I'm a machinist so the micrometer is no problem. I dont think I can get as many spools as are in the kit for 42 bucks, so it would be a better deal that way, and I will never have to go buy a spool when I come across a new leader.
john
A long time ago when I was very budget minded, I was tying my own leaders. A favorite was the early George Harvey leader which I would very much recommend for stream/river fishing...it performs uniquely in making the leader fall on the water in s-curves of decreasing amplitude as it progresses toward the fly. The s-curves decrease the effects of mini-currents producing drag on the fly.
Harvey recommended a micrometer because in his experience, very few leader spools accurately label the actual width of the leader material. He recommended taking the micrometer to the store and measuring various spools until you found the one that matched the leader formula number you were seeking. Hopefully, these days the manufacturers are more consistent and more accurate, but who knows?
I gave up building my own leaders because of the simple fact that the more knots you introduce into your leader, the more chances for a knot failure. I was using blood knots at the time (and just hate the buggers).
However, I may have to reinvestigate the matter since I switched knots years ago to what Europeans call a 'double grinner' and what US flyfishers might know as a double-uni knot. This is a disgusting dependable leader knot, and might coax me back into hand-tied leaders. The double-uni is also recommended by various sources for tying together mono to fluorocarbon, or reliably knotting together two pieces of widely varying diameters.
(Wish the Harvey leader was available as an unknotted, tapered leader...I would snap them up.)
As a side note, when I was really investigating this leader formula stuff, I ran into one that worked really well with bushy dries such as a Royal Wulff. Strangest thing... it was a double tapered leader. The butt had a smaller diameter than the middle, then it tapered down in normal fashion to the tippet. Not sure why it worked as well as it did, but I've never heard of it mentioned since.
Wes Wada Bend, Oregon
