Tight line nymphing furled leader with reversed sighter

[switch10 0]

Here's an idea I had recently with the low water conditions we are having in California. Tying sighters into your furled leader is no new idea, but I haven't seen anyone tying them in at the bottom of the taper. Much easier to use when you are only fishing 2-3 feet of water.

 

Anyway, I thought I'd share since I know many of you are making your own furled leaders now.

 

[panfish 12 0]

What do you furl your leaders out of? I am interested in making some to test them out.

 

Thanks! Ethan.

[SilverCreek 0]

I have some concern about using a furled leader for tight line nymphing. The furling introduces a built in shock absorber effect. This helps protect the tippet but for direct line nymphing, I think they would deaden the subtle strikes that I can feel with mono or fluorocarbon.

 

I've always understood that for tight line nymphing, a leader that does NOT stretch or have any give is best because it transmits the subtle takes and it also transmits the hook set faster than a furled leader that has stretch built into it.

 

A sighter is a visual indicator of a take but there is also sensation that is a direct indicator of a take. I understand that the mono tied to the tippet ring does not have much stretch, but there is still the delay in the strike and the reduction in the bottom feel through the body of a furled leader compared to a standard mono leader.

 

To my knowledge, furled leaders are not used by any of the teams on the World Fly Fishing Championships when tight line nymphing. However, there are some commercial furled nymphing leaders. So I am interested in how those leaders will actually work for tight line nymphing. Let us know how they work.

[whatfly 0]

Nice looking leader, Switch10, but I do not see the advantage except in REALLY skinny water where I would not be tight-lining regardless. Now if you had a long tippet off that leader and you were swinging in shallow water, or even a long distance drift, the sighter might work, but it is not going to work any better than a normal sighter with straight tippet, in my opinion. With short tippet, I would be worrying about the bright color being too close to the fish.

 

As far as furled leaders and tightlining in general, while stretch might be an issue, I would be much more concerned about the speed it sinks, how it moves in the water, and the time spent assembling them. Ultimately, when tightlining/shortlining the cast and rollover are unimportant, so I'm not sure why one would bother with a furled leader, when straight line would serve just as well. Always fun to experiment, regardless.

[SilverCreek 0]

I think the part that sinks through the water would be the thin long tippet section tied to the tippet ring so I don't think the sink rate would be any slower than with a regular leader. If the furled leader section is being pulled down because the water is deeper than the tippet, then I agree that the furling would delay the cibk rate and that is not a good think with a euronymping leader.

 

The length of the leader suggests that the purpose of this furled leader is for short line Czech/Polish style nymphing rather than the longer leaders used for French nymphing. Below is Tomáš Cieslar, Czech Republic during the 2011 European championships

 

 

 

I think the photo below was taken on the Madison River below $3 Bridge. It looks like Sphinx Mountain of the Madison Range in the background.

 

[switch10 0]

Thanks for the feedback guys. I haven't tried it out yet, but the idea is to not even get the sighter or above wet, and have it in a spot that will be easier to see. Again, this is specifically for fishing low water conditions. Hot Creek gave me the idea. I usually fish furled leaders there whether it be tight lining, or a suspended indicator rig. I agree though, furled leaders are definitely not as sensitive as mono/fluoro, and it takes some getting used to.

 

I haven't really been all that happy with the sinking furled leaders that I've tried. They are a pain to mend once they get wet in my experience. I always grease my furled leaders regardless, and place my indicator below the tippet ring. When tight lining, I keep the furled section completely out of the water.

 

I make my leaders out of Gutterman Skala thread. Very similar to UNI-thread only un-waxed, and a fraction of the cost of UNI.

[okbow68 0]

I've had a few people request leaders like this. Not sure how the fish them.

[gunpowderleader 0]

I also make a tip indicator styled furled leader and have it available on my website. I don't use them for tight line style nymphing, I do however find it very helpful on skinny water when nymphing shallow and a traditional indicator has spooked fish. Whether from splash down or shadows. Greasing up the leader the tip makes a perfect straight line indicator that is unobtrusive.