Leaders For Bass Fishing

[RoachDad]

I don't understand using leaders for bass fishing.  For fly fishing, the line actually throws the lure rather than the lure pulling the line, so I get that.  But why in regular reel fishing?

 

I have a couple of spinning rods that I fish for bream with.  I hooked a huge bass last weekend so I decided to spool the spinning rods with 15 lb braid which is the size of 4lb mono.  I am going to leave some mono on the bottom of the reel so I learned the albright knot to connect the lines.

 

But in the mean time all the things I read said to put a mono leader on the end.  Why?  you are introducing another knot and if you use 4lb mono, you are defeating the purpose of the braid.  If you use 15 lb mono leader to match the line, why not just use 15 lb mono on the reel.

 

I am saying braid but it is really just the super lines. I am going to use pro line which is limp and probably round.

 

thanks

 

RoachDad

[Felix77]

In highly pressured situations I have experienced the difference between throwing braid and throwing braid with a fluoro leader.  I caught fish using the latter.  I usually start with my 10lb braid.  If I don't get bit I will add the leader.

 

IMHO It gives me the best of both worlds.  The no stretch sensitivity of braid and the invisibility of fluorocarbon.

[Darren.]

Here's a snippet from another post I made today.

"Braid for mainline is great because of line management (esp. on spinning reels).

Braid can be rather pricey. Every time you tie on another lure, another hook, directly to braid, you remove a little bit of your pricey line. Get hung up, you lose more. Soon, you need to respool because your braid is down too low for your liking.

However, add a leader and your braid dwindles much more slowly. You get hung up your leader (hopefully) breaks first. You start out with 6 feet or more of leader, and retie lures, hooks, until you need to replace your leader.

Those reties don't affect your braided mainline until you replace the leader. The longer the leader, the less you lose your braid."

This is one reason I use a leader, perhaps even my main reason. Other reasons, abrasion resistance, visibility, etc.

[BrettD]

I dont use a leader at all. My dad used to be a believer in leaders and he refused to fish with out one unitl we did a comparison. We fish every weekend together for  10 trips then we compared numbers and there was no difference in the number or size of the fish. We fished lake okeechobee for all 10 of those trips and its probably one of the top 5 pressured lakes in the nation. 

[senile1]

My reasons for using fluorocarbon leaders are two-fold.  Number one, they allow me to break off if I am hung up and can't get the lure free.  Last year, my Grandson was fishing a jig with my Dobyn's Champion Extreme 703c and straight braid.  The lure became hung and before I noticed and could jump in and assist he had broken the rod trying to get the lure loose.  Secondly, every website of every guide at the clear water lakes that I fish suggests using fluoro due to the similarity in its refractive index to water.  They all use it and fish these lakes daily.  While I have no scientific evidence to support that fish can be spooked by the line, they believe it helps and my experience seems to be the same as theirs.  I have more confidence using that leader in those lakes. 

[Paul Roberts]

Brian Waldman also tested his catch rate with stright braid and found it made no difference. He even used fluorescent braid tied direct and it made no difference! Now he concedes that there are times that a leader might be important, but it isn't necessary.

 

I agree with DarrenM, taking it from a purely maintenance standpoint. When I break off with braid, it's the knots, either at the lure or the connection, that gives. What I like about braid (among a number of things) is if you want to change line characteristics you can add a long leader -mono for crankbaits or fluoro for plastics or in wind, or ....

[Fishing Rhino]

I use leaders with braid.  The prime reason being that braid is very fragile when fished in the rocks.  It doesn't take much to part the line when it goes over or around a rock.  The leader keeps the braid away from the rocks in most cases.

 

Which leads me to this tidbit.  A very effective cutter for braid is the tin cutter on dental floss spools.  It parts as easily and cleanly as dental floss.  

 

In vegetation braid is like a scythe.  If a big fish makes a loop through the pads, mono or fluoro for that matter can get wrapped around the stems.  Braid just mows 'em down.  Not good for the lily pads but a blessing when you hook a nice one.

