Braid line or braid with fluorocarbon leader

[grayfox0327]

Im a braid line only user, kastking superline 30 lbs and kasting fortis 50 lbs, since im start to think that the baraid line affects my bite rate since i cast worms most of the time and the last 2 fishing trips did not get even one bite but i use my wife's reel for a minute wich is spooled with 12lbs eagle claw mono line and got a wish in less than a minute, i was at night and we were using the same weight, rig and powerbait red shad 10" worm, by the way i fish at from shore at amistad lake, clear water.

i  use an abu garcia mgx 7.9:1 baitcasting pair with a veritas 2.0 medium heavy 6.6 ft rod, hers is an abu garcia ike dude spinning reel medium 6 ft rod.

[CroakHunter]

Shorter rod and slower gear ratio on your wife's set up. You just worked the worm slower with her set up. Slow down a bit and I bet the bites stay even. 

[Bluebasser86]

Bass will eat an A rig with thick wires and big snap swivels all over the place. Unless you're in super clear water and heavily pressured fish, I wouldn't worry about it. I agree you're probably just working the bait faster with your setup, whether you realize it or not. 

[FreddoB]

I use straight PowerPro braid, 30 lb tied directly to the hook and no problems with plastic worms. Bite rate is affected by other things I believe not the lack of a leader. But then "I" never tried them side-by-side to see if one setup was better for me.

[the reel ess]

As a famous fisherman once said, If they ain't concerned with the first 100' of your visible line, they won't care about the last 3'. That said, I've been trying leaders all this year and i can't tell a difference. I haven't caught any bigger than 3.5 lbs., but I can't imagine a leader is the cause of that. That's probably because of where I've fished most of the time.

[OkobojiEagle]

If you had tied a 6' leader of your wife's line to your set-up you'd already have your answer...  Experimentation is often a better teacher than someone else's opinion.

 

 

oe

[YoTone]

i tie on a weaker leader on to my braid. i hate  breaking off on a snagged lure and losing half my spool.

 

[reerok]

Will a leader help?  Maybe.  I'd dare even say probably.  But it's far less important than the points made above about slowing down the presentation.  I have the same MGX reel and it makes a huge difference in retrieval rate over my 6.4:1 and 5.4:1 reels.  Slow down.

 

That said, I've been tying leaders on almost everything this year and have been happy with the results.  If you don't mind the patience and extra time it takes, try it.  The alberto knot is simple once you do it a handful of times and it has been 100% reliable for me so far.

 

 

[Doelman]

My gut feeling tells me a fluorocarbon leader helps in clear water, but I have no way to prove that.  What I do know is that it has better abrasion resistance, it is less visible, it has less tendency to get fouled on your lure/hooks, and it helps you from losing the line on your spool when you break off or retie.  I always use a fluorocarbon leader on braid, always.  Uni to uni knot, never fails, takes a minute to tie once you get the hang of it.

[grayfox0327]

Thanks to all, i´ll try both options a fluorocarbon leader and slower retieve and a braid and slower retrieve. 

[Bassin_PA]

Im still using monofilament on my freshwater setups and I have no problems getting bites on whatever I use. I am considering changing out all of my old bait casters for low profile ones and on those I will be using straight high vis braid.  The lakes I seem to always fish in the most are always loaded with weeds and grass.  Fish dont ever seem to see my line.  On my Saltwater rods im already using braid.  Again NEVER seem to have issues feeling bites.  Granted Saltwater is usually deeper water and the fish grab the bait and run.

[PAbasser927]

I only run braid on my finesse rig, but I always use hi vis yellow with a fluoro leader.  Hi vis for line watching, fluoro I feel is mostly so I don't drive myself crazy overthinking line visibility on the tough days.

[onetime]

I don't throw braid much, but when I do, I prefer a leader. Stay thirsty my friends 

[BuzzHudson19c]

If I'm fishing a lake littered with toothy fish I will use a flouro leader, otherwise straight braid. In my experience pike and pickerel will cut right through 50lb braid. Flouro tends to hold up.

 

When fish get keyed in on a bait they get tunnel vision. Ever have a bass hit right at the side of the boat as you are going to pull the lure out of the water?

[BassGirl71]

I agree with what others have said. A slower presentation may be the key. I use KastKing super power braid and Fortis as well, and I don't see a difference in bites compared to using a leader, etc., unless I'm in super clear water. I use high vis yellow and also the marine blue -  but I usually use a black Sharpie on the first 6 feet of line or so.  And, really, I just do that to increase my own confidence that the fish won't see the line.  I'm not sure it makes a difference.

[grayfox0327]

1 hour ago, BassGirl71 said:

I agree with what others have said. A slower presentation may be the key. I use KastKing super power braid and Fortis as well, and I don't see a difference in bites compared to using a leader, etc., unless I'm in super clear water. I use high vis yellow and also the marine blue -  but I usually use a black Sharpie on the first 6 feet of line or so.  And, really, I just do that to increase my own confidence that the fish won't see the line.  I'm not sure it makes a difference.

Amistad reservoir (amistad lake) is where i fish and the water is clear, not super clear but you can se the lure like 4 fts underwater or even deeper, last night a tie a 30lbs kastking flurocarbon leader to my 50lbs kastking braided line, i know that that make it less stronger since the leader is 30lbs but will be just as an experiment, to see if i see any difference between that one and my other 50lbs braided only reel. 

[XpressJeff]

What is this "mono" thing and "flouro" thing you guys keep referring to?

 

Tried it, gave up!

[grayfox0327]

11 hours ago, XpressJeff said:

What is this "mono" thing and "flouro" thing you guys keep referring to?

 

Tried it, gave up!

the line types, monofilament (mono) and fluorocarbon line (fluoro)

[NHBull]

All braid in situations that I am not likely to get snagged.  Hate loosing half a spool when I could only loose a 5 foot leader

[XpressJeff]

Grayfox Thank you, I was trying to be sarcastic.

 

Just poorly done!

[grayfox0327]

2 hours ago, XpressJeff said:

Grayfox Thank you, I was trying to be sarcastic.

 

Just poorly done!

?

[OkobojiEagle]

11 hours ago, grayfox0327 said:

the line types, monofilament (mono) and fluorocarbon line (fluoro)

Just to tidy up your response... most common line "compositions" are nylon, fluorocarbon or poly-ethylene.  Most common line "constructions" are mono-filament or braid.  Most mono-filament lines are nylon or fluorocarbon, most of today's braided lines are poly-ethylene.

 

 

oe

[grayfox0327]

Flurocarbon leader same result, no bites, i think its really the speed, i think i will sale my revo MGX and STX for a slower ones there are 7.9:1 and 8.1:1 respectively.