Furled leaders made easy

[jhammer 0]

I made the discovery of a lifetime! For me, anyway.

 

I watched the video of the guy making furled leaders with mono where he just twists the line together with his hands. Well, easy enough? NOPE. I don't believe he mentioned that when you're working with longer sections of mono, once you start twisting, the ends of the line twist too and create a giant tangle. So, I found a small hook that fits into my drill and had the wife hold the two ends of the line apart. I made my own 7 foot furled leader out of cheap zebco 10lb mono in 45 seconds. With just 5 minutes of the wife's time and a drill, I made several nice furled leaders.

 

I'm starting to have more health issues and tying nail knots is becoming a little more difficult. My old fly line doesn't have a loop in it or anything, so I grabbed a short section of 30lb mono and did a nail knot to the fly line and made a non slip loop in it. It looks pretty good and I like the way the mono connects. When I get out, I'll report back on it!

[Panama Red 0]

I just started making furled leaders, watched the same video...with the same tangle mess. I use a short five foot on a full flex 2wt and love the ability to turn over flies and soft presentations.

 

Will see if I can get some help from the wife, I want to thry them on my saltwater 6wt.

 

Thanks for the hint...dave

[MowestFlyfisher 0]

what video was it i am interested. I've made some by twisting by hand haven't turned out too bad but take about 5 to 10 mins for me.

[ditz2 0]

I did the same trick about 2 months ago and found it to be a pain but like the leader so I went the full route and built a board to make the leaders sans knot and found it to be much easier. .....The only problem is now I need a longer board for longer leaders. I have made one with tying thread but have yet to try it. It is more supple than the ones made with mono. I would also like to try making them with the new braids like spiderwire.

[Njardar 0]

I'm interested in seeing the video as well and learning more about ditz2's board set up.

[Steve P 0]

I found this one last year not long after he had uploaded it and loved it, been building leaders just like that ever since, to solve the tangling issue I have a little jig that I put over the railing on my deck (just a couple 1x2 pieces) then drop the line one piece on either side of it and they don't wrap around each other. and the railing on my deck is about 20ft off of the ground so it just dangles as I twist. Here is the video (or at least the one I learned from).

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbcVaEe3RIs

[ditz2 0]

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

 

follow the above link for making a board for furling leaders. If you do a google search you will find lots of different sites with info. The above is only one of many. Have fun! I do like the board method and if you think ahead you can make the taper adjustable. I didn't think ahead on my first board but it works fine except it makes leaders a little shorter than I would prefer, though they work great for my short creek rods.

[Jordon W 0]

Ditz2 wondering if you could fill me in on the size of a board for a 7ft leader? Or do you know what size leaders the board in the link makes? I too have tried the mono twist leaders and although that works ok Im thinking of trying a board and making some uni leaders.

[ditz2 0]

Ditz2 wondering if you could fill me in on the size of a board for a 7ft leader? Or do you know what size leaders the board in the link makes? I too have tried the mono twist leaders and although that works ok Im thinking of trying a board and making some uni leaders.

 

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

 

Jordon....Here is the exact leader board that I built. I built the short one because I had a board that would work without a purchase. The end result is a leader of about 5' give or take. It depends on how tight the 'assembly' is wound. I normally used about 30" of 6# tippet in the small creeks I fish so I end up with a total of about 7.5'. It takes about 30 to 40 yards of line to form the assembly prior to winding. ( furling )I was somewhat surprised at how much it did take. I got 3 furled leaders out of an old unused 110yd spool of 4# mono with a little left over. I doubt if you could get 3 complete leaders when using the longer board.

 

I will say that I get a lot fewer wind knots with the furled leaders and the few I have gotten are much easier to remove. ( I never said that I am a good caster, though these leaders do seem to make me feel like a better caster). The leaders I made on the board did seem to cast better than the ones I twisted by hand.

[perchjerker 0]

Most furlers apparently use a 10% reduction factor in the making of their leaders. My mentor was Skip Shorb, who uses 10%, and that is what I used until about a year ago (more later). Based on a 10% reduction factor, if you want to make a 6ft (72 inch) leader, the length of your layout, from twisting/furling hooks, at the butt end, to the tippet end is a total of 79.2 inches (72 X 10% = 7.2 + 72 = 79.2). Thus, for a 7ft leader (84 inches) the layout would be 92.4 inches long.

 

To get a tighter furl, some of us are now going to as much as a 27% reduction, which produces a rather stiff leader, which some seem to like. Personally, I have settled on a 15-20% reduction factor.

 

With all of this being said, you use these "total length" values to determine the length of your board. Thus, for a 7ft leader and a 10% reduction factor, the board would have to minimally be 8ft (96 inches) long. Ideally, it would be closer to 9ft long.

 

I cannot encourage you strongly enough to check out the Forum: furledleaders.co.uk. This site is encyclopedic with respect to its information on every possible aspect of making furled leaders, including many various boards that have been built and are being successfully used.

 

I might add that a couple of years ago, I completely rebuilt my board and, instead of drilling holes for the various peg positions one might need, I used "T" track and can slide my pegs to the various points needed for a given leader length and configuration, where they are tightened down. Sure made life a lot simpler.

 

aged sage

[ditz2 0]

Thanks for the info PJ. I would like to inquire about the 't' track. I very well may go that route when doing the new longer board. It sounds like it would be infinately adjustable.

[perchjerker 0]

Thanks for the info PJ. I would like to inquire about the 't' track. I very well may go that route when doing the new longer board. It sounds like it would be infinately adjustable.

