Why Bother Re: Leaders

[Montanaro]

I understand the purpose of leaders especially for spinning gear which I always use.

However I had a knot failure yesterday from leader to main line on a hookset. Fishing at night in 35 degree temps for one bite and my knot fails. The knot held up to a few fish last weekend and I didnt notice any issues with it.

Perhaps it got weak from dragging riprap or popping through weeds.

But why take that chance? I prefer to topshot my line and not worry about extra knots.

What's your take?

[PatrickKnight]

I use braid almost exclusively so leaders are a must for the fairly clear waters that I fish (at least in my head they are a must). What knot were you using? Mono, fluro, or co-poly leader?

[bholtzinger14]

I use braid almost exclusively so leaders are a must for the fairly clear waters that I fish (at least in my head they are a must). What knot were you using? Mono, fluro, or co-poly leader?

 

I have been using braid too and feel the same way as Patrick. I have been using the uni to uni knot for braid to flouro. I keep it under 2 feet b/c I dont reel it into my guides. Any longer than 2 feet is hard to cast. I might look for a smaller knot so I can reel it into my guides and still cast fine. 

[Montanaro]

Copoly with alberto. I have my heavy rods spooled with braid for the weedy lakes but feel i need copoly or flouro for the clear lake i fish. I could buy extra spools and switch out but daiwa 1016 spools are pricey.

[adam lancia]

I always retie my leader knot before my next outing, whether I caught a fish with that particular setup or not. My leaders are usually pretty long and they run through the guides when I cast. If you were doing a lot of pulling through weeds and rip rap then that would stress the knot as much, if not more than catching fish.

[The Young Gun]

A old walleye fisherman showed me my favorite rig for spinning gear.. I run a 69mlxf avid, 2500 Sahara reel, 10# powepro super slik 8 in blue, to a small bead on top of a #10 barrell swivel, then 6# 100% Trilene Fluro... I've used this rig with great sucess for jigs with walleyes to senkos for bass to just about anything. The bad part of having the bead and swivel is you can't reel past it so don't make your leader to long or casting is a bear. But having the bead on top of a swivel prevents you from reeling in the swivel thus breaking your insert of your top guide. Try it, it actually works really well and tying a new leader on takes 30 seconds 

[ww2farmer]

For me the positives of a braid/fluoro leader set up out weigh the negatives...........by a huge margin.

 

Positives:

 

#1....Braid, as a main line handles much better (esp. on spinning gear) with zero memory/coiling/handling issues far longer than fluoro.

 

#2....Flouro is much MUCH more abrasion resistant than braid, which is important to me fishing around things with teeth and zebra muscle infested water.

 

#3.........Economy, like I said before, braid lasts a LONG time, and so does a spool of fluorocarbon when used as leader material.

 

Negatives:

 

None that I can think of, then again, I have never had issues with the connecting knot that were not my own fault. 

[bigfruits]

I do not use a leader in stained water or at night and have not noticed any decline in the amount of strikes on my jigs.

[A-Jay]

For me - If a knot is failing I always feel it's on me. 

 

Either I tied a poor one, the tackle was incorrect for the task or I choose a substandard product; but either way there are always actions that can & will be taken to correct it.

 

Two days ago I hooked fought & landed a 25 pound plus pike on 10lb braid & a 10 mono leader. Fight lasted almost 20 minutes.  

 

Clearly this was by-catch and there's always a margin of good fortune involved but that tackle was stressed close to but not past what it could do; including the Uni-knots used to connect the braid/mono.

 

btw - I had to stop using fluoro for leader material - knot strength is problematic - at least for me.

 

A-Jay

[WRB]

The problem may be the FC leader. FC doesn't have good knot strength, very difficult to achieve 2 good knots.

A premium mono may be your best choice for leader as it has excellent knot strength and more abrasion resistant than FC. The o n l y reason I will use FC is it has lower coefficient of drag going through water and is less buoyant, neither of those factor in as a leader. The claim FC is less visible to bass isn't proven and bass are rarely line shy fish, it's how the line diameter affects lure action that is important.

If you test line knot strength after being tied 24 hours, the knot strength reduces about 25%, add that to poor FC knot strength and you have knot failures.

Tom

[PourMyOwn]

If you test line knot strength after being tied 24 hours, the knot strength reduces about 25%, add that to poor FC knot strength and you have knot failures.

Tom

 

Great tip, Tom. From now on I'm tying a new knot before every trip. 