 

Braid also transmits every little tick to the pole.  Fluoro, while not as "stretchy" as mono doesn't transmit the message on the business end of the line as well as braid.

[senile1]

I agree with the line management idea mentioned by DarrenM and Paul as well.  And I've heard a few people who have provided anecdotes that seem to indicate the line doesn't make a difference but I am more confident using leaders.

 

As for the line breaking at the knot with straight braid I have found that even with the drag tightened all the way, my knots don't break before the drag slips.  Maybe it depends on the lb-test of the braid but anything from 30 on up for me doesn't break at the knot.  I am aware that some of the Revo reels have 20 lbs of drag pressure and the Shimanos I use are even less. Placing the thumb on the spool and pulling straight back works sometimes but I have had numerous instances where it didn't because whatever I was hung on would give too much or eventually that spool will move under the thumb and take some skin with it. 

 

Fishing Rhino, that's a good point about the abrasive qualities of fluoro also.

[PABASS]

Ultra clear water, try some testing with this kind of water and see what happens.  Local pond I fished recently had ultra clear water so much so the bass and other fish were being spooked by my line, white fireline.  Lost a few lures this weekend and my leader knot never broke the line did.

[Marty]

I never use leaders. It boils down to the fact that I have full confidence in what I'm doing. Others disagree, so take your choice.

[SirSnookalot]

I always use leaders, no exceptions.  1 main reason is getting braid tangled in a treble hook, it can be a nightmare and some times just faster to burn it off and retie.  A mono leader unwraps off a treble very easy.

[0119]

I only use braid on spinning outfits and always with leaders.  I have to because of snook and tarpon in my bass waters.  Oddly contrary to what has been said, I have tested on my own with a partner and our mono versus braid fishing results are the opposite.  Mono has outfished braid 3 to 1 even in Lake O for us.  Confidence must be the over riding factor like mentioned above. I have zero confidence in braid and see only negatives in using it and not one positive to it.  Just like with your fly fishing line the OP mentions he has used.  Im sure you never used a chartruese or flame orange WF sinking line.

[thehooligan]

I only use full braid in heavily stained water or topwater. I actually stopped using full fluoro for leaders cause i was having trouble with my knots, its so stiff i couldnt get the knot to cinch down right. Now i just use flouroclear in green mist, the knots always come out great and im 100% confident.

 

Ive horsed in huge pickerel and a big muskie on 6-10lb flouroclear leaders...

[RoachDad]

I totally agree.  Thought I was missing something.  I don't understand the cost argument.  If you care about the difference between braid and mono/fluro, just use mono. 

 

I dont use a leader at all. My dad used to be a believer in leaders and he refused to fish with out one unitl we did a comparison. We fish every weekend together for  10 trips then we compared numbers and there was no difference in the number or size of the fish. We fished lake okeechobee for all 10 of those trips and its probably one of the top 5 pressured lakes in the nation. 

[RoachDad]

so, why not just use mono?  Why are you using braid at all?

 

 

I only use braid on spinning outfits and always with leaders.  I have to because of snook and tarpon in my bass waters.  Oddly contrary to what has been said, I have tested on my own with a partner and our mono versus braid fishing results are the opposite.  Mono has outfished braid 3 to 1 even in Lake O for us.  Confidence must be the over riding factor like mentioned above. I have zero confidence in braid and see only negatives in using it and not one positive to it.  Just like with your fly fishing line the OP mentions he has used.  Im sure you never used a chartruese or flame orange WF sinking line.

[Scorcher214]

so, why not just use mono?  Why are you using braid at all?

It's castability.

[bassguytom]

I'm using flouro leaders with all my braid set ups. I fish clear water and just have confidence while using it. I am tempted to use straight braid on my new jig rod set up because it seems the braid to flouro uni knot seems to stick in my micro guides.