Morning,

As we are now well into the trout season, I wanted this week's email to be focused on getting the most from your leader setups (for both Rivers and Stillwaters) - especially when using less aerodynamic flies - typically when using any 'spent' style or Mayfly patterns. 

TL;DR - Too Long; Didn't Read

I know that some of you are pressed for time and save our emails to read later in the day, by this time our selections are sometimes sold out (I get lots of emails from customers pointing this out to me).

I've put this section at the beginning, so you can grab your leaders & flies now - and save reading my musings for later.

This email is all about Leaders - some new Tri-Leg Furled Leaders (which are stunning), Furled Leader Extensions, Furled Leader Conditioning Balm and our 'White Label' Tapered Leaders in 9ft, 12ft & 15ft lengths.

As you can imagine, while I am out on the river very regularly I get to use all sorts of different leaders - depending on the conditions. As I am also in contact with you (our email community) fairly regularly, I often get recommended great fly gear to try out.

Last year, I was recommended to try 'The Furled Leader Company', which I did (and they're great). I also became friends with Marcus (the owner and 'head furler'). It turns out that furling leaders can be quite complex - it's not just a case of twisting threads together.

Virtually all furled leaders are made from 2-legs of thread, which allows 4 sections through the leader to step the taper down.

But ...

Marcus has now devised a 3-legged furled leader design which allows 16 sections to step the leader's diameter down, allowing for the ultimate in finesse (and presentation). 

• That's not me (or Marcus) by the way, it's a stock image, I just love the way the leader is shown.

When thinking about leaders, I always start from the size of the fly you will be using and work backwards. It's important that the leader you decide on is balanced - by that I mean the leader must be able to transfer the energy created by the taper in the fly line all the way to your fly in the most efficient manner possible.

It's no good having a really long leader and using a large fly if the design of the leader doesn't transfer enough energy through the leader to turn the fly over - so I always start with the fly size and work backwards.

As the riverside vegetation seems to be on steroids at the moment (especially now we've had some rain), being able to turn over your fly in a very short casting arc is essential - that's just one of the areas where a furled leader excels:

The Furled Leader

Furled leaders, constructed from twisted threads of various materials including silk, nylon, or modern synthetics, offer a completely knotless alternative that many fly anglers swear by. These leaders transfer energy smoothly through their twisted construction, creating exceptional turnover characteristics while maintaining flexibility throughout their length. The furling process creates a leader that tapers naturally through the twist density rather than diameter changes, resulting in remarkably smooth energy transmission and delicate presentation capabilities.

Tight quarters demand precise presentations, and furled leaders provide exceptional accuracy at close range. Their inherent flexibility prevents the line memory problems that plague conventional leaders in confined spaces, while their energy transfer efficiency allows delicate placement of flies in pocket water and undercut banks.

We have teamed up with Marcus from The Furled Leader Co to offer his exquisite Tri-Leg Furled Leaders (in 6ft and 8ft lengths), which are designed specifically for dry fly presentation of both regular and smaller fly patterns.

Q. So when should you use a Furled Leader?

A. Furled Leaders act like an extension of your fly line, they help turn a fly over when you don't have the full head of the line (usually 30ft) out of the rod tip - especially useful when fishing smaller rivers and streams where roll-casts are required.

The Tri-Leg Dry Fly Furled Leaders are either 6ft or 8ft long, each with a tippet ring attached; to the tippet ring, you add between 4' and 6' of tippet to make up your overall leader length.

We have teamed up with The Furled Leader Co to offer Marcus's exquisite Tri-Leg Furled Dry Fly Leaders - for either £12.50 or £15.00 each, depending on length - they are stunning and will last forever (not literally, but I do have a furled leader which was made 10 years ago and it's still as good as new).

We are also able to offer his Parallel Furled Leader Extensions (only £10) - which is effectively a 4ft extension piece you add to the butt section of the furled leader to extend it (very handy when the fish are very wary).

Also, we've persuaded him to let us sell his Furled Leader Conditioning Balm - a dressing which is formulated specifically for furled leaders (and silk fly lines) - if you've heard of Otter Butter, this is very very similar.

To sum up, here's what we have available from Marcus @ The Furled Leader Company:

• 6ft Tri-Leg Dry Fly Furled Leader (Olive Green) - only £12.50
• 8ft Tri-Leg Dry Fly Furled Leader (Sky Grey) - only £15.00
• 4ft Parallel Furled Leader Extension - only £8.00
• Furled Leader Balm - only £10 a tin

We only have limited stocks of these leaders (and balm) - 30 of each to be precise, so grab them while you still can - they're a work of art, if you're into that sort of thing!!

*** Go on, You Know You Want To ***

Tapered Leaders

My email earlier this year on our new 'White Label' tapered leaders saw you clear our shelves of them within a couple of days! Now you've had a chance to use them in anger, the reviews have started to pour in - and you love them!

That's why we've just restocked them and now have them available in 9ft, 12ft & 15ft lengths - in 3X (6.8lb) down to 6X (3.0lb).

Let me be straight with you: these leaders aren't hand-crafted by a Swiss watchmaker in a mountain retreat. There's no heritage marketing guff, no celebrity endorsement, and no logo embossed on the packet.

What there is, though, is a properly made mono tapered leader that does exactly what a tapered leader is supposed to do - turn your fly over cleanly at the end of a cast.

I've been using them myself, and honestly, I was pleasantly surprised.

The taper is smooth and progressive, the mono has a nice suppleness that doesn't fight you, and the turnover is as tidy as leaders costing twice the price.

Now available in 9ft, 12ft & 15ft lengths, and in 3X, 4X, 5X and 6X diameters, there's a size to suit just about any river or stillwater situation you're likely to find yourself in this season.

Sometimes a thing just works. These are those things.

Q. Why should I add tippet to the end of a tapered leader?

A. Tapered leaders have a built-in taper to them (they are thicker at one end and thinner at the other), when you change flies you will always eat away at the line - making it shorter (and in this case yo will be eating into the clear section og the leader). If you just attached your fly to the tapred leader, once you've changed flies a few times you would completely eat into the taper, so you add in a 2ft or 3ft section of tippet to the end of the tapered leader and then change this section of tippet once it gets too short. It also allows you to extend the overall leader length should you wish for a more delicate presentation with smaller flies.

We have our 'White Label' Tapered Leaders in the following lengths, 9ft, 12ft & 15ft. Each of them have the following specifications:

Please Note: Each leader is also available as a pack of 3 or a ixed pack (one of each diameter).

Our 'White Label' Tapered Leader are prticed as follows:

• Individually @ only £2.75 each
• Pack of 3 @ only £7.50
• Mixed Pack - 1 of each 3X, 4X, 5X & 6X - only £10

*** Get yours while you can as we cannot guarantee we will be able to get any more this season ***

Speedy Deliveries

As we are now at that time of year when the dry fly fishing will be nearing its peak, we do understand that when you order your flies - you want to receive them as quickly as is humanly possible.

So ... we've got you covered.

When you reach the checkout, there's the option to use our Royal Mail 1st Class Tracked service for only £2.50 - this will allow you to get your order the 'very next day', assuming you can order before 1pm and are located in mainland UK.

As with all things 'Royal Mail' we can't guarantee it will be the very next day (unless you use the Special Delivery option at checkout), but we will ship it using their 1st class service which does have a 95% success rate of delivering to addresses in mainland UK the very next day.

Tight lines and have fun out there, it's looking like a great weekend for fishing.