The short story goes like this. Almost 20 years ago, hiking to my favorite fishing hole, my mind flashed to images of hungry trout slamming my dry flies. As I turn a corner on the trail, I find an older gentleman casting in my favorite spot. Unknown to me at the time, my next decision would have a huge impact on the rest of my life. Rather than turning around and going elsewhere, I decide to slow down, take up a seat, and watch. As I sat, perched on an old windblown tree trunk, I was able to watch a much wiser Dry Fly Fisherman in action.
It only took watching a few casts to know I was in the presence of something/someone special. The rhythm of his casting, the presentation and the accuracy of his fly left me in awe. Quietly sitting back, I patiently watch from afar. After a few fish were netted and released, the man in the weathered vest turned towards my direction and asked if I wanted to throw some flies in this run.
After a few casts, a couple of missed strikes, I finally brought a small beautifully colored Cutthroat Trout to the net. The Gentleman in the old vest made his way back down to the river’s edge to congratulate me on my catch.
After a brief chat about the day’s fishing, I asked him for any advice he had. He spoke about achieving the proper drift, fly selection, not false casting over fish, you know all the basics. Then he showed me his set-up…
He had an old bamboo rod, not the prettiest rod I had ever seen. The rod was old, well used and worn… On his rod he had standard weight forward line and this thing he called a furled leader….. I was very intrigued about this leader. “how does it work, what material is it made from, is it better than my regular tapered leader”? I had many questions.
It was after this encounter that I myself began a voyage of building / designing the World’s best furled leaders. That was over 20 years ago…
The seeds were then planted for the creation of Cutthroat Furled Leader Company, which came years later.