Broke off 5 pounder

[MassYak85]

7 minutes ago, ClackerBuzz said:

don't worry you're not alone. for whatever reason i could never get that knot to work. it even failed me while casting and i watched my new buzzbait sail off into the distance. obviously it's a user error but i just couldn't get Alberto or Albright to work.  I now use Uni to uni and have never had a failure.

It's weird I was the exact opposite. Had multiple Uni to Uni's snap on hooksets and now use Albright's with no issues. Just goes to show with all the info we share sometimes you've just got to see what works best for you. 

[Darren.]

1 minute ago, MassYak85 said:

It's weird I was the exact opposite. Had multiple Uni to Uni's snap on hooksets and now use Albright's with no issues. Just goes to show with all the info we share sometimes you've just got to see what works best for you. 

 

For the last year, I've used uni-to-uni more than the 
Albright/mod'd version and had 100% success with it

using 10, 15, and 20# braid to anywhere from a 

4-15# leader (mainly 6, 8, and 10).

 

Now I can say that I've had some knots fail with very

slick leader line - P-Line Floroclear comes to mind here

in 6# diameter. But the failure always occurs when I've

tied and then pull-tested the knot before use. Have had

it fail with Albright, too. So with thinner diameter lines

I add more wraps. Takes care of the breakage problem.

 

Your experience may vary from mine, of course. But with

all these line-to-leader knot scenarios, use what works 

best for you!

[WRB]

Mid Feburary bed fish in N. Carolina? So how long was this 5 lber?

What lb test lines are you joining?

Tom

[YoungPlug]

10 hours ago, everythingthatswims said:

Man that's an original name that I'm sure wasn't inspired by a youtube star

You're right ? love that man Jon B

10 hours ago, everythingthatswims said:

Man that's an original name that I'm sure wasn't inspired by a youtube star

You're right ? love that man Jon B

9 hours ago, WRB said:

Mid Feburary bed fish in N. Carolina? So how long was this 5 lber?

What lb test lines are you joining?

Tom

I didn't land the fish so just my estimation. Water temp is high 50's in Fayetteville though. We've had 2 weeks of mid to upper 70s

9 hours ago, WRB said:

Mid Feburary bed fish in N. Carolina? So how long was this 5 lber?

What lb test lines are you joining?

Tom

And 50 pound braid to 15 pound flouro. Don't have a dedicated frogging setup so I didn't want to waste all that braid...

[Airman4754]

Albright, wrap it nine times. Make sure you use the smaller diameter line as the one you wrap. It's very important you lubricate the lines before you sinch them.

 

I use the same leader WAY too long. I've got entire seasons with the same leader and have still never had the knot fail on any rig. 

[Crestliner2008]

I've been using the Alberto knot (not really a knot, more of a weave) for many, many years now. Since leaving the Uni/Uni connection to my leaders and going with this knot, I have rarely ever experienced a failure. I believe failures using the Alberto are mainly due to a hurried tie. I tighten up the knot in stages, wetting it as I go. And I do change my leader knots ever two or three trips, just to be on the safe side.

 

I know some camps don't like leaders. I do, mainly because braid itself has little to no stretch. And most folks, when excited, then to over set the sharp hooks on the lures and jigs that are available to us these days. Consequently, you need some kind of shock absorption in order not to break off.

 

The other thing is that braid is not very abrasion resistant. Not nearly as much as a good quality fluorocarbon leader has. So it becomes a win-win situation for me. And like I said, with properly tied knots there should not be a problem with leaders under normal conditions.

[MickD]

12 hours ago, YoungPlug said:

I use a palomar for line-lure connection. For line-leader I generally use an alberto but it has failed me multiple times. Any line-leader suggestions?

Many use the Alberto and swear by it, so I agree with the poster who suggests you are not tying it correctly.  Look at this video and pay particular attention to the sticking the tag end back through the loop.  If you go through in the wrong direction it will fail.     

