braid to leader tips?

[squishy_pants]

I recently got some fluorocarbon leader line to put on my braid. I’ll be using this line setup on my MHF baitcasting combo, and i’ll be fishing a wide array of techniques. How long should I have the leader? And how often do you need to replace it with a new leader? I’ll be retying lures with this combo frequently (one of my 2 combos, I use this one the most).

[NJBasstard]

I don't think there's really a right answer here, but on casting gear I always start my leader being about the length of the rod. This gives me enough for reties and keeps the knot from passing the line guide and entering my spool. I retie when I'm down to 1-2 feet which is probably more of a confidence thing for me than anything else. I don't bother to change leaders unless they've been sitting for a little while. If I was fishing yesterday I wouldn't bother retying today. If a week pasted before I got to fish again I'd retie. Again it's more of a confidence thing.

[Chris at Tech]

I'd suggest you try to tie a leader that's long enough to allow you enough reties for at least one full fishing outing.  Start with ~6 ft.

 

When do you replace it?  That's easy -- whenever you need to.  Need could be driven by the line getting frayed, or getting too short from multiple reties.  So be sure to carry that extra leader with you out on the water.

 

On a related note, be sure to practice your line to leader knots if you're not already comfortable.  Lots of folks seem to love the FG, but I can't get that stinkin' thing to hold so it's not in my regular arsenal.  Uni to uni is my old standby, but lately I've been playing with the Alberto knot.  To me, both of those are reliable and easy to retie either at home or on the water.

[Jig Man]

You must not have many rocks where you are as we have down here.  Retying a bait was never the issue for me as I had to retie the leader.  I rarely had a break off at the bait.  Mine came at the braid/leader knot.  I used the Albright, uni to uni, Alberto, and others.  I was using 30# braid with 12-17# leaders.  I wasted the better part of a year.  I finally gave up and went back to lines other than braid.

 

Good luck.  I hope your experience is better than mine.

[MassYak85]

Usually I tie a 6 ft leader. Most of the time it gets too short from retying and I'll tie a new one once it gets shorter than 3 ft. But at the same time if a fish drags me along a piece of cover like a rock or dock piling I might only get to use that leader for one fish if it gets shredded. Also just take a peak at your leader knot throughout the day to make sure it still looks okay.

[OnthePotomac]

Another good reason why I do not use braid anymore.

[ATA]

What I do is, I always have 6 feet of leader so the knot willt get back to guide and spool, and I a also changing so much so in one day or two days of fishing my leader will be less than 2 feet or 1 foot, and thats the time ill cut it off and add another 6 feet of leader. BTW don't for get always use FC100 for your leader, it is very important and you'll thank me later for that.

 

[GetFishorDieTryin]

There are a bunch of people who don't use leaders with casting gear because they cant tie a good knot or they have no confidence in it.  You don't need to tie an FG knot, a crazy alberto with the tag trimmed has never given me issues and its a tiny knot.  As far as length goes you want to have that knot between your reel and first eye when you go to cast. As far as what length you retie at is up to you.  I usually retie when the leader is 4 ft or so. 

[MickD]

Good input above regarding length.  The two most likely reasons to replace are the damage that can be felt near the lure caused by fish, rocks, other stuff.  Just run your leader between your fingers and you'll find it.  The second is damage to the line to leader knot caused by hitting the guides on its way through.  Here is where it gets tricky.  If you use a double uni, which is very reliable and easy to tie right, it will hit the guides pretty hard if you use heavy leader and small guides.  How heavy and how small?  You need to figure this to your own satisfaction, but my opinion is that with size 4 Fuji running guides I can use up to about 10 pound leader with braids 15 or below and it runs pretty cleanly.  But for anything heavier I need an Alberto or FG knot to go through cleanly, and both of those knots depend on exactly right execution of the tieing to be successful. 

 

I have recently spent a lot of time on the Alberto trying to figure out why I had "mystery failures," where the knot would just unravel.  My conclusion is that the tag end has to be run back out the loop in the right direction (this is covered well in the on line instructions) and ALSO that the knot has to be properly tightened, or set.  When you have passed the tag end of the braid back out, then pull the knot fairly tight by pulling on the tag end of the leader.  Then wet the knot and set it by wrapping the braid around a dowel or other tool so it won't cut your hands, and very heavily set the knot by pulling on the main leader and braid lines.  /This heavy set procedure is not covered in the on-line instructions. 

 

While this may seem a lot of bother, I know that braid has increased my catch over what it would be if I were using mono or FC by an order of magnitude, MAJOR.  I just loaded mono onto a cast outfit and I can't believe how dull it feels, how hard it is to fish and feel what's going on.  It will be removed ASAP and replaced with braid.  Braid is the biggest improvement you can make to sensitivity.  Period.  Even more important than the rod.

[Fin S]

I use a 10' to 12' leader. That gives me a little stretch and some room for reties.

 

I put on a new leader before every fishing trip. Sometimes, if I feel like my knot has gotten a little beat up during the day, I may retie the braid-to-leader knot, but I've never had a break there. I

 

The best braid-to-leader knot is the one you can tie quickly and cleanly. I use double uni or alberto. I'll eventually give the FG knot a try.

