Never thought of + for leaders.

[a1712]

Was bank fishing this morn. and was fishing a downed tree way out there. Ya can't get closer to the tree due to the fact it's on posted property. I was using 14lb. Sonic Braid w/a 7' 10lb. Abrazx leader. Well I was raking them pretty good because this tree doesn't get fished much due to length of cast you have to make, it's out there. I got a wind knot about 3 feet up from my FG knot and trying to get it out, I broke my line. So, waters dingy from all this rain, I'll just tie directly to my braid. After this I couldn't reach the tree anymore with a 4" weightless Senko, I was coming up WAY short, I would have to feather my cast with the leader on so I wouldn't hit the bank. I would have never believed the weight of that 7' piece of Flouro leader would make such a dramatic difference. There are 3 small ziplock bags with 10' of leader material in my walkbox now. Brian.

[Team9nine]

Interesting...Here's a couple things to ponder;

 

1. If my calculations are correct, that 7' segment of fluorocarbon only weighs 1/200 of an ounce more than the same length of Sonic Braid. I wouldn't think that little of weight addition would make that big of a difference by itself.
2. You didn't mention whether you were using baitcast or spinning, but I'm guessing spinning. Either way, taking 10' of line off your spool would be equivalent to about 20-25 revolutions or wraps (times) around your spool depending on model size. Typically, lower spool levels lead to shorter casting distance due to increased line friction trying to get over the spool lip, though that 10' of line would only be about 1/20 of an inch difference.

Perhaps the two things combined were enough to account for the decrease in distance you saw. Neat observation, regardless.

[CrankFate]

Sounds like without the leader, you lost the stretch in the line that added to the rod loading and slingshot effect. As far as I know, the only way to make up the difference is with a softer rod. Which is why I fish softer rods than most people.

 

I never travel with with less than a 25 yard spool of leader. Even though I don’t always use it.

[a1712]

I guess WAY short was a bit dramatic, but it was 15 feet +-. But it was enough that I couldn't get to the meat of the tree. I remedied it with a 1/16oz. tungsten bullet and got right back to catching. It's a great spot and a good place to teach guys to fish worms, you know you'll get bit. And yes, it's a Spinning setup, Shimano Cumara 7'6" Med./Ext Fast, Shimano Complex CI4 2500HGS F6. Brian. 

[islandbass]

Just a thought, but in addition to team9’s comments, I wonder if your cast mechanics were identical. 

 

Perhaps if the timing of your mechanics (ie, rod was not being properly loaded) changed subconsciously, this could be a possible culprit. See if you can recall if your casts with direct braid were more “whippy” in nature such that the lure’s weight didn’t really get to load the rod. 

 

 

[LionHeart]

Wind may have changed? Or the tree moved. LOL