Furled Leaders
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I use furled leaders almost exclusively when I fish for warm water species like bass and panfish. I use ones from FeatherCraft. They have tippet rings on the end and all you do is add the amount of tippet that you want. It is a very easy system for me and they seem to last forever. They do cost more, but they last so much longer than regular tapered leaders that they are actually less expensive in the long run. They turn over really well and handle wind well. I haven’t used them for trout and I don’t really have a reason as to why. I have never made my own, but I have thought about as it looks like it might be fun.
I have used the Feathercraft furled leaders for about five years. They last and last and save you $$ over the long run. They are terrific for both warm water and cold water applications. I use the sinking leaders (available with a micro swivel to avoid twisting) and simply add 2-3 feet of tippet and off to the races! The floating leaders are also my preferred leader of choice. I use the 5ft. leaders and simply add tippet, usually 2ft. of 4X reduced to 5X or 6X for dries. As an additional benefit the leaders add a little extra “stretch” to reduce breakoffs.
The only down side is that if you are fishing with a single rod it’s a pain to have to change everything from the fly line down to go from dry to wet (or reverse) as you react to the feeding preferences of the fish. I spend a lot of time in my pontoon and generally rig up two rods to avoid the problem.
We use our leaders exclusively, as an alternative to hand tied knotted leaders and commercially made tapered leaders.
There are two problems with furled leaders. But first, they definitely do help with turnover; they’re stiffer and thicker than regular leaders and thus they carry the energy of the line out to the fly more efficiently.
The issues, though, are (1) the leaders spray water during false casting and (2) they’re a lot more visible. By their very nature as a braid, they unavoidably catch and carry water, which can spray off a surprising distance, thus alerting fish. But more importantly, we have to consider what a leader is for. It’s clear and thin to hide the line, and thus the angler, from the fish. When you braid mono together, you are basically guaranteed to refract light from one angle of the braid or another. So, to a fish, the braid appears to be a bright, white line pointing from the fly to the angler.
Let’s not fool ourselves; regular leaders have this problem too. But furled leaders are worse.
In my opinion, they’re great for flies like large bass bugs that are hard to turn over, especially when the bass themselves are in murky water and not all that likely to be alarmed by the line/angler. But, for dry fly fishing to spooky trout rising in clear water, I’d avoid them. I think they will cost you fish.
Zach
I have never used a furled leader, but some of the things that Zach says make a lot of sense. The perfect leader would be totally invisible and turn over like it was shot out of a cannon. Not going to happen.
I don’t like extruded leaders. You might start out fishing 6X, but by the time you have changed a dozen flies you might be down to 3X. A solution to this is to always tie on 24″ of tippet material to the leader. That way you will know that your tippet is not increasing in size. By necessity they are all made from the same material which means they are a compromise- ideally you want the butt to be stiff and the tippet soft for presentation.
For me, knotted leaders are the way to go. You can construct them to address different situations. Try buying an 18′ extruded leader at your local fly shop.
Knotted leaders have their problems too. I would never fish them where the knots would pick up algae. They are best for clean water.
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