Antique Fly Fishing Equipment -Gut Leaders

Part of the enjoyment in fly fishing is a study of the traditions of the craft. Most of us have read the classics of angling literature and day dreamed about the good old days when North America was an angler’s paradise. I still occasionally gear up a bamboo rod with an antique reel and un-tapered, braided fly line.

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There is a sense of peace and serenity that comes from placing an old fashioned fly pattern in front of a rising trout. The grace of the relaxed, slow, stroke required of natural materials when casting is good for the soul in some way.

About the only component of an antique kit that I have never been able to find is an original gut leader. I am not sure that many of us even know any more what a gut leader is.

Gut leaders are actually strands of pure silk. The process used in their manufacture was amazing. Silk comes from a caterpillar called a silk worm. It secretes a fluid from long, bag-like organs in its abdomen called “guts” which it uses to spin its cocoon.

To make a gut leader was a highly skilled and messy business. The silk worm was dropped into a pickling solution just before it began spinning its cocoon. The worm was then torn open by hand and the fluid in its silk making organs was pulled like taffy, into two thick threads. These threads hardened as soon as they were removed from the gut.

The threads were graded according to thickness and some were “drawn” through holes in metal plates to achieve desired diameters. This is exactly how jewelers “draw” fine wire today. Drawing was the best way to produce the necessary uniformity.

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Because no single strand was very long, there were by necessity several knots in each leader. We still use the same Blood Knots today when building special purpose leaders by hand from different components.

Silk worm gut is brittle when dry and had to be soaked in water or glycerin before fishing. It also broke down over time.

One can picture the oft repeated heartbreak of trying to get one more trip out of an old, expensive leader only to finally get a strike from the king of the pool.

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I am betting even purists like Halford or old George La Branche would have gladly used Maxima.