 

[MrTightLInes]

I can't help but dislike the "back wrap" on the Alberto.
Everything about knot tying specifies to have your wraps clean, symmetrical and not bunched over itself. Well, those "back wraps" on the  Alberto seems very ... what's the word. Dirty? Just seems to go against everything I've learned about tying knots in the last year. I'm new at this so I don't like to criticize but this is something I've noticed about the Alberto. Is this knot supposed to be superior to, say, a double uni when using Fluoro to Braid connections? I've only ever done uni to unit and mostly only on a drop shot. Never would cross my mind to worry about the presentation on a vicious bed fish cleaning up the home.

[frosty]

I can't add to anything anyone has said but I find this website helpful for learning new knots 

 

http://www.***.com/fishing_knots

 

 well if you google net knots .com into your browser it should get  you there 

[NCbassraider]

2 hours ago, Crestliner2008 said:

 

 

I know some camps don't like leaders. I do, mainly because braid itself has little to no stretch. And most folks, when excited, then to over set the sharp hooks on the lures and jigs that are available to us these days. Consequently, you need some kind of shock absorption in order not to break off.

 

 

I fish straight braid and have no problems with lack of stretch.  I think that's way over rated to begin with but I just keep my drag a little looser and problem solved....if there was a problem to begin with.  

 

You are right, most anglers set their hooks way to hard.  It's from watching TV where those guys do it for show.  Now everyone with a camera has a youtube channel and are ripping the lips off the fish.  It takes little to no hook set with the hooks and equipment we have today.

[CTBassin860]

7 minutes ago, NCbassraider said:

I fish straight braid and have no problems with lack of stretch.  I think that's way over rated to begin with but I just keep my drag a little looser and problem solved....if there was a problem to begin with.  

 

You are right, most anglers set their hooks way to hard.  It's from watching TV where those guys do it for show.  Now everyone with a camera has a youtube channel and are ripping the lips off the fish.  It takes little to no hook set with the hooks and equipment we have today.

Absolutely,with the quality of Owner and Trokar,those hooks nearly set themselves.

[LuckyHandsINC.]

15 minutes ago, NCbassraider said:

I fish straight braid and have no problems with lack of stretch.  I think that's way over rated to begin with but I just keep my drag a little looser and problem solved....if there was a problem to begin with.  

 

You are right, most anglers set their hooks way to hard.  It's from watching TV where those guys do it for show.  Now everyone with a camera has a youtube channel and are ripping the lips off the fish.  It takes little to no hook set with the hooks and equipment we have today.

So true. I always argue with one of my friends about how ridiculous his hooksets are. I just use a quick lift of the rod. He literally leaves bruises on his belly from jamming it in and ripping so hard. Needless to say he breaks off more than he should.

[WRB]

It's very unusual for LMB to spawn before the water warms to 62+ degrees, but nothing in nature is always predictable. You discribed 2 big bass together, that is also very unusual without a smaller male at the nest site. I only been bass fishing for over 6 decades and can't accurately estimate a bass weight without landing it. I can make a good estimate how long a bass is in the water, the bent light rays doesn't distort length, does distort girth. 

5 lb northern strain LMB is about 20" long.

It's more than likely the bass you hooked was one of a pair of cruising females hunting for prey in this pond, so the leader may have made a difference in getting her to strike.

I don't believe in using FC for bass fishing leaders, poor knot strength compared to premium mono.

Good luck,

Tom

[OCdockskipper]

In regards to leaders vs not, I think the obvious needs to be stated: No one wants to use a leader.  Conditions, specifically water clarity, time of the year and the type of presentation dictate whether or not a leader is a better choice than not.  To uniformly declare that leaders are never needed or that they should always be used ignores the factors one runs into on each body of water.

 

The reason there are "Midwest Finesse" and "West Coast" tactics is because a majority of the bodies of water in those areas differ substantially from those in the South or East Coast.  Using 65 lb braid with no leader to fish a small swim bait or tube in Lake Mead is akin to choosing to use 8 lb test with a leader while flipping a jig in Lake Okeechobee.  Neither is the best choice.

[Fun4Me]

I use an FG knot when tying a leader to braid and *knock on wood* have never had a knot failure.

