Furling

[Chess]

Hey Paul,
I mentioned furling has little to no rules. Those cones I got, kevlar and the 0.1mm mono are huge and too big furl without a big risk of an almighty mess. Fly tying bobbins are too small, so I spent the afternoon trying to fabricate larger ones as I'd like add a kevlar & a leader made from the .1 mono in the package before I buzz off. I think I've worked something out. For furling a you need a bobbin that holds enough thread so you're not respooling all the time or tying joining knots, but it must be small enough to pass through the loops. Maybe I'll get it right tomorrow.

[Chess]

Nice Merlin. Hard to say, looks braided as the loops are really tight. Most furled leaders I've made and seen seem to have a bigger loop. I'm going to work on that aspect of furling to get the loops tight as well as the twist. How long have you fished with it? Seems like a quality item.

On further speculation I would very much suspect since it's made by a company with the resources and traditions like Orvis, way back when, it was made on a braiding machine configured for putting a taper into it, hence is composed of many fine threads. Similar to the procedure to make silk fly lines, just on a smaller scale. I guess modern production advancements, especially driven by financial considerations to maintain market base and compete with countries like China has left that sort of item in the dust. Pity, as I see that sort of leader as far more efficient and long lasting. To my way of thinking and practicality nothing is more more important in fly fishing itself than to have complete familiarity and trust in your leader & tippet configuration. Progress comes with compromises, not everything new or expedient is better than what already exists.

[Merlin]

Hi Chess

I cannot remember exactly when I bought it, I would say a dozen years approximately. It was packaged in a kind of wallet. There were two sizes in two length.

Merlin

[Chess]

Are these the same or similar? Found these on the net in Europe. Many links on Orvis braided leaders go nowhere though.
https://www.orvis.co.uk/p/braided-nylon ... ppets/2a07
https://www.hengelsportfauna.nl/orvis-n ... ystem.html

[Paul Arden]

I had to look up the difference between braided and furled Many years ago a chap Alan Bithell showed me how to make a furled leader at a game fair. Alan was on the Board here too. I’ll try to get hold of him Keith. A very nice chap and excellent fly tyer too!!

Cheers, Paul

[Merlin]

Hi Chess

It seems to be the same than mine in slightly different length. Mine are officially 5' and 8' long, today they appear to be 7.7' and 9' long.
I shall order a couple of them and see.

Merlin

[Chess]

OK, so it is braided leaders from Orvis. Good to know. They are not available around me but I'd like to know what you think of them if you do buy them, I can't imagine that Orvis would sell a dud leader.
Also, anyone following this thread. A US mono of 1lb has been mentioned. I have not tested it fully and it breaks relatively easily. It's basically invisible sewing thread. I would not trust it for fishing purposes. It would probably furl OK. but I don't know yet. My advice is stick to what you know where .1mm is concerned.

[ACW]

It was a good 20 + years ago that I had a set of these Orvis braided leaders ,at the same time I was introduced to furled leaders made with fly dressing thread ,these from a gentleman called rod Dibble .
Been using them for much of my river fishing ever since .

[Chess]

Yeah, it's a proven method, the physics and usability of them just makes sense. Be nice to resurrect and make some of those leaders I reckon, I'm not fond of knotted fluro and single strand tapered leaders.
I always maintain for fly fishing, the confidence factor in fishing is largely composed of the leader and tippets you feel comfortable using.

[Merlin]

Well shops seem to be completely out of stock, I've tried some in UK. Sometimes you find the leader but it is on an old web page and there are none for sale. The NL webshop (Fauna Hengelsport) which seems to have them does not sell goods to France, bad luck indeed.

Merlin