Hi guys:
I was wondering who makes an easy to straighten trout leaders for fly fishing. The ones I use now are a real pain to straighten out. The butt section is very stiff. Guess there mono. No knots, one piece.
Thanks

Bill - willierods.com

Typically I use a new leader only after I have tied enough tippets to it and it is just too short to use. I know a lot of them can be difficult to unwind when fresh. Perhaps I don't understand your question.

I either make my own starting with 14lb test mono or fluorocarbon and work my way down to 5 or 6 x tippet, or I buy furled leaders, and they are extremely easy to straighten. They are furled from some kind of really small mono Drop me an email and I can give you the guys email address, he sells them for 4-6 dollars each and ships free he makes them to order so just tell him what length you need and what wt rod you are using it for.

Some are stiffer than others, but the nature of the heavy butt sections means nearly all will have some memory.

Wrap the butt section around a tree and pull (don't break it, obviously) to stretch it just a bit. This tends to relieve some of the memory.

I once saw Dave Whitlock running a leader through his hands, over and over. He said the warmth he was imparting to it relieved the memory in the mono.

..............

A furled leader will totally eliminate your problem, but they do tend to spray when you lift off the water.

John: that is what I do. I was just trying to straighten out a new leader Climax, Need a better leader.

Tom: i know you have liked Scientific angler for lines, what about leaders ? I ran my hand over this leader butt. Still got to get better leader ?

Then I usually trim off a few inches and then tie a loop on the end. And with a 3-4 lb leader I tie a 2 lb tippet.

Bill - willierods.com

I run leaders through my hands as well. I grab the very end of the butt section in my left hand and then pull the entire leader through my closed right hand. I agree with Tom's statement that the heat generated via friction helps but it may also be the oils in your hand that help as well. This also stretches the leader some which may help too. I have been doing it this way for 20 years and it works better than anything else I have tried. FYI, pull slowly. You dont want to burn or cut yourself.

I run mine through a soft piece of leather slowly several times. I have found this to be the best.

I love my furled leaders. I can wrap it around the real seat with no memory whatsoever.

I have for many years used a device that I bought from Orvis to straighten my fly leaders. It is a leather covered
rubber pad that you run the leader through with a little pressure from your thumb and index finger. I have not
seen this device in an Orvis catalog for a while but Hook & Hackle has one in their catalog on Page 20. It is
call a Leader Straightener. They are a sponsor listed on the left side of this page. This device has worked well
for me over the years to straighten Trout leaders.

Clyde Alho
The Rod Shop, Inc.

For what it is worth; I have used those leader straighteners as well and for me anyway using my hands works better. And it is one less thing to buy :-). All of these are great solutions but I figured I would mention it.

those leaders straighteners do work but an even cheaper version is to simply cut a small section from a bicycle inner tube. try not to use one that's currently on your bike. you could get dozens from one old inner tube and stuff a few in your fishing pack/vest/bag/purse/wallet. but if you had to have the orvis logo....

still, after long winter months in storage, eventual reuse come springtime appears to work for me since i haven't felt the need to straighten a leader in years. maybe you just need to fish more and catch bigger fish??? lol

eric
fresno, ca.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/22/2009 08:57PM by eric zamora.

The rubber leader straighteners tend to heat the leader material and leave it weaker. A straight pull using your hands that stretches the leader is preferable. A furled leader is best of all. Those made from thread don't exibit any memory and last a long time by replacing tippets as needed.

Stan Grace
Helena, MT
"Our best is none too good"



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/23/2009 10:33AM by Stan Grace.

I also find the leather method to work best!