Leader Jigs

[eastern fly 0]

I like the thread furled leaders but on occasion I think a furled mono leader would work well. I have a peg set up but I'm looking for a better one. Does anyone have a leader board set up they would like to share? I have also seen some mechanical ones but I have no idea how to set one up.

 

Kevin

[Guest SEMO Tyer]

I also built my own jig. I found my plans on line, I'm placed the measurement for three different lengths of leaders. I have also used mono as well however, the butt section gets large.

[ditz2 0]

I use a board with pegs as well for my warmwater leaders. The leader only ends up about 5' long. I do use mono as I did not care for the only thread leader I made on the same jig. I have made leaders with 4, 6, and 8# mono. The butt does get quite thick with the 8#. I use the 4# leaders for my 5wt and lighter rigs and it works great. I usually use a 6# tippet about 2.5'long. Of course it gets shorter as I change flies. The finished leader ends up having loops on both ends so a loop to loop connection works great and is easy and fast. The tippet end of the leader ends up with a 4 ply loop which is a 16# test which is stronger than any tippets I use on my light outfits. I use 6# on my heavier outfits which is 24# test at the bottom loop which is plenty heavy enough for my applications. They last me easily all season and usually 2 seasons if I get lazy and memory is not a problem. Just a low pressure stretch and the leader is straight and ready to fish. I will do some searching for the board design and instruction for making them. You can easily make 3 or 4 in an hour.

[ditz2 0]

http://opff.org/furled-leader/furled_leader.html

 

This is the board and instructions that I use.

[Crackaig 0]

I've never been a fan of peg boards. I use independent stanchions that can be infinity adjusted. That and two boxes with motors in (2 in one one in the other) completes the set up. If you can take a look in Mcropatterns. That's where I got the idea for stanchions from.

 

There is a lot of baloney talked about counting turns etc. Keep it simple. Twist the legs until the joints are closed and that's enough. One good tip is to stop furling the legs together at the half way point with a clip and put some extra turns in the butt section.

 

Remember the KISS principal.

 

Cheers,

C.

[ditz2 0]

Crackaig is correct about the peg board. However the fixed peg board is E Z and cheap to build. There are some great designs out there that allows infinite peg placement. It may or may not be needed. Are some leader designs better? probably. But as they say...ignorance is bliss... I am happy with the arrangement that I have been using.

[phg 0]

You can just drive in a few 8d finishing nails on a 2x4, if you want to keep it simple and cheap. I've also used 1/2" dowels set into 1/2" deep holes on a 1x4. The jig itself isn't important, it's the spacing.

 

The twist depends on the material used. Thread requires more twist than mono, and fine thread requires more twist than thick thread. You learn by doing. If the finished leader is loose and sloppy, you didn't twist it enough. If the finished leader is tight and kinky, you twisted it too much. With mono, though, it will generally break, if you try to twist it too much.

 

Generally speaking, when you make the initial twist, you want to see the leader shorten itself by about 10%. When you fold it over and allow it to furl together, you should get back about 1/2 of that length.

 

This is a copy of a handout I used in a seminar last year. This is for a 6' thread leader, but I've also used it for mono. Personally, I like the 6' length, but others prefer something longer. Feel free to make any modifications you want. This works fine for me (I've been using if for almost 10 years), but something different may work better for you. I generally finish an 8/0 Uni-Thread leader with perfection loops on both ends, but a Shorb loop or something else is fine as well. Your mileage may vary, etc., etc.

[ditz2 0]

Hey PHG....The jig I use actually makes 2 separate legs. Each leg is twisted separately and then the last step is to twist them together. The tricky part is to keep tension on each leg while getting the two legs twisted together. .....I will have to try your method......I did forget to mention the breakage problem. I use a lot more of the mono leaders made from the 4# and it is quite suseptable to breaking and it is quite frustrating when you are almost done with the leader and it breaks which ruins the line and wastes the time you have spent making the leader.

 

Advantages

*basicly there is no memory

*cast well

*Last a long time and I store them right on the reel

* 99% of any wind knots are easily removed

 

I usually carry one spare in case I ruin one while fishing though I never have. I then only carry whatever tippet material that I might need.

[phg 0]

The idea is not original. I did a lot of WEB research before making my fist leader. Unfortunately, none of the links I bookmarked, back then, are still valid. I know some of the information came from Claude Freaner, and some from an article in Fly Fisherman magazine. Most of the jigs I found, though, were 8' or 12' long. Much too long a leader for the places I fish. I developed this spacing through trial-and-error, but it has worked well for me. It's about all I use anymore, even when I want a longer leader. I just add more tippet.

 

Good point about the wind knots, they do come out fairly easily, but there's an even better one. Wind knots do not significantly weaken a furled leader, like they do a mono leader. In fact, with a thread leader, a wind knot makes so little difference it can be ignored.

 

I have done 2 and 3 leg leaders, but don't see any advantage. As you said, it is tricky to keep the tension even when furling the separate legs. Having only one 12' long strand, that has to be doubled back on itself, can be a bit tricky as well, but once you learn the technique, it's pretty easy. I can whip out 2 or 3 leaders in a half hour.

[eastern fly 0]

All good points thanks. The board I have now is like the one phg is using. With mine I set up a series of measured holes for the peg spacing's. I used dowel rods for the pegs. One problem I has was the hole's or rods getting worn out. What I am looking for is another way to set up my pegs. I seen one that had a T- track down both side's. I'm not sure if I want to do that, but I need a better peg set up.

Something else in mind is trying the Power Pro Braided line. 6# dia at 20lb test. I would like to see how that would work for a bass and streamer leader. Any thoughts?

 

Kevin

[Steve P 0]

Power pro makes a good leader for the tip of a leader. I've tried a couple full leaders and they just are a little to supple in my opinion. But to add it in as the front this or quarter is a good option. I have a pegged board but always just use my buddies t-track jig. I need to build one of my own so I can sell some. Lol. Most often though I just use a simple furled leader of mono or copolymer.

 

Steve

[eastern fly 0]

I have been thinking strong on the T-track but wanted to see if someone had a good one to pattern.

 

Kevin

[Steve P 0]

I have a great one to build mine after. I'm just to lazy to do it. I normally do mine like this.

 

 

Even for trout since I fish exclusively streamers I have never found a need for more than a furled leader of about 5'and a couple feet of tippet.

 

Steve

[eastern fly 0]

I have seen your video. Thanks

 

Kevin

[ditz2 0]

SteveP....is copolymer the braided line? I had not thought about using the braided line in the leaders. Has anyone here used it and if so how they compare to the ones made with mono?