Do you tie your own leaders?

[famill00 0]

So, I was wondering how many of you tie your own leaders? I am thinking about putting one of the Umpqua leader tying kits on my Christmas list. Do you find that making your own leaders gives you an advantage over buying them aside from the obvious cost savings?

 

Thanks!

 

-Forrest

 

[Dcap240 0]

Why tie your own leader?

 

Tying your own leaders cost pennies compared to factory made leaders costing up to $3 or more.

The flexibility to tailor your own leaders to specific fly fishing conditions.

The advantage of creating your own tapered leader to match your own style of fly fishing, the way you cast, the type of flies you throw and water conditions versus being stuck with a commercially made leader.

Its much easier and quicker to change and re-tie a new hand-tied leader when the local fishing conditions change.

You will get great satisfaction knowing you had direct input on how your fly was presented, similar to catching your first fish on your very own hand-tied fly.

[Henrik Thomsen (DK) 0]

I tie my own too.

Just a bunch of different diameters of nylon and fluorocarbon and then blood knots.

Makes it easy to get the leader to behave in any specific situation.

[Flat Rock native 0]

I use combinations of my own tied leaders and fluorocarbon tapered models off the shelf.

 

You can re-cycle the butt ends of the tapered kinds almost endlessly and very cost effectively using tippet materials of your choice and two tools: Nail knot device and/or little tool (Pat. No. 4.400.025) that holds the tag ends of the leaders so you can easily twist the optimum number of turns and cleanly pull the knot up tightly.

 

You may want to build your own kit, depending on the types of leaders you mostly plan to use, it can be somewhat more cost-effective and efficient.

 

I sometimes use furled leaders for extreme dry fly conditions and wish I could make those too.

 

Also, I try to utilize the Whitlock glue method of attaching the leader to the fly line because it snags less (almost never) on the top ferrule and you get more mileage from the relatively expensive tapered products.

 

Have fun-

 

Kenduardo

[Dcap240 0]

I does take a good bit of trial and error to get it exactly how you like it but once you figure it out you end up with a leader perfectly suited to you. I

followed a bunch of different formulas and I have found I like my dry fly leaders with only 3 or 4 different diameters mono plus tippet depending on length and size. I like maxima for the butt section but I have found that really any mono fishing line will work, some better than others. I bought two tapered leaders over the summer and after using one of them I do prefer my own hand tied leaders over them, especially for dry flies.

[Crackaig 0]

Look at it another way. Do you trust anyone else's knots?

 

Flat Rock native, the only reason you can't make your own furled leaders is because you listen to the people who make it hugely over complicated. My first furled leaders were made using 5 pieces of 3x3 ply, each with a wood screw in the centre, and a dubbing whirl. They really are very easy to do. (If you would like help please get in touch, I've even taught someone over Skype before today.)

 

Cheers,

C.

[flytire 0]

No. Packaged tapered leaders work just fine for me.

[mikechell 0]

I don't fish any fly small enough to need a tapered leader. One straight piece of mono does just fine.

[flytire 0]

You may want to build your own kit, depending on the types of leaders you mostly plan to use, it can be somewhat more cost-effective and efficient.

 

sound advice. why pay for a full kit when you may not ever use all spools

 

try this http://globalflyfisher.com/fishbetter/leadercalc/ BEFORE you pull the trigger on a kit

 

more knots on a leader = more vegetation its gonna pick up as it progresses down stream. i'd rather be fishing than pulling weeds off of multiple knots

[famill00 0]

You may want to build your own kit, depending on the types of leaders you mostly plan to use, it can be somewhat more cost-effective and efficient.

 

sound advice. why pay for a full kit when you may not ever use all spools

 

try this http://globalflyfisher.com/fishbetter/leadercalc/ BEFORE you pull the trigger on a kit

 

more knots on a leader = more vegetation its gonna pick up as it progresses down stream. i'd rather be fishing than pulling weeds off of multiple knots

That leader calc program is awesome! I will be looking around that more this evening when I get home from work...

[flytire 0]

theres a lot more online regarding building your own leaders

 

http://www.google.com/webhp?nord=1#nord=1&q=building+your+own+fly+leaders

[Bryon Anderson 0]

I'm going to throw this out in response to the couple of comments in this thread about furled leaders. There is a very simple DVD called "Simple Furled Leaders" that was made and is sold very cheaply by a woman named Kathy Scott in Maine. Her technique is incredibly simple and easy to learn. Using materials you probably already have lying around your basement or garage, you can be making furled leaders within minutes after watching it, and the leaders are excellent. They actually sell them at Gates Au Sable Lodge here in Michigan. Here's a link:

 

http://www.flyanglersonline.com/prorevw/kathyscott.php

[Flat Rock native 0]

Thank you for all suggestions on the furled leaders, I am always grateful and amazed at the depth and breadth of the wisdom on this site.

[Flat Rock native 0]

I will get back to you after I study up a little more on Furled techniques.

 

I like building any kind of fishing equipment. Even bait rigs for walleye fishing and spinners to save the cost of factory Mepps and Panther Martins, although since the 1990's, I rarely fish with anything but flies I have tied. For me a question of being a cheapskate and liking to use what the fish like.

 

Thank you for the insights!

[switch10 0]

I will get back to you after I study up a little more on Furled techniques.

 

I like building any kind of fishing equipment. Even bait rigs for walleye fishing and spinners to save the cost of factory Mepps and Panther Martins, although since the 1990's, I rarely fish with anything but flies I have tied. For me a question of being a cheapskate and liking to use what the fish like.

 

Thank you for the insights!

If you're looking to go cheap, I strongly recommend making mono furled leaders as shown here:

 

No tools/jig required. I put the ends of the mono through 2 coffee cup handles to keep the tag ends from twisting around each other. I also add a tippet ring. I use 8 lb mono, which gives me a 32 lb butt section, and 16 lb mid section. From there I tie on anywhere from 7x tippet to 2x tippet, 2-6 feet (when midging in the lake I'll often use 8 feet of tippet!).

 

I started using furled leaders about 8 or so months ago, and I will never go back to tying knotted leaders (much more time consuming), or buying knotless tapered leaders (expens