[Smokinal]

For me the positives of a braid/fluoro leader set up out weigh the negatives...........by a huge margin.

 

Positives:

 

#1....Braid, as a main line handles much better (esp. on spinning gear) with zero memory/coiling/handling issues far longer than fluoro.

 

#2....Flouro is much MUCH more abrasion resistant than braid, which is important to me fishing around things with teeth and zebra muscle infested water.

 

#3.........Economy, like I said before, braid lasts a LONG time, and so does a spool of fluorocarbon when used as leader material.

 

Negatives:

 

None that I can think of, then again, I have never had issues with the connecting knot that were not my own fault. 

This pretty much sums it up. I fish all rocky lakes up here in Maine and have to have an abrasion resistant line. I hate memory so the braid/fluoro leader has been my setup for years and I can count the number of knot failures I have had on 1 hand. As others have said, a knot failure is owned by the tier. I either use a blood knot or albright.

[MickD]

Here we go again!  The Alberto, sworn by by many, sworn at by some, can easily be screwed up in the tying process.  I have given up on it.  Most on this forum have heard it before, the GT knot is the smallest knot, is a very reliable knot, has won strength contests, but looks intimidating to tie until you get it down pat.  Then it is easy to tie correctly, can be run though micros, lasts until you cut the leader off because you've almost used it up with rigging changes, and it is now my only line to line knot.  Lots of videos on line on how to tie it.  

[Cyacnba]

When I first started bass fishing this year, I used to tie my braid line directly to my T-rigged bait. You have no idea how many bass I lost when I set the hook. My 30lb line would be cut by their razor-like "teeth" (don't know what you call it), so I changed it to a 50lb braid just to have the same result...

After some research, I found that you could use FC leader, which I did. So far, I haven't had a single fish cut off my line. Whenever I tie braid to FC, I put some glue just in case. Even when my bait gets stuck between rocks, the FC gives up first. The knot is always intact. Also, I feel I've been getting more bites, especially from larger bass.

[WIGuide]

If you test line knot strength after being tied 24 hours, the knot strength reduces about 25%, add that to poor FC knot strength and you have knot failures.

Just curious as to where this factoid came from.

 

 

When I first started bass fishing this year, I used to tie my braid line directly to my T-rigged bait. You have no idea how many bass I lost when I set the hook. My 30lb line would be cut by their razor-like "teeth" (don't know what you call it), so I changed it to a 50lb braid just to have the same result...

After some research, I found that you could use FC leader, which I did. So far, I haven't had a single fish cut off my line. Whenever I tie braid to FC, I put some glue just in case. Even when my bait gets stuck between rocks, the FC gives up first. The knot is always intact. Also, I feel I've been getting more bites, especially from larger bass.

A bass's velcro like teeth are not enough to cause your braid to break. If I had to guess, either what was hitting wasn't a bass, or your knot was at fault. Also, if you're using a leader with braid, the leader should be giving up first. Think of your line like a chain, the weakest link will always break first. 

[Montanaro]

Ill look into the GT knot thanks.

[Raul]

Braid line without leader won´t survive more than a few casts in many of the lakes I fish.

 

 

Those rocks are sharp as razors.

[bigbill]

I use copolymer on all my rod setups. On my C-Rig setup with the leader I use a double eye swivel to connect the 24" leader to the main line.

[WRB]

Maxima Ultra Green mono is high abrasion resistant line, also high memory but that shouldn't be a problem used as a leader. Mono/copolymer line achieves 100% knot strength with common easy to tie knots; blood knot, improved clinch, Trilene, Palomar, uni, SD jam etc.

FC getting 80% knot strength is a good knot, usually much less!

Tom

[Jrob78]

Greg Hackney on braid:

 

 

> I don't buy into the theory that fish seeing your line affects whether or not they'll bite your lure. Look at spinnerbaits. They're made with wire and they've caught several fish over the years.

 

> If fish were as perceptive or as smart as some guys would have you believe, we'd never catch one. You know what I'm sayin'?
 

> What I think line does do is affect the running depth, fall rate and the action of a lure.

 

> When I'm casting with braid I do take something else into consideration. I never fish with black. I know they can see it. And, I never fish with white for the same reason. I color my braid either green or red.

 

> Another exception: I'm careful when I'm casting my lure 20 feet or so past the fish and then dragging it past him. Fish are curious creatures. If they can see the line, they might get wary -- above all else they're survivalists -- and not bite the bait when they see it.

[Bluebasser86]

Zebra mussels are the reason a leader is a must for me.