furled leaders vs hand tied leaders for bass

[Poopdeck 0]

No they can't be adjusted on the water. once made they are what they are. You adjust them with tippet. I don't sink them either so I don't really know how they sink. I use them for subsurface if I'm fishing shallow water but it's the tippet that's doing all the sinking. Typically when bass fishing I'm fishing deeper and just use a knotted leader. I don't find they hang up on anything. Never had to break one off since it's floating a number of feet away from anything it may float against. Caught some standing timber and it can be a bitch but the branch broke first or I went on an expedition to get it out manually. As for what they look like in the water I don't know. I do know they do not scare fish.

 

One of their other benefits that I neglected to mention is they will last the entire season and longer. I don't think I've actually tied one up in the last year, maybe two. A few dollars, a few rolls of 6/0 uni and a few hours will give you a years supply of them for a handful of rods. Economically they are far cheaper then using tapered leaders at 7 bucks each. I use far less tippet material and I'm never using a hacked apart leader kept alive with endless knots and extensions. Tapered leaders are nice but I'm a cheapskate and for delicate presentations, ease of use and economy, nothing beats a furled leader for me.

[rstaight 0]

One modification I have done to my furled thread leaders is to switch to Orange thread for the end of the leader and change back to what ever I started with when that section was done. Usually olive.

 

This gives me a built in strike indicator.

[tjm 0]

Don't sound very useful to me, different conditions call for different methods though and they may work wonderfully in the right circumstance.

 

Typically my bass leaders run short for surface bugs and relatively stiff, but, using the floating line I make the leader long or even longer when fishing sub surface or bottom bouncing stuff. Again with sinking line I like the leader quite short, to keep the fly down with the line.

From the descriptions those furled leaders would require a whole series of different leaders that would have to be switched out as the creek changes from deep slow pool to riffle to deep swift run etc. With a knotted leader I can instantly add or subtract at either the ends or the middle as my whim changes. I can go from stiff to limp or vice versa with relative ease and speed, to accommodate a switch in wind speeds or fly size.

[Poopdeck 0]

Furled leaders are great for surface fishing. You can make the tippet long, short, heavy or light. your not changing the length of the furled leader though. You are aware that tippet is tied to the end of the furled leader. They are simple, easy and not complicated which is why I prefer them over knotted leaders. They can also be used effectively when fishing subsurface but the actual furled leader would be floating on top with the tippet doing the sinking. They would not be used on a sinking line.

[tjm 0]

 

You are aware that tippet is tied to the end of the furled leader.

In bass fishing at the surface my tippet ties directly to the fly line or to a 10" heavy butt section that is permanently attached to the fly line. rarely use more than the tippet for surface fishing and never use more than the tippet when using a wet line.

When fishing deep with a floating line I will tie in a mid section to get deeper.

Your description of the furled leaders coupled with the reading I have done has convinced me that furled leaders have no place in my bass gear.

Thanks for clearing that up for me, life is complicated enough already.

I will keep an open mind about using them in the salt, if I ever get to do salt again. How do those leaders roll cast? That is my other reservation towards them, I read that they are limp, i don't see how limp turns over really. .

[mikechell 0]

... life is complicated enough already.

 

Enough said. For smaller flies, I use a few feet of heavy line (14# test) for a leader, then a couple of feet of lighter line (10# or 6# test) for a tippet.

 

For larger flies, I tie 14# test mono directly from fly line to fly.

 

I see that no one seems to have caught water in the face from a furled leader except me. Perhaps it's because I fish from a boat 99% of the time, and most of my cast are directly overhead. I do some side arm and roll casting, when in tighter quarters, but I'm usually open.

With the line coming directly overhead, any water coming off the line is falling in line with me and my face ... so, I would get a face full too often for comfort.

[rstaight 0]

 

 

That is my other reservation towards them, I read that they are limp, i don't see how limp turns over really. .

The taper in them transfers energy well. With the leaders I have made I can get a nice loop with leader in my hand.

[Philly 0]

If haven't had any trouble roll casting with them. Admittedly, I don't do that much roll casting, but I haven't had any issues doing it. I use a fluorocarbon one in salt water with my intermediate line. If I'm fishing a sinking line I just use a straight piece of fluorocarbon. If I get hung up the tippet breaks before anything happens with the leader.

