Rocco 0 Report post Posted May 4, 2011 Does anyone here use them and make their own? If so, what makings do you use, what advantages are there in them, and what are the optimal uses you see in them? Thanks, Rocco Rocco Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rstout 0 Report post Posted May 4, 2011 Rocco, I use furled leaders that I make myself. I have tried both uni thread and polyester/nylon thread and I like the poly/nylon thread the best. I bought a cd by Kathy Scott and made my own board. I make 5 footers and 7 footers and like the 7 footer the best. I have made some 10 footers but with the spacing I set up, the butt is a little heavy. I may make a new board with a wider peg spacing and try that. I like furled leaders for a couple of reasons. With furled leaders, any curl in the leader can be straightened by pulling each end of the leader fairly hard. Curl is gone. They float really well and turn over flies great. What I like most is the same reason I like tying flies. I get to create them how I want with very little cost. Each leader costs me about 20 cents and about 10 minutes time once I get to going. The cd was fairly inexpensive and making them is pretty easy once you get your board made. Hope that helps Rob Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FrequentTyer 0 Report post Posted May 5, 2011 I made a board and a few leaders after reading this how-to article in Hatches: http://www.hatchesmagazine.com/page/may2006/185 They are nice and turn over well, but I found them to be limited. I like to adjust my leader for different conditions and different flies, and you just can't do that as well with furled leaders. They also seem to pick up a lot of water and spray when you cast. I now pretty much exclusively use hand tied leaders which are easier to build and infinitely adjustable. Mike. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jburge 0 Report post Posted May 5, 2011 Rocco, I'm going to echo everything rstout said. I too, bought the Kathy Scott DVD and learned how simple it can be. I built up my own boards and now make all my own 7.5 foot and 10 foot furled leaders. I've experimented with 2lb and 4lb mono, 2lb and 4lb fluoro, UNI thread, and Flymaster thread (went a little overboard). I love 'em all. Like rstout, they all turn over incredibly well, and you can't beat the price as well as enjoyment of making your own. John Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ditz2 0 Report post Posted May 5, 2011 I found the attached video last night and made up 3 leaders. One out of flourocarbon and 2 out of mono. I really liked the way they felt so today I made me a board to make some real furled leaders though I bet the hand twisted ones will work great. I am looking forward to trying both types on the water. The first one I made I used some old 14" stren I had and even with heavy line it feels good. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ditz2 0 Report post Posted May 7, 2011 I made 2 and a half leaders on my new board before my cordless drill pooped out. They are shorter than I would have liked so I guess I need to do some longer leaders. My first leader was a little rough but the second one was a lot better. I expect the 3rd one will be better yet. All three are useable. It really wasn't all that difficult. It took me about 20 or 30 minutes to make each leader. A hundred yard spool of 4# mono just barely make the 3 leaders. If I lengthen them I will only get 2 leaders off of a 100 yard spool. I would never guessed it to take that much line. I think I will make one out of uni-thread 6/0 just for giggles. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rocco 0 Report post Posted May 7, 2011 I made 2 and a half leaders on my new board before my cordless drill pooped out. They are shorter than I would have liked so I guess I need to do some longer leaders. My first leader was a little rough but the second one was a lot better. I expect the 3rd one will be better yet. All three are useable. It really wasn't all that difficult. It took me about 20 or 30 minutes to make each leader. A hundred yard spool of 4# mono just barely make the 3 leaders. If I lengthen them I will only get 2 leaders off of a 100 yard spool. I would never guessed it to take that much line. I think I will make one out of uni-thread 6/0 just for giggles. I saw the video, got some Ande 16 lb line, and tried the process. Disaster. How do you keep the first loop from unwinding as you twist the long tag ends? They guy in the video just slides his right hand along the twisted braid and pulls out more line for twisting. That does not work for me. He only uses 21' of Ande for a 7' leader butt. Rocco Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mdraft1 0 Report post Posted May 7, 2011 I made my own furled leaders for one season and then switched to these: Quigley's Furled Leaders Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ditz2 0 Report post Posted May 7, 2011 I saw the video, got some Ande 16 lb line, and tried the process. Disaster. How do you keep the first loop from unwinding as you twist the long tag ends? They guy in the video just slides his right hand along the twisted braid and pulls out more line for twisting. That does not work for me. It is very trying. I did mine in 8# mono ( old Stren )but I don't think the line brand is of much importance. I think cheap WallyWorld line would work fine. I shortened the line length to 15' to make a 5' leader and sat on the front edge of a chair. I put one leg of the line to the right side of my lap and the other strand of line on the left side of my lap. I began twisting as indicated in the video. About a foot into the twisting I had the same problem that you did. I stopped twisting and held the twisted double line and untwisted the each individual single line. I had to repeat this untwisting process several times during the twisting of the two single strands. It was less of a problem on the next phase of the twisting. I also found that I had to use a rubber glove on my twisting hand to get the twist tight enough. It was still kind of a pain to do but it is do-able. This is part of the reason I went ahead and built a board to do the other method. the other reason I went with the board was the multiple step leader diameter taper rather than just the one step taper. I do believe that the one-step taper will work fine but not as well at the muliple step design. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Roadkill 0 Report post Posted May 7, 2011 I have made and used my own for several years, having made my own knotted tapered leaders for decades before my first furled leader. I make all of mine out of different test mono line generally for 4,6, & 9 Wt rods. I love them for dry fly fishing with their great presentation. If you get serious about making some see this forum. http://furledleaders.proboards.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
