Always Use A Leader With Braid!

[HoosierHawgs]

Is this true for flipping laydowns, grass mats, and other vegetation? I see that people usually just hit the line w/a sharpie and do just fine... Also, what about when it comes to frogs? I do the same thing their too... Obviously you can't use Fluoro, and mono just has way to much stretch!

[roadwarrior]

Just the aspect of being able to break off is a good reason for me. 

 

Very important to me, too!

 

 

 

[WRB]

For me it comes down to 1 knot.

Tom

[ThatZX14Fella]

I would like to be able to use braid and a leader, but I only have one rod and reel setup so I change baits a lot and I'd be spending more time tying leaders than fishing. I thought about tying a swivel to the braid and making quite a few different leaders tied to a snap swivel but that kinda defeats the purpose of using a fluoro leader considering it would add to the visibility factor. I like mono.  

[Catch and Grease]

I'm with bluebasser the places I fish aren't to clear and I'm perfectly fine fishing straight braid.... I just see a leader as another knot to fail.

[Green Trout]

I'm with bluebasser the places I fish aren't to clear and I'm perfectly fine fishing straight braid.... I just see a leader as another knot to fail.

It doesn't fail if you tie it right.

[Ozark_Basser]

What's the deal with all these people saying they like the option of breaking off?  I haven't found a hook I couldn't bend to get a bait free from snags with braided line.  I'm positive there's one out there, but usually the knot breaks or the hook bends when I have to free baits from snags, even with all the jigs that I fish with.  To each his own I guess.  

[jignfule]

OP Naivete

[WRB]

100% knot strength is extremely difficult to achieve with either FC and super braids, joining the two lines is more difficult. The result is braid with a leader and lure = 2 knots to fail and they will.

Breaking off 50 to 65 lb braid isn't easy unless you have a leader. Using a FC leader with braid is very popular, just not my choice. I prefer the line to be 1 type, although I will use 75 yard top shots tied to spool filler line.

Tried finesse spinning reels with braid and FC leader, don't like it. Tried baitcasting reels with braid and FC leaders, didn't like it.

Tom

[Diggy]

I'll use a leader where necessary, so I don't lose half a spool of braid like I did one day. I was too lazy to tie the leader, I knew I should have. It allowed me to spend more money on fishing stuff when buying the line, so no harm no foul   

[Catch and Grease]

Do you ever find yourself using leaders tom? Just curious...

[Angry John]

What's the deal with all these people saying they like the option of breaking off?  I haven't found a hook I couldn't bend to get a bait free from snags with braided line.  I'm positive there's one out there, but usually the knot breaks or the hook bends when I have to free baits from snags, even with all the jigs that I fish with.  To each his own I guess.  

http://www.***.com/Mustad_Denny_Brauer_Grip_Pin_Max_Flippin_Hook_5pk/descpage-MGPEH.html

I use these hooks a lot in clear water around laydowns with 15lb flouro.  I have never even been able to get the hook to flex let alone get it to straighten out.

[Darren.]

I always use a leader. But for me it is mainly 

 

1) to save braid mainline - yes I take off lengths

incrementally when changing leaders but that's

acceptable.

 

2) Shock and abrasion

 

3) Confidence in using a leader as opposed to

straight braid.

 

Knots are not an issue. I have full confidence in

the Albright and uni-to-uni knots. 

[CWB]

It doesn't fail if you tie it right.

All knots will fail eventually. I used a flouro leader with no problems and got complacent. Didn't re-tie the leader for quite a while. Had a nice fish take my swimjig and leader with it. Back to one or the other but no leaders. To each his own though.

[SirSnookalot]

SirSnookalot, on 27 Nov 2014 - 02:53 AM, said:

Just the aspect of being able to break off is a good reason for me. 

 

Very important to me, too!

 

 

 

Yesterday I dealt with this scenario.  Fishing an open canal with a hard jerkbait I got snagged on an unmovable object total hidden from view due to the dark water.  Nothing I tried would free my xrap, so I had to break it off.  Using 15# braid with a 20# floroclear leader attached with an 8 wrap up and 0 wrap down alberto both the line and knot was rock solid, neither the mainline nor knot would break.  What did break was my loopknot, which actually took quite a bit of effort.  I'm thankful I was using a leader and even more thankful I wasn't using anything heavier than 15# braid.  Total loss, 1 lure and a few inches of leader, back fishing within seconds.

[Raul]

For me is not a matter of visibility, if your mate is outfishing you then he´s doing something you don´t, for me is a matter of abrassion resistance, braid don´t mix well with rocks and less with those chunk shale rocks found in many lakes I fish, those things are razor sharp and cut braid in an eyeblink but don´t cut monofilament ( FC, nylon or copoly ) so easily even if it´s thin.

[SirSnookalot]

The same exact situation happened to me again today as described in post #40, with the same result.  Had I been fishing with no leader or heavier braid I may have had to cut the line. 

 

Just to throw this out, I was on a hot bite today.  On one of my casts my lure was foul hooked, I didn't change my retrieval speed and got nailed by one of the nicer bass of the day.  I seldom give up on cast even if the lure is flopping around, ya just never know when a fish is going strike.  It happened a second time today, that fish I lost.

[Fishing Rhino]

I always use a leader.  I do a lot of fishing with four and six pound test fluorocarbon, and would lose a lot of baits to pickerel.  I use fifteen pound test fluoro for a leader and use an Albright knot to join them.

 

With braid I also use the fifteen pound fluoro for a leader.  Most of the ponds and lakes around here are extremely rocky.  Braid and rocks do not play well together.  A nice fish takes the line around a rock and it's gonzo.  Braid is great in vegetation, it can mow down patches of lily pads, sawing through them like butter.  But in craggy rocky areas it's next to worthless.  If you want to see how easy braid can be broken pull it over the cutter on dental floss.  It cuts the line as well as any, and better than most braid scissors, and it takes very little pressure.  It may be fine on smooth rounded rocks, but the rocks around here will part it as easily as the dental floss cutter.

 

The knot goes through the guides with nary a tick.

[gulfcaptain]

Just my opinion, maybe it's the person holding the rod. I fish straight braid a lot, seen a lot of others fish FC, finesse, etc and do quite well if not better right there with them.  But I can regularly outfish a most of my friends on a consistant basis using braid only.   But then there is a time and a place for leaders/topshots also.   

[WRB]

Do you ever find yourself using leaders tom? Just curious...

Not bass fishing. I use 2 & 3 lb leaders for trout using bait, 100 to 300 lb mono leaders for marlin, wire leaders for toothy salt water fish, sharks etc.

I fished FC leader on finesse braid for about 3.years, broke off too many good bass.

We have a Instron machine at work and I test lots of knots and they all are less than 80% strength when tied to braid with FC, less if you don't retie after 24 hrs.

The problem is sudden pull force when a good size bass makes a hard turning run. Under steady pull the knots perform OK. Losing good size bass solely due to knot failure teaches you lessons, 1knot is better than 2!

Tom