[MickD]

7 hours ago, NCbassraider said:

I fish straight braid and have no problems with lack of stretch.  I think that's way over rated to begin with but I just keep my drag a little looser and problem solved....if there was a problem to begin with.  

 

You are right, most anglers set their hooks way to hard.  It's from watching TV where those guys do it for show.  Now everyone with a camera has a youtube channel and are ripping the lips off the fish.  It takes little to no hook set with the hooks and equipment we have today.

 

If you really watch the pros most of them are using moderate action rods for almost everything, so they can get away with more aggressive hook sets than all of us who are infatuated with the fastest actions we can find.  In fact, it is necessary to be as aggressive as they are with the tackle they are using.

[IndianaFinesse]

12 hours ago, MrTightLInes said:

I can't help but dislike the "back wrap" on the Alberto.
Everything about knot tying specifies to have your wraps clean, symmetrical and not bunched over itself. Well, those "back wraps" on the  Alberto seems very ... what's the word. Dirty? Just seems to go against everything I've learned about tying knots in the last year. I'm new at this so I don't like to criticize but this is something I've noticed about the Alberto. Is this knot supposed to be superior to, say, a double uni when using Fluoro to Braid connections? I've only ever done uni to unit and mostly only on a drop shot. Never would cross my mind to worry about the presentation on a vicious bed fish cleaning up the home.

I don't back wrap with the Alberto knot, I use a modified version with ten wraps before going back threw the loop.  So there is no cross over if tied right, which increases knot strength and decreases knot diameter.

[MrTightLInes]

^^ That sounds kosher for sure... or for sher? 

[NCbassraider]

1 hour ago, MickD said:

 

If you really watch the pros most of them are using moderate action rods for almost everything, so they can get away with more aggressive hook sets than all of us who are infatuated with the fastest actions we can find.  In fact, it is necessary to be as aggressive as they are with the tackle they are using.

That's a pretty broad statement. And even with Mod action rods, the hook sets are ridiculous most of the time.

[MickD]

49 minutes ago, NCbassraider said:

That's a pretty broad statement. And even with Mod action rods, the hook sets are ridiculous most of the time.

It's a matter of opinion.

 

[YoungPlug]

11 hours ago, WRB said:

It's very unusual for LMB to spawn before the water warms to 62+ degrees, but nothing in nature is always predictable. You discribed 2 big bass together, that is also very unusual without a smaller male at the nest site. I only been bass fishing for over 6 decades and can't accurately estimate a bass weight without landing it. I can make a good estimate how long a bass is in the water, the bent light rays doesn't distort length, does distort girth. 

5 lb northern strain LMB is about 20" long.

It's more than likely the bass you hooked was one of a pair of cruising females hunting for prey in this pond, so the leader may have made a difference in getting her to strike.

I don't believe in using FC for bass fishing leaders, poor knot strength compared to premium mono.

Good luck,

Tom

Thanks for the insight Tom! Now that you mention it, it is odd that those two were so similar in size. I actually tried straight braid today and caught my PB off of a bed in a power plant lake!

[WRB]

6 minutes ago, YoungPlug said:

Thanks for the insight Tom! Now that you mention it, it is odd that those two were so similar in size. I actually tried straight braid today and caught my PB off of a bed in a power plant lake!

Nice catch, congratulations 

[Catt]

It's quite common & well documented that bass can & in fact do spawn in temperatures in the mid to upper 50s.

 

As for the two big bass together, it is also quite common & well documented male weighing 4-6 lbs; Texas ShareLunker documented one over 7 lbs.

 

Your two bass may well have been male & female!

[kbeeb374]

22 hours ago, Fun4Me said:

I use an FG knot when tying a leader to braid and *knock on wood* have never had a knot failure.

I also switched to the FG knot and it has not failed me yet..  I do however do the hard pull test before it ever touches water.  I have had the leader break then but if it passes the pull test it hasn't failed yet.

[Fisher-O-men]

Was that Yeti hat as expensive as their coolers?  Keep your head amazingly cool or warm?