Furled Leaders -
Tradition Meets Technology
Of interest to the traditionalist, the history of furled leaders goes back hundreds of years, well before split cane bamboo rods, silk lines and the like. For the technophile, there are solid engineering principals that support the effectiveness of furled leaders when combined with today’s technology and materials.
Our furled leaders are designed and function very much like your fly line itself, and might quite properly be considered, and even referred to, as a "fly line extension". You can “mini cast” a furled leader with your hand, while doing the same with a tapered monofilament, fluorocarbon, or knotted leader is virtually impossible.
Our furled leaders are composed of numerous fine filaments and are very strong, supple, and durable because of the synergy of this construction. They are essentially solid, so pick up is easier and spray much reduced over that of braided leaders with a core. The gradual, consistent tapering leads to a smooth transfer of energy resulting in excellent turnover and very delicate presentations, with much less tendency to pick up weeds or debris than that of a knotted leader. The butt end of a furled leader is much closer to the diameter of your fly line, so again energy transfer is much smoother and more consistent than that of a tapered monofilament or fluorocarbon leader, leading to less potential “hinging”.
Our leaders have been designed and engineered to offer you the ultimate in casting pleasure and precision, and to last for season after season. Our hand-woven leaders are “Double Furled”™ (twisted, furled, then counter-twisted and counter-furled) in order to provide you with a balanced, durable construction, unequalled by any other furled leader on the market. Our larger diameter leaders are built with many more wraps of the same ultra-fine filaments as our small diameter leaders, not thicker filament or thread.
The result is a more expensive and time-consuming process, but yields what we feel you will find to be the premier product of its type.
Our furled leaders feature a convenient loop for line connection, and a metal micro-ring or swivel for easy tippet attachment.
Our Filaments
Monofilament (nylon)
Soft but strong, durable, and abrasion resistant. Variegated color to reduce visibility, with some tippet-saving stretch. Without floatant, it has a slight sinking tendency. This is the inexpensive “workhorse” of leader material, and works well in most all applications, wet or dry.
Silk
Continuous filament, not spun, and stronger than steel. Permanently impregnated with floatant.
Virtually no memory or stretch, for solid, sure hook-ups. A great compliment to bamboo rods and silk lines but works great with any rod or line.
Fluorocarbon
Strong, supple, invisible in water and very abrasion resistant. Specially treated for increased durability, flexibility, shock resistance, strength, abrasion resistance, and low memory. Without floatant, it has a sinking tendency. A premium material for the ultimate in performance.
Gel Spun UHMWPE
Virtually unbreakable and floats! Naturally buoyant, so never needs floatant. Virtually no memory or stretch, for solid, sure hook-ups. Same filament as Dyneema® and Spectra®
We do not buy “thread” from a fly tying supply catalogue or a local craft store, or “fishing line” from a big box store for our products. Instead we have selected premium filaments from carefully chosen suppliers to construct your handcrafted furled leader.
Our leaders are composed of 33 to 210 yards of the highest quality continuous filament, and built with a nine stage taper. (Single furled leaders usually have a 5 stage taper, and sometimes only 3).
Our products are constructed using thousands of "twists",
and we maintain an accuracy of +/- 1 "twist".
