Leaders through the guides

[Chance_Taker4]

when tying on a long leader if you reel the knot through the guides will it damage the guides? I use a double uni knot to attach leaders and my flippin stick has mico guides so the knot sometimes gets stuck on the guides or just sounds bad when passing through.

[Turkey sandwich]

They shouldn't damage the guides.  Most of my rods now have them and I've had very few leader knot problems.

[NHBull]

I have never seen any damage and it is exactly what I do.....I just don't get it down to the reel

[S Hovanec]

I tie on a 18' leader to start the day.  The knot is on the reel and ticks through the guides on every cast.  No damage to the guides that I can find.

[Tim Kelly]

I imagine you could knock an insert out if you got unlucky. Learn to tie an FG knot and your concerns will disappear. 

[MickD]

If I am hearing a loud click and feeling it, I worry about it and don't continue fishing with that kind of a setup.  It may not be damaging, but I don't like it.  Fortunately it is easy to fix.  

 

If you use fairly heavy line/leader combinations with small enough guides to cause this, learn the FG knot.  It has a bad reputation for being difficult and possibly unreliable, but in heavier combinations it's both reliable and fairly easy, with some practice, to tie.  There are many videos on line. By "heavier" I mean like 20 pound leader and up, and 30 pound braid and up.  The key is the leader because that's where the knot bulk comes from and the FG is easy to tie in + 20 test, and hard to tie in less than 15 test.  At least for me it is.  There is no knot smaller than the FG since it does not require a loop of the leader; it works with the straight leader with a braid weave on it, similar to the tubular finger trap toy.  Except with the FG's  braid weaves pulled tight, the leader is actually deformed to have ridges that really allow the braid to grip well.

 

   With lighter lines and leaders, you don't need the smallest knot to go through quite cleanly.  A simple double uni will work fine. So on the light stuff I use the double uni, and when I get into the heavier stuff I use the FG.  

 

If you are using, for example, 10 pound FC leader and 15 pound braid line, the double unis and most other knots will go through most micros with ease.

 

There are other good knots that are small, but the FG is the smallest.  It is well worth learning to tie it.  Since it goes so cleanly through the guides it does not get damaged by the guides as do other knots that are "clicking" their way through the guides.

[Chance_Taker4]

3 hours ago, MickD said:

If I am hearing a loud click and feeling it, I worry about it and don't continue fishing with that kind of a setup.  It may not be damaging, but I don't like it.  Fortunately it is easy to fix.  

 

If you use fairly heavy line/leader combinations with small enough guides to cause this, learn the FG knot.  It has a bad reputation for being difficult and possibly unreliable, but in heavier combinations it's both reliable and fairly easy, with some practice, to tie.  There are many videos on line. By "heavier" I mean like 20 pound leader and up, and 30 pound braid and up.  The key is the leader because that's where the knot bulk comes from and the FG is easy to tie in + 20 test, and hard to tie in less than 15 test.  At least for me it is.  There is no knot smaller than the FG since it does not require a loop of the leader; it works with the straight leader with a braid weave on it, similar to the tubular finger trap toy.  Except with the FG's  braid weaves pulled tight, the leader is actually deformed to have ridges that really allow the braid to grip well.

 

   With lighter lines and leaders, you don't need the smallest knot to go through quite cleanly.  A simple double uni will work fine. So on the light stuff I use the double uni, and when I get into the heavier stuff I use the FG.  

 

If you are using, for example, 10 pound FC leader and 15 pound braid line, the double unis and most other knots will go through most micros with ease.

 

There are other good knots that are small, but the FG is the smallest.  It is well worth learning to tie it.  Since it goes so cleanly through the guides it does not get damaged by the guides as do other knots that are "clicking" their way through the guides.

Thank you I am using 40# braid and 25# copoly. I decided to tie straight to braid until I learn the fg knot

[KDW96]

[CroakHunter]

1 hour ago, Chance_Taker4 said:

Thank you I am using 40# braid and 25# copoly. I decided to tie straight to braid until I learn the fg knot

25# copolymer is probably just as visible as 30-40lb miss green braid. Id stick with the braid myself

[MickD]

26 minutes ago, KDW96 said:

If this is supposed to be a link, I don't know how to get it to work.  Seems like simply a photo.

[WRB]

You don't need a leader for Flippin heavy cover. Why have micro guide Flippin stick?

Tom

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

No, a leader knot will damage a guide. I'd fish straight braid in this case though. 

[Chance_Taker4]

9 hours ago, WRB said:

You don't need a learner for Flippin heavy cover. Why have micro guide Flippin stick?

Tom

When I bought the rod I ordered the standard guides but the company was sold out and sent me the micro guide version.

[FryDog62]

A knot won't damage the guides, but the guides can fracture a fluorocarbon knot over time.  Best to re-tie after a day of use IMO.  

 

As far as how long the leader should be is personal preference - but in terms of least amount of  wear - either tie a short leader that doesn't go through the guides, or according to "Knot Wars" if you tie a longer leader, it shouldn't be so long as to go past the first guide out from the reel (the biggest one).  Reason being is you get most line slap between the reel and first guide.  If you tie it just past that first guide the slapping and knot fatigue go down significantly.  

[BrackishBassin]

6 hours ago, FryDog62 said:

A knot won't damage the guides, but the guides can fracture a fluorocarbon knot over time.  Best to re-tie after a day of use IMO.  

 

As far as how long the leader should be is personal preference - but in terms of least amount of  wear - either tie a short leader that doesn't go through the guides, or according to "Knot Wars" if you tie a longer leader, it shouldn't be so long as to go past the first guide out from the reel (the biggest one).  Reason being is you get most line slap between the reel and first guide.  If you tie it just past that first guide the slapping and knot fatigue go down significantly.  

 

Just use an FG and tie a long enough leader that there's a few coils of leader on the reel itself. I come from saltwater and it's the same as tying a shock leader for throwing heavier leads. The stress isn't on the knot, it's on the line, as long as there's a few loops of leader on the reel.