The Highlander Way
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The Highlander Way |
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Furled Leaders & Indicator Rigs
For the 2008 season The Expedition Furled Leader
"You are about to elevate your fly fishing experience to a new level"
| Loch Flies | Streams | Clyde Style Flies | Clyde Patterns | Sea Trout | Salar the Leaper |
A chance online meeting with Jim Hauer of Bluesky Flyfishers™ U.S.A., reintroduced me to Furled leaders. Company founder Jim began researching fly leaders over 25 yrs. ago & he soon found that many of the leaders in current use were found to be wanting. So he set out to develop a leader that would work in all conditions the fly fisher would likely come across in a season. After much research & testing his Furled Tapered Leaders were born. Jim then teamed up with John Cantwell as his business partner to promote BlueSky Flyfishers.
John who had always thought, as many others have, that monofilament leaders were "The Weak Link" of fly fishing gear & since using these leaders his casting & fly fishing have improved in leaps & bounds. John is responsible for marketing & in conjunction with Jim for new product development.
What are Furled Leaders ?
 | They are hand-woven leaders & represent a vast improvement over nylon & braided types. For top water & sub surface fly fishing they are without equal. |
| Construction.....Take over 90ft of premium nylon, twist & counter twist to form what is not unlike a thin rope & you will be getting near the answer. |
| Form length & taper to suit fly line size. Incorporate loop to loop connections. Add a tippet to suit & we are nearly there |
| Finally add 250 years of history & maybe just maybe we might have the answer. Newton & Walton they knew the answers, nylon has now replaced the twisted horse hair & silk of their time but the principal remain the same. |
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The Furled Leader Illustrated below is a Light version.
The twisted construction is clearly shown along with the neat loop
connections. |
Lengths are approx 5ft 9",but by the simple
addition of a suitable tippet, leaders of up to 14ft can be used with
little or no loss of turnover/presentation. Sizes available
Cost...£6.35 ea (all sizes) + 75p P& P |
New addition to range The Expedition
Woven with nylon extender/tippet attached.
This is the leader for those big Kola Salmon & Trout Cost: £7.55ea
UK stocks limited, please allow about 5 days to get from USA
The Stillwater Special
Specially designed for distance & presentation. These furled leaders are 8ft 4ins. long, premium mono with loop to loop connections. Longer tippets up to 20ft. can be used with this leader without any loss of turnover/presentation
Available in Light: 3-5wt lines
Medium:6- 8wt
Cost...£6.99 ea (all sizes) + 75p P&P
The Spey
Especially designed for the Salmon fly fisher. This furled leader is ideal for the Salmon fisher that requires good presentation & turnover. Whatever cast you use Spey, Overhead or the Switch cast then this is the leader for you. For lines of 7wt & over, are 9ft 10ins long, loop at one end & a section of heavy duty mono at other to enable tippet to be added easily. A nice light grey colour these superior furled leaders will be a boon to the Salmon angler.
Cost....£7.45ea + 75p P& P
The Whys.......Improved presentation. These leaders will turn over small dries to the heaviest lures & nymphs. With a suitable sized tippet added the dries will alight as if thistle down & the heavier flies will turn over like no nylon or braid will ever do. Trout hate sloppy casting & presentation & to this end furled leaders bring with them increasingly improved accuracy. Ever notice how braids tend to crash & "splat" on the surface?. That is caused in part by their tendency to hold & retain water due to the hollow core nature of their construction. Not so with the solid constructed furled, this does not happen They are supple so help reduce surface drag acting as a shock absorber hence protecting light tippets. Last but not least they are durable & robust , unlike standard mono leaders which can last from a few minutes to a few hours furled can last from one season to another. Treated with a good paste floatant such as Mucilin™, they sit up well on the surface giving excellent bite indication & tracking of the fly. Slightly more expensive than conventional mono or braided leaders, but any initial expense is soon recouped.
Disadvantages...Like any leader design there are compromises. If snagged & jerked they can snarl if pulled violently to release. Due to its construction it acts like a spring & springs as you know store energy. So the stored energy upon release can snarl & tangle a bit. Gently undoing the leader will do little or no harm & can be stretched along its length to straighten it's self out.
Along with furled leaders Jim & John offer their unique indicator rigs. Other than the obvious stream uses the BriteSpot is ideal for the UK stillwater fly fisher using the deadly Okey Dokey method.
And now they introduce a new leader for Toothy Fish
For years fly fishers have been trying to win the battle with toothy fish. In the UK, Pike have presented special challenges. They can destroy a mono leader in seconds. Stainless leaders whether single or multi- strand, twist, kink & need to be replaced at regular intervals. Not so with these. BlueSky has combined the casting turnover of Furled Leader with Titanium to create Premium BlueSky-Ti® Leader. Using medical grade these leaders are design to take all the punishment toothy fish can deliver & still retain strength. Ideal too for the warm water travelling angler who encounters Barracuda & other toothy saltwater fish
| BriteSpot Strike Indicator Leaders | Titanium Bite Tippet Leaders |
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Many types of indicators are available to today's fly fishers from sticky paper to gooey putty. These fill the gap, the two tone pink & bright yellow yarn show up well in different light conditions. Are tapered & cast nicely. Used in still water they allow the fly to hang directly down below the yarn unlike many others on the market & so increasing bite detection. Approx.54" long, they come as a pack of two with full instructions. Cost....£3.95ea. + 75pP&P Pack of two.
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Cost....£7.99ea + 75p P& P Please note these are "special order" from the U.S.A & will take about 14 days to supply.
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To order... cheque made payable to The Highlander Way
53,Allison Ave., Erskine,PA8 6DN. UK
please allow up to 7 days for delivery. You can use Pay Pal, if you so wish, just click on the link below. I do not charge any extra for using this service.
Postage is 75p for any amount/combination of leaders or indicators.
Contact Alan at...........Highlander1@ntlworld.com for any info regarding these products
Quoted prices apply to UK customers only.
For mainland Europe customers please contact the above for details.
For orders in the U.S.A. & Canada contact blueskyfly.com
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