Leader for Yellow Braid

[Zeeter]

I'm thinking of changing things up this year and going with the more visible yellow braid for my worm and jig fishing. Typically I use moss green, but it can be hard to see, especially in the early morning. 

 

Note that I do not use any type of leader when fishing but rather just tie the braid to the bait. Reading some posts on other sites I'm finding that people will use a sharpie on the first couple of yards. That's where the controversy comes into play. Red is supposed to be the first color to disappear underwater but some people say it turns black instead of not being visible. Green is good if the water is cloudy.  

 

What are some recommendations?

[Choporoz]

4 minutes ago, Zeeter said:

 

 

What are some recommendations?

Leaders.

 

 

sorry...smartazz force in me is very strong.

 

I'm not in the camp that fish are line-shy (most of the time?)  But, I still use leaders for other reasons: abrasion resistance, breakoffability, and saving on braid, are the bigger ones

[Darren.]

LOL. You don't wanna stir up this hornet's nest, do ya?  

 

I use a leader with yellow Power Pro 100% of the time.

 

I've got green-tinted line including Yo-Zuri Hybrid, P-Line

Floroclear, and clear YZ Hybrid and Gamma Edge fluoro.

 

Braid is $$ so for me a leader saves me money by not 

having to cut in to the mainline to retie hooks often.

[Zeeter]

I think I don't like using leaders because they're not the easiest knots in the world to tie. I'm sure if I used them more often I could tie them pretty quickly, but I just haven't had the patience to sit and tie them. 

[Choporoz]

I wasn't either.    So, as I sat with my wife watching TV a couple nights one winter, I just practiced tying and re-tying knots (Alberto, as well as SD Jam and a couple others.)  Didn't cut into time doing anything important, and I became fairly proficient....My winters are a touch more tolerable when I feel like I'm doing something to support my fishing

[Zeeter]

Maybe I'll try the Alberto. I had always used the double uni knot, which is a pain and not something I want to do on a boat that might be rocking or trolling. There seems to be less moving parts with the Alberto.

 

Yet let's assume I'm out there and I don't have my leader material and need to sharpie the braid. What color is good?

 

Edit: As for the leader, what do you think. A yard or so?

[mattkenzer]

I use a black sharpie 100% of the time (the bigger the marker the better) ....... about 10ft of line.

That Alberto Knot tied correctly will do the job perfectly ....

 

A yard of leader is a good starting point ..... You may find conditions or methods that warrant the leader to be longer, just keep the knot of the spool when reeled in for casting.

[fvogel67]

1 hour ago, Choporoz said:

I wasn't either.    So, as I sat with my wife watching TV a couple nights one winter, I just practiced tying and re-tying knots (Alberto, as well as SD Jam and a couple others.)  Didn't cut into time doing anything important, and I became fairly proficient....My winters are a touch more tolerable when I feel like I'm doing something to support my fishing

I learned the Alberto the same way,Watching tv with the wife and knocking back a few cold ones.

[LCG]

For finnese applications I use a long leader of copolymer line, about 9 ft or so. Enough that the connection knot is between the reel and the first guide. 

 

For reaction applications or jigs I use use straight braid with a sharpie. Color the line a day before you fish to let the smell dissolve. 

 

I only use yellow braid now, so much easier for me to see the line, especially for the super light bites where you line just starts swimming away. 

[Zeeter]

So for leader, do you guys use Fluorocarbon Leader or just regular Fluorocarbon? Is there a difference? On those few occasions when I've used leader I used the one labeled leader, despite having a spool of fluorocarbon line sitting nearby.

49 minutes ago, Luke G. said:

For finnese applications I use a long leader of copolymer line, about 9 ft or so. Enough that the connection knot is between the reel and the first guide. 

 

For reaction applications or jigs I use use straight braid with a sharpie. Color the line a day before you fish to let the smell dissolve. 

 

I only use yellow braid now, so much easier for me to see the line, especially for the super light bites where you line just starts swimming away. 

My eyes aren't what they used to be, so it's mono backing with yellow braid for me now. 

 

When you color your line a day before what color are you using under different conditions? Hmm...just thought of something. If I'm using yellow braid and use a red sharpie it might turn the line pink!!! Maybe I'll just stick with black.

[LCG]

1 hour ago, Zeeter said:

When you color your line a day before what color are you using under different conditions?

I use a brown sharpie. My thinking is it matches the bottom better, but that's probably just in my head. I am sure black works fine as well. I also fish stained to muddy water so I doubt it matters. 

[Zeeter]

2 hours ago, Luke G. said:

I use a brown sharpie. My thinking is it matches the bottom better, but that's probably just in my head. I am sure black works fine as well. I also fish stained to muddy water so I doubt it matters. 

Makes sense. I'll probably go brown. Somehow it seems a bit more natural. 

[KDW96]

4 hours ago, Zeeter said:

So for leader, do you guys use Fluorocarbon Leader or just regular Fluorocarbon? Is there a difference? On those few occasions when I've used leader I used the one labeled leader, despite having a spool of fluorocarbon line sitting nearby.

My eyes aren't what they used to be, so it's mono backing with yellow braid for me now. 

 

When you color your line a day before what color are you using under different conditions? Hmm...just thought of something. If I'm using yellow braid and use a red sharpie it might turn the line pink!!! Maybe I'll just stick with black.

 

Acual leader material is different stuff. It stronger,more abrasion resistant.  If you want to try the leader material, i use seagur blue label. I ve also used bps off shore angler, with great results.

[Bluebasser86]

Alberto knot to a leader if it makes you feel better or you need the abrasion resistance. I fish bright pink braid in clear water with no leader all the time for smallmouth, they don't seem to care and I don't waste time tying leaders.