perchjerker 0 Report post Posted May 9, 2011 As someone who has been making and using furled leaders for about five years now, I would like to address a couple of previous comments. The first has to do with 'roadkill's' comment and the link he provided. This site is THE most comprehensive site that I am familiar with. You can't go wrong with the wealth of info on this site. If you follow it, you will soon learn that the 'art' of furling is an ever changing realm with respect to the techniques employed. I am not so certain but what the technique depicted in the video posted by ditz2 is not a braiding technique. I have seen these leaders made by a very dedicated proponent of them, and what this individual did was not a 'furl'. I, perhaps, should watch again and pay much closer attention to the details of the techniue. I don't clearly understand FrequentTyer's comment about their being "...limited...". I can make them about as long as anyone would ever want, I can very their length from about 3 feet out to nine feet with my existing board. I can make them with different 'slopes' (related to diameter reduction with each step-down), I can make them with any number of step-downs (which determines their taper), I can also make weight-forward and double-tapered furled leaders. If I so chose, I could also make them out of monofilament or fluorocarbon (I use polyester thread for my own leaders). I can make them with a butt section mass equivalent to that of a mono tapered leader, drawn or hand knotted, for each and every weight flyline. I can build-in strike indicators, and 'camouflage' them. I can even vary the tensile strength of the tippet end to suit my needs. I simply ask: Where in this galaxy of options are they limited? Just asking for a little enlightenment. perchjerker, (aka: 'aged_sage' or 'Frank' on "Furledleaders Forum", roadkills link) ) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FrequentTyer 0 Report post Posted May 9, 2011 I don't clearly understand FrequentTyer's comment about their being "...limited...". I can make them about as long as anyone would ever want, I can very their length from about 3 feet out to nine feet with my existing board. I can make them with different 'slopes' (related to diameter reduction with each step-down), I can make them with any number of step-downs (which determines their taper), I can also make weight-forward and double-tapered furled leaders. If I so chose, I could also make them out of monofilament or fluorocarbon (I use polyester thread for my own leaders). I can make them with a butt section mass equivalent to that of a mono tapered leader, drawn or hand knotted, for each and every weight flyline. I can build-in strike indicators, and 'camouflage' them. I can even vary the tensile strength of the tippet end to suit my needs. I simply ask: Where in this galaxy of options are they limited? Just asking for a little enlightenment. perchjerker, (aka: 'aged_sage' or 'Frank' on "Furledleaders Forum", roadkills link) ) Perchjerker, It looks like you have a much more sophisticated approach to making furled leaders that I, and certainly you can produce a less limited range. The main limitation for myself is that I like to adjust my leader on the stream for different conditions and flys. I guess I could carry a whole range of furled leaders and swap them out, but for me it is easer to just break down the tied leader and add or subtract segments. That is just my opinion. Clearly a lot of guys use furled leaders successfully, but I like what I think is the greater on-stream flexibility of a tied leader. Mike. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
perchjerker 0 Report post Posted May 9, 2011 Mike: Just what I suspected! Unfortunately, you CANNOT make such modifications to a furled leader. Even when I was doing much more trout fishing than I presently do, I carried numerous spools of varying size leader materials, as well as a nice supply of tied-at-home knotted tapered leaders so I too could change on a whim. (I looked like the "leader materials"' section in Dan Bailey's!). Over the years, I found that I was modify less and less, until I was using the same leader all day. It was after that that furled leaders came into my life. Now that I fish primarily for large mouth bass and pan fish in local waters, I have found that one-leader-does-it-all! My board is pretty much 'standard issue'. It is motorized, and I do use a micro-switch to stop both the twisting and the furling when the prescribed % reduction has been reached. My pegs slide up and down the board in "T" track, making peg placement quick and easy for various leader combos. The double tapered leader I have not tried making; but it can be done. A weight-forward leader is rally nothing more than a standard leader,but with the butt and tippet loops reversed in size to permit attaching the 'tip' end of the leader to the line! Thanks for the clarification. Regards, Frank Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jhammer 0 Report post Posted May 9, 2011 I sometimes use Blue Sky furled leaders. I love the energy transfer and presentation of a furled leader. I loop on a mini tippet ring and tie my tippets on there. It works great. When the tippet gets too short or beat up, I snip it off and tie on a new section. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
perchjerker 0 Report post Posted May 11, 2011 Why tie a knot at the little ring? just do a loop-to-loop. This is how i do it,and i don't use the little rings. Just loop-to-loop between tippet and furled leader end. They work great for me. perchjerker Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites