Leader Selection
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"Ultimate Dry Fly Leaders"
"Our ultimate dry fly furled fly fishing leaders is is a must for enhancing your dry fly presentations for fly fishing. These leaders will turn 5'-9' of your favorite tippet and set your fly with the most gentle of lay-downs. I currently offer the ultimate furled leaders in 0-3 wt. ,4-5-6 wt. and 7-8 wt. as these are the most common trout lines. Myself along with other satisfied customers have landed huge fish on the 4-5-6 wt. using only 7x tippet. Our leaders provide durability, strength and the stretch will suprise even the most seasoned angler." Visit Our Store
"Ultimate Multi-Use Leaders"
Our ultimate multi furled fly fishing leaders are created with UNI thread. The basic leader is created with a butt section comprising of 25 threads, a mid section consisting of 17 threads and a bottom section comprising of 8 threads. This creates a natural taper without knots. You can pull these leaders through your hands and never feel the joints from one section to the next. These leaders provide an amazing presentation of the a fly. They simply have to be tried, words do not explain. These leaders have zero memory, therefore they create a much more natural drift compared to other leader material. Never have wind knot issues again and they also have built in stretch, allowing use of a very small tippet. They create casts with no over spray and they deliver the fly perfectly. Beacause these leaders are slightly shorter than our "Ultimate Dry Fly Leader", this leader will turn multiple fly rigs more easily. Your casting and presentation will improve." Visit Our Store
"Ultimate Nymphing Leaders"
50" Nymph Leader which has a short straight, heavy butt section for turning over heavy fly's. I have received many questions asking if fish spook from threaded leaders. Quick answer is, No. Even in the clear Western waters, the fish are so accustomed to objects in the water, (leaves, sticks, grass) the leader brings no additional notice. Our color choices give you the ability to choose a color that blends into the body of water you are fishing. Add a length of fluorocarbon tippet to the end and you are ready to fish. Visit Our Store"Hi-Vis Nymphing Leaders"The “Hi-Vis Nymph Leaders” are constructed using brightly colored thread for the upper butt section, this portion of the leader should be “greased” (add floatant). The upper portion of the leader acts as an 18” long strike indicator, allowing you to see subtle strikes that have been previously missed. Nymphing leaders are built using additional thread at the butt section, which aids in turning over heavy flies with a strike indicator. The lower portion of the leader is either green of tan color and not treated with floatant. These leaders have NO Memory, therefore they create a much more natural drift compared to other leader material. Never have wind knot issues again and they have built in stretch, allowing use of very small tippet. They create casts with no over-spray and they deliver the fly perfectly. Because these leaders are shorter than our other Leaders, this leader will turn multiple fly rigs more easily. Your casting and presentation will improve." Visit Our Store
"Hybrid Nymphing Leaders"
The “Hybrid Nymphing Leader is manufactured with both Thread and 100% Fluorocarbon. The upper portion "butt section" is made of brightly colored thread creating a 18" long colored strike indicator. The thread then transitions into furled Fluorocarbon. The upper portion of the leader should be greased (add floatant too) The strike indicator portion will suspend small bead heads and multiple fly set-ups, but will not suspend large heavy stonefly size nymphs. Adding additional thread at the butt section, which aids in turning over heavy flies with a strike indicator. The lower portion of the leader is either green of tan color and not treated with floatant. These leaders have NO Memory, therefore they create a much more natural drift compared to other leader material. Never have wind knot issues again and they have built in stretch, allowing use of very small tippet. They create casts with no over-spray and they deliver the fly perfectly. Because these leaders are shorter than our other Leaders, this leader will turn multiple fly rigs more easily. Your casting and presentation will improve." Visit Our Store
"100% Fluorocarbon Leaders"
Our Fluorocarbon leaders come in two sizes: 50" Nymph Leader is for turning over heavy nymphs and multiple fly set-ups. The 68" long leader makes for a great all around Fluorocarbon Leader. Our Fluorocarbon leaders come out of the package with less memory and coils compared to our competitors. Your casting and presentation will improve." Visit Our Store
FAQ’s
Many of our clients write us with questions regarding our hand crafted furled fishing leaders. We have dedicated this section of our website so that new potential customers can view past Q and A sessions between me and our customers. If you still have questions after reading this section of our website please email me at mike@cutthroatleader.com. Thank you!
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FAQ’s 
Q: Why are Thread Furled Leaders Better?
A: Thread Furled Fly Fishing Leaders have no memory therefore every bit of energy from the cast actually gets to the fly. With typical mono / nylon leaders, so much of the energy is lost in the cast because of the existing coils / memory that are impossible to completely remove from the mono / nylon leader. Going back to basic physic's, energy travels through a straight line, if a leader does not completely straighten out, energy IS LOST. Also, these leaders are very economical, one leader can last an entire fishing season. I know of many fisherman who have fished for three to four months going two or three days a week with the same leader.
