UKCATSBASSER Posted October 2, 2015 Posted October 2, 2015 I sold my heavy pitching stick that I used 20 pound fluro on with the intent of using up a H action tatula frog Rod for double duty. I have 50 pound braid that obviously I direct tie my frog or Alabama rig. I also want to use this Rod for flipping and pitching as well as football jigs. I didn't frog enough or flip enough to have two dedicated rods. So moved down to one. Do you tie a leader or just direct tie? Was thinking of using the rest of my 20 pound fluro spool to use as a leader. Quote
DTack Posted October 2, 2015 Posted October 2, 2015 If I am around rock (football jigs) I will or would use the leader. If I'm around grass and don't think the fish are line shy, or around reeds I will use straight braid often. Make sure you have a good knot and you won't need to be concerned about strength. Good luck! Quote
poisonokie Posted October 2, 2015 Posted October 2, 2015 depends on water clarity and sources of abrasion 1 Quote
Super User the reel ess Posted October 2, 2015 Super User Posted October 2, 2015 I don't. But I'm always open to new ideas. Last time I used a leader for no good reason I broke the line-to-line knot setting the hook. Probably something I did wrong tying, no doubt. But I just figure if water clarity is not an issue and fish will bite a Bama rig, why tie another knot. I also changed out my FC line for heavy braid so I could use it as a frog rod. Quote
WPCfishing Posted October 2, 2015 Posted October 2, 2015 I only use a leader for open water. I use braid on all my reels. Even deep cranks.. I don't worry about a couple of feet... I worry about the hook set and boating the fish. I never use any FC either.. I use P-Line CX for my leaders. Quote
UCChris Posted October 2, 2015 Posted October 2, 2015 I've only been using braid for a few days, but I was out fishing yesterday and the only fish I hooked into was straight braid. I had a FC leader tied on, but I had to cut my line after getting stuck. My FC spool was empty so I had to make do with just the braid. Didn't seem to affect much. Quote
Rich in Co Posted October 2, 2015 Posted October 2, 2015 leader most of the time but when flipping the trash straight braid Quote
Super User rippin-lips Posted October 2, 2015 Super User Posted October 2, 2015 I use a leader of fluoro or copoly in various strengths 90% of the time. For me it offers... Abrasion resistance Slack line sensitivity Breaking off snags Shock resistance 1 Quote
WPCfishing Posted October 2, 2015 Posted October 2, 2015 I use a leader of fluoro or copoly in various strengths 90% of the time. For me it offers... Abrasion resistance Slack line sensitivity Breaking off snags Shock resistance That just about sums it up.. Quote
Dye99 Posted October 3, 2015 Posted October 3, 2015 Ive done a few experiments with my local favorite lakes, and in the end, I caught the same amount of fish basically with a straight 30b braid and with a tied on leader. But the funny thing was, although I caught the same amount roughly, I didn't lose anything on the braid, I lost at least 10% when using a leader. So for me, I just run straight braid, and have no issues at all except my drop shot rigs and a spin cast rig, then I run a leader for sure. 1 Quote
Super User ww2farmer Posted October 3, 2015 Super User Posted October 3, 2015 I use braid as mainline on all my reels. I tie a fluorocarbon leader for every technique except frogging, topwaters, and punching. Sometimes, reaction baits like squarebills, or swim jigs get tied directly to the braid, but I rarely don't use a leader with those presentations anymore for no other reason than instead of getting bit off almost 100% of the time when a pike bites those baits, with the leader, I have a tiny bit of a chance of getting my bait back. Quote
Klebs01 Posted October 3, 2015 Posted October 3, 2015 I use a leader of fluoro or copoly in various strengths 90% of the time. For me it offers... Abrasion resistance Slack line sensitivity Breaking off snags Shock resistance +1 The flouro leader also makes retying a lot faster and easier. Quote
jbw252 Posted October 3, 2015 Posted October 3, 2015 Direct tie on with braid - I never use leader. 1 Quote
Bass newb Posted October 3, 2015 Posted October 3, 2015 I use a leader of fluoro or copoly in various strengths 90% of the time. For me it offers... Abrasion resistance Slack line sensitivity Breaking off snags Shock resistance Shock resistance? How would a copoly leader provide any abrasion resistance over braid? Quote
Super User rippin-lips Posted October 3, 2015 Super User Posted October 3, 2015 Shock resistance? The leader absorbs some of the shock when setting the hook. It helps to prevent from ripping the hooks out on certain types of lures. How would a copoly leader provide any abrasion resistance over braid? Copoly is just a blend of mono and fluoro lines. It withstands abrasion much better than braid. Toothy fish will slice through braid in a second. Quote
bassinhole Posted October 4, 2015 Posted October 4, 2015 For those of your losing fish due to weak connecting knots: Take the time to learn the FG knot. Once you get good with it, you can tie it in under a minute and it is the strongest connecting knot I have ever used. It also slides through even the smallest of micro guides without any issues. Quote
jitterbug127 Posted October 5, 2015 Posted October 5, 2015 I use leaders rarely. Dropshot, some top water and super clear water. I have rods with both braid and copoly so I use what the situation calls for Quote
corn-on-the-rob Posted October 5, 2015 Posted October 5, 2015 In order: #1 abrasion resistance (rocks/toothy critters) #2 clear water/no cover #3 ease of breaking off intentionally That being said, almost always for spinning outfits/applications, almost never for bait-casting applications. (the above scenarios coincide with spinning applications much much more frequently) Quote
corn-on-the-rob Posted October 5, 2015 Posted October 5, 2015 Shock resistance? Mono AND fluoro have quite a bit of give (stretchiness) in them BUT unless you are tying very long leaders, shock resistance I believe would be minimal. Quote
BucketMouth15 Posted October 5, 2015 Posted October 5, 2015 Direct tie. Even in semi clear water, line visibility doesn't seem to be an issue with a green braid. 2 Quote
Super User the reel ess Posted October 5, 2015 Super User Posted October 5, 2015 There you have it: No consensus whatsoever. That's a very common question that I've asked on here before. It seems to boil down to personal preference. If you feel you need one or it gets more bites, that's your decision. It seems to me (just a personal observation) the dividing line is very clear water. We don't have that so I direct tie. If I really thought it made a difference I'd use straight fluorocarbon except around slop. 1 Quote
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