 

"T" track is available at most all woodworking stores, and can often be found on sale. I did not use the "t" bolts that are made for them. I used hex-head 1/4 X 20 machine bolts, as the heads will fit inside the track. I have three separate tracks on my board; one each for the left and the right side pegs, and one for the 'tippet end' peg, around which the layout is doubled.

 

I first determined the shortest and longest length leaders that I would most likely be making, and determined the amount of track I would need based on this info. In other words, for a four foot leader, where along the left side would the closest peg to the "baseline" be and how far away from that point would it be for a nine foot leader? The distance between these two points represented the length needed for that track. This process was repeated for both the left side peg and the tippet peg. I now had the total length of "T" tack required.

 

After establishing my "baseline", I put a mark on the terminal ends for each of the three tracks on the board. As I use 3/4" PVC pipe pieces for my pegs, Using a 1" Forstner bit, I drilled a hole about 1/16" deeper than the depth of the "T" track at each point; but with the 'inner' edge of the hole in line with the marked point (resulting in holes that are off the ends of the tracks). These holes enabled me to invert my board on my router table and to rout out a channel in which to mount the "T" track top flush with top of the board. The holes also serve as 'access holes for the placement and removal of pegs from the tracks`.

 

The objective was to create an 'infinitely' adjustable board, as you mention; and it works!

 

Instead of "T" track, the track that sliding drapes are mounted on should also work, and will likely be cheaper. I did not think of them at the time I built my board.

 

I use a sewing machine motor to power my board; complete with a rheostat (light dimmer switch) for speed control.

 

I bought two metal mesh topped ironing boards at a local thrift shop ($3.00 ea) for a table to set the 'beast' on. These enable me to operate the thing at waist height---NO MORE STOOP LABOR!

 

I will be happy to provided photos of the thing. Just PM me your regular email address and I will forward them to you (I find it easier to send them that way).

 

PJ

[poksal 0]

I do mine a little differently, and I think it is quicker, nicer, and easier. At least for me.

 

The first thing I do differently than I was taught is to tie my blood knot loop for the start down about 3/4 to the middle pegs. Then at the end I do the same for the ending loop. This is much easier than it sounds. I do this because it puts the knots deep down into the furl and they almost dissapear. Plus it adds two more passes of line into the heaver end of the leader.

 

That change lead me to the next thing I started doing differently. As a result, I only need two stages.. meaning my jig only has two pegs on the heavy end, two in the middle (staggered), and one at the tippit end.

 

Additionally, I only do one loop on each side of the heavy end. This means (with my long blood knoted loops) there are 10 strands in the heavy end, and 6 strands at the tippit loop. My jig delivers 60" leaders.

 

I can generally do up four or five in half an hour. The attached picture shows how the result looks. This one is done in 50lb Web Pro Spectra Fiber (I had it laying around and I like the action). Now, it is yellow and requires a few feet of tippit for stealth. I really wanted to use a lighter weight but tested my method in the 50 lb and .. what can I say, I liked it. Some day... yeah, some day I will do a few up in a light weight similar material and may even like it more.. oh, ...I'm mostly snagging pan fish.

 

When I get around to doing some up with lighter line I plan to add a loop to the heavy ends, bringing them up to 14 strands. This, I expect, will provide better action in the lighter material.

 

THANK YOU perchjerker for the criticism... that is how we get better.

[perchjerker 0]

Poksol:

 

DO NOT BE OFFENDED; but, your furl is awfully loose. Your leader should 'shrink' by at least 10% of the total length of the layout between the butt ends and the tippet end. A 15-20% reduction will give you an even tighter furl and a stiffer leader.

 

I highly recommend that you check out the following Forum which is dedicated strictly to furling : furledleaders.co.uk The information there is encyclopedic on furling.

 

Here are a couple of pics of leaders furled at a 10% reduction. You should be able to see the greater furl tightness in these. It has been said that the tighter the furl the better the leader.

 

Please feel free to OM me if you have questions.

 

perchjerker

[poksal 0]

Poksol:

 

DO NOT BE OFFENDED; but, your furl is awfully loose. Your leader should 'shrink' by at least 10% of the total length of the layout between the butt ends and the tippet end. A 15-20% reduction will give you an even tighter furl and a stiffer leader.

 

I highly recommend that you check out the following Forum which is dedicated strictly to furling : furledleaders.co.uk The information there is encyclopedic on furling.

 

Here are a couple of pics of leaders furled at a 10% reduction. You should be able to see the greater furl tightness in these. It has been said that the tighter the furl the better the leader.

 

Please feel free to OM me if you have questions.

 

perchjerker

 

 

 

Absolutely not offended. Great to get the feedback.. OK.. I'll go make a new stab at it. So. My action will improve..??.. NICE !!!

 

T H A N K Y O U !!!! That is why I post and am here... TO LEARN!!

 

 

UPDATE: worth reading...in my humble opinion. Added in the evening after I got back from fishing and tried a new furled leader on the jig.

 

It turns out the "shrink wrap" factor on my jig is 10%. I ran one at 18% and it didn't seem any different. Then I did something that blew me away. I gave the new one a good stretch and it furled more. I gave it around 10 stretches before it no longer furled additionally.

 

Next I took one of my past leaders and re-hung it and gave it a good stretching. The same thing happened.

 

Results: They now look very close to the ones in the pictures you were kind enough to provide.

 

The only thing I can imagine is that this material somehow tends to bind up and needs the stretching to release it to complete the proper furl.

 

Any physics majors out there to shed light on this action??

 

Being a beginner I had no idea the furled leaders needed to be stiff.