Q: What Leader colors should I choose? A: I typically tell people that they should think of the leader as an extension of their fly-line. The leader color does not matter nearly as much as many people think. Fish are constantly seeing floating debris (twigs, grasses, leaves, etc) in the water. Because Cutthroat leaders can deliver a fly without disturbing the water surface via a gentle presentation, the color is much less important than one would think. Cutthroat Leaders currently offer Thread Furled Leaders in the following colors: White, Green, Tan, Yellow and most popular Camo (green & Tan).
Q: What type of Knot should I use to tie my tippet onto the tippet ring?
A: I use a standard Clinch Knot (clinch knot video from U-tube) I typically tell people to use the same knot they tie their fly’s on with. Reason being, if I recommend a knot you are not familiar with, in the end, most people will tie what they know.
Q: How do I keep my Thread Furled Leader floating high during a day of fishing?
A: Our Thread Furled Leaders are created using Payette Paste “Floatant” This paste fills the voids in-between the wraps of the threads causing the overall mass of the leader to increase therefore making the leader more buoyant “high floating”. I typically tell people to add their choice of floatant (we recommend Loon Payette Paste, which can be ordered through our site) (add link) to the length of the dry fly leader before the first cast. The floatant should be applied after 2-3 fish have been landed. This of course depends on specific conditions. I have had days that I have landed and released 10 plus fish without re-applying. But I have also had days fishing very spooky/weary fish that require the best possible presentations so I will re-apply more often. One $5.00 container of paste will last and entire season.
Q: Are Thread Furled Leaders worth the extra initial cost?
A: YES!!! I know that store-bought tapered leaders can cost less to purchase but how many trips do you normally get out of a Leader??? I have one very cheap fishing buddy that still has a dry fly leader on that I gave to him. That leader has been fished weekly for over one year. Countless fish (some true hogs) have been landed with it. His philosophy, “why fix it if it isn’t broken”
Q: What is the best tippet end to choose, Shorb Loop or Tippet Ring?
A: This is a tough one to answer.
1st time furled leader users: I tell most first time Furled Leader users to choose the tippet ring. These rings are so small they actually float on the end of your leader. We use the best tippet rings money can buy, they cost a little more, but are fabricated with no burrs or sharp edges that can damage the leader or the tippet. The tippet ring makes adding/changing tippet a breeze. As with standard tapered leaders, your tippet selection is based on fly size. Smaller fly’s = smaller tippet, etc.
Seasoned Angler: I recommend the shorb loop. These loops flatten out smooth when attached to the tippet via a perfection loop. The one negative with shorb loop is that if you cut the leader with your snips while removing the tippet, the leader could be ruined.
Q: What size (weight) Leader do I purchase.
A: Furled leaders are sized similar to fly lines. We offer leaders to accommodate most dry fly fishing situations.
(Three standard sizes.)
Extra Light- 0-3 wt, recommended tippet sizes 4x-8x (breaking strength of 12-14 lbs)
Light 4-6 wt, Light is the most popular size. Recommended tippet sizes 3x-6x These leaders excel on 4-5 & 6 weight rods. The breaking strength of the leader is approx. 14-16 lbs.
Medium 7-8 wt, recommended tippet sizes 0x-4x, (breaking strength of leader is approx. 16-18 lbs.)
Q: What type of Tippet do I use?
A: As with many questions/issues dealing with fly-fishing, ask the same question to three different fly-fisherman, you will get three correct but different answers.
My personal thoughts on tippet is as follows:
On 90% of my fishing trips, I use a one-piece length of tippet between
6-0” - 9’-0” in length. (smaller fly’s allow for longer length) If fishing spring creeks that have extremely spooky fish, 10% of the time I will step my tippet down in two steps. Approx. 3’-0” of 5x and 6’-0” of 7x. I do not do this often, but on heavily fished waters such as Silver Creek here in Idaho
Q: What is the best length leader?
A: 76” long leader is our “Ultimate Dry Fly Leader” This leader excels in Dry Fly Fishing situations.
68” long leader is our “multi-purpose” Dry Fly/Emerger Leader
50” Nyphing Leader. These leaders have a heavy butt end creating much power to turn over multi-fly rigs.
Nymphing Leaders come packaged without floatant being applied.
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*NOTE: All Furled Leaders are built with a loop end at the Fly line end (butt end). This loop is woven into the leader itself and will flatten out smooth with loop end of fly line. I offer two distinct tippet options. (Click Option To View)
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I personally prefer the Tippet Ring connection this facilitates easy tippet changes. I use a 2mm Tippet ring, these rings are strong enough to land any fish a 5/6 wt rod can handle, yet are so lite, the leader end actually floats. CLICK HERE OUR FOR TIPPET SIZE CHART.
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A: I typically tell people that they should think of the leader as an extension of their fly-line. The leader color does not matter nearly as much as many people think. Fish are constantly seeing floating debris (twigs, grasses, leaves, etc) in the water. Because Cutthroat leaders can deliver a fly without disturbing the water surface via a gentle presentation, the color is much less important than one would think. Cutthroat Leaders currently offer Thread Furled Leaders in the following colors: White, Green, Tan, Yellow and most popular Camo (green & Tan).
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