After spending about an hour and a half writing a long involved response to my Swiss friend, I took a short break. In a flash it came to me, "you stupid bugger, that SOB has just suckered you again!" You'll note that whenever anyone challenges Hans' opinion he never defends it, he takes about five minutes of his own time demanding that the challenger prove his/her point. Not this time. I will simply note that in his original statement he suggested changing from 6/0 to 3/0 or mono in making the leader for large flies. For what other reason than to make the leader "stiffer"? I'm afraid Rene needs to rethink his comment. Take a piece of straight 20 pound Mason mono (the stiff nylon "benchmark"). Bend it into a "U", then release it. It straightens out like a bent rod. As for the Kreh comment, well I agree within limits. George Harvey found the same thing when building his complicated tapers. Remember that .024 Climax is still considerably stiffer than a furled leader butt. Nonetheless, I wouldn't take everything Lefty says as gospel (anymore than what I or Hans says). Afterall, he also recommends changing to a lighter-weight line floating line when casting into a wind, which is errant nonsense. Don't believe me, just try it for yourself. Leader design is a complicated business, one size simply won't fit all. It's a question of balancing competing demands. I'm a big fan of furled leaders in their proper place, but casting big, wind resistant flies is definitely not their forte.
Cheers, Paul -- Paul Marriner Outdoor Writing & Photography. Member OWAA & OWC. Author of Atlantic Salmon, Ausable River Journal, Miramichi River Journal, and Modern Atlantic Salmon Flies.
