Mono/Floro Leader with Braided Line Questions

[drbeat1]

After reviewing many videos and reading many threads (as I am kinda new to the braid and floro line use - just getting back into fishing after a 20 year hiatus)..  I have a question...  Why would you use 30lb braid tied to a 10lb floro leader?  …or, 20 lb braid tied to 8 lb mono...  ?? 

 

I understand using a leader helps with action and presentation, but why so light of a leader compared to the braid?  Does this have to do with matching the diameter of the two types of line?   If that's the case, why not fish with all mono or floro?  Seems like adding another knot would weaken the setup..

 

Looking for some input and opinions on the subject...  Thanks in advance....

 

 

[Finessegenics]

The reason braid to leader is popular is because of the advantages of braid. Braided line has a smaller diameter per lb test. 40lb braid is usually the equivalent of 10-12lb mono, so as you can see, you can spool on more strong line compared to spooling on 40lb mono. The line diameter of 40lb mono is something like 0.6 mm which is thick. 
 

this leads into another advantage of braid. It is much easier to maintain and is much more user friendly than fluoro or mono. Fluoro and mono have “memory”, meaning they will warp to the spool they’re on and coil up. Try spooling 40lb mono onto a bass sized reel and the line would be jumping off the reel. The memory leads to line twisting issues and this is especially noticeable on spinning reels. Braid also lasts much longer since it does not have this memory issue. Some people keep their braid on for 3-4 seasons. If braid is spooled correctly with appropriate backing, you avoid these problems or the potential of the braid “digging in” on itself. 

Third biggest advantage of braid is the way it cuts through weeds. Since the line is so fine,  it’ll slice through weeds when fishing weedless presentations. That’s why it’s overwhelmingly the line of choice for punching and frogging. 
 

There are some disadvantages to braid, such as poor abrasion resistance. It gets frayed easily around rocks, wood and places infested with zebra mussels. 
 

as for leader strength, it can be anywhere you need it to be. Braid is popular cause it is so versatile and you can use it anywhere and adjust your leader to your situation. You can do just about anything with 40lb braid (I’m talking on a baitcaster for this paragraph) and just adjust your leaders. Fishing wood and need abrasion resistance and need to horse the fish out of the cover? Tie on 20lb leader and get to work. Clear water pond and using a finer wire hook? 12lb fluoro can do the job. Frogging? Ditch the leader and use your straight braid. It can be super advantageous even for a bank fisherman with one setup. You can determine your leader strength based on the cover you’ll be fishing or the gauge of the hook on your bait/lure.
 

You won’t see anyone using leaders over 20 lbs though, at least in my limited experience. Not really sure why this is but trust me, you do not need a 40lb leader. That’s just overkill. I feel like someone else can answer that question better than I can so hopefully somebody else chimes in. 
 

On spinning reels, I think braid to leader is a necessity. At least for me, but plenty of folks use straight mono or fluoro on spinning reels and there’s nothing wrong with that.

 

Funnily enough, I fish straight fluoro on my casting reels . Since I don’t frog fish or punch weeds. Hope this helps! 

[Schuyler93]

I will share with you when I use braided line and maybe it will help you, or possibly others. FinesseGenics basically covered the whys, so I’ll just give you personal experience. 
 

I use braid on my spinning reels as I find its much easier to use as it doesn’t coil up, comes off of the spool very nicely which gives you much better casting, and it’s very sensitive because of the no stretch. I use 10lb - 20lb braid and then tie on a fluoro for most of my spinning applications like wacky rigging, shaky heads, weightless Texas rigs. However I won’t use the leader for top water baits that are to light to throw on a casting reel. If they are treble hook too water baits I set the drag a little looser so I don’t rip the hooks out of the bass’s mouth and I’ve found a lot of success in that - not everyone does but I have. 
 

I personally use Fluorocarbon for basically everything but top water and I use a backing of mono for about half of my spools on casting. Just the cheapest 5-600yd spool of mono I can find that way I’m not spending or wasting money on the expensive Fluoro respooling line that didn’t even get used. 

[livin2fish]

The reason I use a less strength leader is so I can break off when snagged and just lose the lure and leader instead of losing a long bunch of expensive braid that can float and get tangled in someone's TM or engine prop or the lure they are fishing.