taper. When I get the chance Ill post pictures of my board. It can be made in one rainy afternoon for next to no cost depending on what you have laying around.

I believe that the above is a very accurate summary of the reality of making furled leaders. To create a good leader you really do need to spend the time to make a good jig and then devise a way to consistently twist your leaders and do so with a degree of control.

However, still feel that mono is not a suitable material for furled leaders.

As for these hands only methods..... crude at best. It's easy and cheap enough to build a jig and the time you waste putting around with these methods is enough to scrounge some lumber and drill some holes. A cheap hand crank drill with a hook in the chuck will allow you to easily twist each leader half and then counter twist them together in the opposite direction. Add electricity and the leaders start making themselves...


Kev

 

[poopdeck]

I agree. Mono is not my favorite for furled leaders. I stick to thread based leaders but I have been experimenting with a thread leader with a single strand 2lb mono core. It seems promising so far.

My board is just a simple 8' by 4" piece of scrap plywood I had laying around the shop. the pegs are 4" by 3/4" dowel rods screwed to one side of a 2" by 4.25" hardwood block with a short length of hardboard screwed onto the ends so that it sits over the board. Simple wedges jammed between the hardboard and board side snug the block to the board. This allows for all the adjustability one desires. Since I twist both ends at the same time with my gear box I just hang weights off the tippet end for tension. This is accomplished with a simple soup can with an attached wire. I just drop bank fishing weights in the can to keep tension during the furling. The other end of the wire I attached a ball bearing swivel. during the actual furling I slip the tippet end off the center peg and place it in the swivel clip. After the proper reduction level I simply grab the swivel, induce a little slack and the leader will relax on the swivel. This way there is no need to take the leader off the board and hang it to relax. All you need is a 10,000 meter roll of thread and your ready to go.

 

[poopdeck]

not sure how to turn a picture.

 

[Sabot]

Thanks for posting poopdeck. I've been furling leaders for years now but I love some of your ideas. Guys like you are what keeps me coming back to this site.