 

If you mess up and get your knot a little big, retie it. It's a little hassle but less hassle than dealing with a large knot all day.

 

Some reels, like those with the Daiwa t-wing system, might not allow a large knot to pass through. However, I've had no problems with 20# braid with my Tatula CTS reels. If you do have a problem, just make your leader shorter.

 

Get good scissors or clippers so you can cut your braid tag end close to the knot.

[NHBull]

Great stuff above, that said, learn the FG.  It takes an hr to perfect it and solves a ton of problems takes less than a minute to tie

[MickD]

2 hours ago, Fin S said:

If you mess up and get your knot a little big, retie it. It's a little hassle but less hassle than dealing with a large knot all day.

I submit that retying a double uni will not make it any smaller.  It will have 5 thicknesses of the leader no matter how many times you retie it.  The Alberto, which has only two thicknesses of leader,  if tied like I've advocated, is IMHO the smallest really reliable leader to braid knot.  If tied as I instructed, 9 wraps, it will end up a very uniform, very small knot about 3/16 inch long.  The FG is even smaller, at least as strong, but even the slightest screwup in tying it will result in knot failure.

[galyonj]

1 hour ago, MickD said:

The FG is even smaller, at least as strong, but even the slightest screwup in tying it will result in knot failure.

I submit that a properly executed GT knot is every bit as small and strong as the FG, while being orders of magnitude less fiddly to tie.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

Leader length and type depend on the reason for a leader at all. 

[Bankc]

1 hour ago, Delaware Valley Tackle said:

Leader length and type depend on the reason for a leader at all. 

That's it right there.  If you're looking to add some stretch, you'll need more leader than if you're just looking to decrease visibility.  And if you're looking to add stretch, you have to figure out how much stretch you want.  And if you're just looking to hide your line, you'll want to consider the clarity of the water.  Plus, you'll want to add in some extra for retying lures if you don't want to mess with that on the water.

 

For me, it's usually about 3-6.5 feet.  I don't like the knot making its way onto the spool, as it rubs against my thumb while casting.  And the water clarity here is pretty bad, so 3 feet will still hide the braid.  Any shorter than 3, and I don't have enough to tie on new lures without defeating the purpose of a leader.  I like softer powered rods and slower actions than most people, so line stretch isn't something I'm looking for.

[CountryboyinDC]

15 hours ago, MickD said:

I have recently spent a lot of time on the Alberto trying to figure out why I had "mystery failures," where the knot would just unravel. 

I had an Alberto knot fail for some reason after fairly little time being used.  The running end going the wrong direction could have been the reason.  I know if gave me pause; I haven't had a Crazy Alberto fail on me in enough years that I can't say exactly how many.  The cast felt weird and then my swim jig just went sailing, along with the leader.  I did tie that leader on late the night before fishing and I was tired.  I will probably burn my ends in this time for confidence sake, though.

Years ago I was curious to see what the conditions in which I fished did to line.  I  tried to fish my normal stretch of the Rivanna River, which is a shallow rocky river suitable for canoes, kayaks and the like.  I used a single spinning rod with a 30' or so leader (at that time I used long leaders, but now none are long enough for the knot to make its way to the reel).  My plan was to fish the same lure (a small jighead) the entire day without re-tying.  The smallmouth here are small; a nice one might be 12".  That unfortunately did not end up happening, I did break the jighead off once, but I re-tied as close to the end as possible (normally I would have run my fingers along the line and cut off the rough section and tied above).  After the fishing was over, I took the entire length of leader still tied to the lure and a section of unused leader to my lab and looked at it under the stereo microscope.  I was kind of surprised, the line toward the new jighead was pretty badly damaged, but the damage tapered off sharply at about 20 cm and above about 75 cm, there was scarcely any damage at all.  The knot at the lure was unsurprisingly beat up pretty badly.  I figured that as horizontal as the retrieves were, the damage to the leader would be along a longer portion of the leader.

That's convinced me that the leader is a great tool for me to keep line from becoming abraded without having to really think much about it.  I put on a new leader each time I fish, and I can tell how much line I've consumed each fresh knot I tie since I keep the leaders about 6'.  And my braided main lines on these setups lasts me years - I sometimes go a couple of years before I "turn the line around" and take the working end and tie to the backing.  

[Fin S]

14 hours ago, MickD said:

I submit that retying a double uni will not make it any smaller.  It will have 5 thicknesses of the leader no matter how many times you retie it.  The Alberto, which has only two thicknesses of leader,  if tied like I've advocated, is IMHO the smallest really reliable leader to braid knot.  If tied as I instructed, 9 wraps, it will end up a very uniform, very small knot about 3/16 inch long.  The FG is even smaller, at least as strong, but even the slightest screwup in tying it will result in knot failure.

Trust me. I don't see as well as I used to, so I can get a double uni (or any knot) out of wack sometimes.

[MickD]

14 hours ago, galyonj said:

I submit that a properly executed GT knot is every bit as small

How can it be as small as an FG which uses just one layer of leader and the GT uses three, I believe?