[Poopdeck 0]

Yes they can be limp. They can also be not so limp. Of course I'm talking thread furled leaders since I do not like furled mono at all. This is yet another reason why I say, if you don't like furled leaders it's because you didn't have the right furled leader. It's really no different then liking one knotted leader formula over another.

 

The limpness or not is determined by the type or types of thread, number of threads, the length of taper and the tightness of the furl. All of which can be adjusted when made. I've made them with a mono core, a heavier thread core, and a Dacron core.

 

With the exception of sinking line I can't think of a single reason why they cannot be used in bass fishing applications. They are not for everybody that's for sure. There's some trial and error involved which is no different then any other leader testing with the exception that they cannot be adjusted on the water. The problem is those who make them simply make one size fit all generic leaders. It takes some experimentation to determine what's best.

 

If what your doing now works then there's no reason to change. Unless your buried in three feet of snow this winter and you get bored of tying knots.

[RickZieger 0]

I use furled leaders, but I really like the 5 foot ones that I got. Turn flies over nicely.

 

Rick

[dadofmolly 0]

I use furled leaders for everything, made from 2 or 4lb mono. I carry a 5', 7', and 9' with me and since I use a loop to loop of leader to flyline I can change the length pretty fast, although the majority of the time I use the 9' with 3 to 4' tippet. 90% of my leaders are mono as I'm not a fan of threaded leaders. I don't really target bass but if I did I would just use heavier mono to start with. Most of my casts are overhead on a stream but I've never had the problem of water spraying on me.

[phg 0]

Braided leaders do spray. Furled leaders, not so much, in fact, I've never been aware of any spraying, and I've been using furled leaders, almost exclusively, for over 15 years. Most of mine are for trout fishing, so I make a 6' leader out of Uni-Thread 8/0. For larger fish, I switch to 6/0, BUT, I have never had a fish break an 8/0 leader. I treat my thread leaders with bee's wax, so they don't wick water. It also seems to extend the life of a leader. Untreated, they will last a full season. Treated, I've used some for 2 or 3 years, without a problem.

 

How long/short can a furled leader be? As long as you need, just make the butt section longer. I once made a 20' leader, just to show that it could be done (it was surprisingly easy to cast, too.) Short, I don't know what the practical limit is, but I make 4' leaders for small brook trout streams where I may only have 3' of leader/tippet on the water. I could probably shorten that to 3', but so far, haven't seen the need. Four feet of leader and 2' of 4x tippet gives me what I need for pocket water.

 

For bass, I often use straight mono, or perhaps a minor step down of 10 pound mono to 0x or 1x tippet. Bass and bream are not leader shy, so more than 6' of leader doesn't make any real difference.

 

I have used mono based furled leaders for bass, and the problem I have there is the stretch inherent in a furled leader. If you are fishing heavily weighted sinking rigs, it becomes hard to get a good hook set. For surface flies, such as poppers of B-52's, the stretch serves as a shock absorber, and improves my hookup rate. So, it's a trade off.

[Mike West 0]

Never like furled leaders myself either.

Im like a couple other guys here ... for the last 30 years or so its been about 90% warm water fishing.

Im usually do one of two things....4 of 20# mono and then 2 of what ever # tippet I want to use for the situation Im in or size fish and vegetation in the water... which usually means 12 to 16 pound test line.

 

Or I buy the shortest heaviest tapered leader I can find(6 15#)and add 2 of tippet.

All knots do is pick up muck, weeds and debris.The less knots in your leader the better.

[vicente 0]

i tie my leaders with 2-3ft 20lb Mason hard mono 2-3 ft of 20lb maxima 12lb Berkeley floro carbon as it seems to hold up better the the fly fishing tippet material. when I fish for trout I use the same leader just add another tippet section if needed.

[chugbug27 0]

FYI, I just learned from the Gore Tex rep that Glide dental floss (original, not mint) is made from the same ePFTE fiber as Gore tenara thread. Amazon sells a 6 pack (325 yards) for $20. Might be worth a try... I know some fly patterns call for it, but didn't think that it had any connection to its waterproof qualities.