The Abraded leader

The forums are very quiet

The Global FlyFisher forum has existed for almost as long as the site, and the oldest posts are more than 20 years old. Forums aren't what they used to be. Social media has taken over a lot of their roles, and the GFF form is very quiet ... to put it mildly.
We keep everything online for the sake of history, and preserve the posts for as long as possible, but as you will see, quite a few of them aren't in a good shape, but rely on old images hosted elsewhere, which are no longer available, odd codes from old systems and much more, which can't be shown in a decent way.
But the posts are here, and you can - if you insist - start new threads. But don't stay awake waiting for replies, because they are unfortunately few and far apart.
Martin

Fly fishing - Fish Better

I have been using the Abraded flat leader for 25 years, It's made out of one strand of 0.60 monofilament , Abraded in to the right taper. It has all the pros of a braided leader, just stretch mutch better because it's flat, is also cheap, and fast to make.

I dont really know for sure who invented this leader? it was shown to me by The now dead, Danish Fly fisherman and casting guro Ken Milton in 1983, I have used it ever since.

Morten.

Morten,

If I understand this right this leader is sanded down to its proper taper, isn't it? I remember Milton mentioning these, but never really took that much notice... Isn't it a lot of work?

I had (still have) a friend who fished a lot in the Justland streams for sea trout, and I also remember him preparing these leaders. He later moved to Australia, and I haven't seen or heard them mentioned since.

Martin

I dont think so, It takes me ca 30 min to do one leader, and it last for years of fishing.

For the last one I made, I used normal sandpaper to shape the taper, then finer sandpaper until about 125 grain size(maybe adding some water), until the surface felt nice and smoth.

The turning point has allways been the blood knot adding the tippet to the leader, but with a little practice, and not to many turns, you can get a strong knot, normally I add 0.30 and down dependent on the task.

NB. Sorry Martin, I have coincidentally posted my first answer as a new tread, can be deleted

Morten,

If I understand this right this leader is sanded down to its proper taper, isn't it? I remember Milton mentioning these, but never really took that much notice... Isn't it a lot of work?

I had (still have) a friend who fished a lot in the Justland streams for sea trout, and I also remember him preparing these leaders. He later moved to Australia, and I haven't seen or heard them mentioned since.

Martin

I dont think so, It takes me ca 30 min to do one leader, and it last for years of fishing.

For the last one I made, I used normal sandpaper to shape the taper, then finer sandpaper until about 125 grain size(maybe adding some water), until the surface felt nice and smoth.

The turning point has allways been the blood knot adding the tippet to the leader, but with a little practice, and not to many turns, you can get a strong knot, normally I add 0.30 and down dependent on the task.

NB. Sorry Martin, I have coincidentally posted my first answer as a new tread, can be deleted

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