Pike Leaders for Bass?

[The Budget Angler]

1 hour ago, jimmyjoe said:

  It almost sounds as if you're fishing water that is really high-population pike water, but has a few bass (and other species) in it. Is that correct? If it is, drop the 6 lb. stuff and get a combo that deals with pike. You don't bring a knife to a gunfight.  

  

   jj   

I'm not completely sure on the bass count, but there's lots of kokanee, perch, and yes, pike.  I sighted a dozen different fish, all about 18-24 inches.  I can see a ton of abandoned bass beds, and even some new hatchlings.

[The Budget Angler]

1 hour ago, Cdn Angler said:

I've caught hundreds of pike/muskie while bass fishing using flouro or braid.  I've probably been bitten off less than 5% of the time. If I hook a pike I usually land it and get my lure back. 

 

If you are fishing small plastics you are a bit less likely to interest a pike, but more likely to be bitten off. If you get bitten off it is a $.50 bait and maybe a $1-3 hook/weight. 

 

The type of bait makes a difference as to whether teeth hit line. If I'm fishing  a small keitech a small pike can engulf the bait and break the line. But if I switch to a spinnerbait pike never break me off. They hit it from behind and there is wire preventing access to my line. An A rig would usually be the same, as an example. 

 

If you are fishing topwater same thing. A tiny popper might get broken off. A 110 whopper plopper is big enough that a normal non huge pike can't engulf it. 

 

Jerkbaits are probably the most dangerous as just sitting there and small. A bigger lure helps. 

 

I've probably caught 20 pike on spybaits on 8 lb flouro and never once bitten off. For whatever reason. 

 

The equation changes if pike in your waters are 10-20 pounds. Usually big pike or muskie are rare enough relative to bass though that you are not going to encounter tons of them. More likely a lot of 2-4 pound pike. If you are hooking up with 10 lb pike/muskie that often then I'd advise you to start targeting them:)

 

Also you can use leaders other than steel. A higher test flouro leader is far more resistant to abrasion then its braid equivalent. 

 

 

 

 

 

I've seen some massive pike in this particular lake, I'd say about 10 lbs., so I'll probably start using 50 lb. flouro.

[Michigander]

1 hour ago, Cdn Angler said:

 

I've probably caught 20 pike on spybaits on 8 lb flouro and never once bitten off. For whatever reason. 

Come to think of it, I haven't ever lost a Spybait to a pike either. Weird.

[WRB]

2 hours ago, TheLastBestFish said:

I use the half-clinch knot, and we use trilene exclusively.  Medium drag.  When I say nibble, I mean it ate it, chewed on it, then spit it and swam away.

Bass don’t have hands, set the hook whenever you feel anything like slight weight increase, line movement or a light tap.

half-clinch knot? A clinch knot is 5 to 7 twist then tag ind through the loop above the hook eye. Improved clinch knot same as the clinch knot with tag end going back up the the top loop.

Tom

 

 

[soflabasser]

2 hours ago, A-Jay said:

I live & fish in pike & musky central, so I get a few here & there.

Some of them are fairly respectable.

I've never been bitten off while using this;

and I use it quite a bit.

IMO - it plays zero role on whether bass bite or not.

Especially with moving baits, which is where it sees it's most action.

Good product.

[waymont]

I fish some lakes that have lots of 20"-35" pike mixed in with lots of bass.

Years ago I started using braid, and tying an FG knot to 12" of 30lb or 40lb fluorocarbon, and I have never been cut off. I fish jigs, jerk baits, spinnerbaits, just about everything. It works out great.

[throttleplate]

3 hours ago, waymont said:

I fish some lakes that have lots of 20"-35" pike mixed in with lots of bass.

Years ago I started using braid, and tying an FG knot to 12" of 30lb or 40lb fluorocarbon, and I have never been cut off. I fish jigs, jerk baits, spinnerbaits, just about everything. It works out great.

i use 80 lb fc

[torm]

Line matters but it is also on luck. I probably catch more pike a year than bass up here in WI. I have lost whopper plopper 130s due to head shots and tons of bass jigs flipping docks just because I decide to swim it an inch. Been bitten off on 20lb fluoro too. Just the name of the game. 

[Sphynx]

Here's a solution, use your same rods, and grab a spare reel and line, pflueger makes a few affordable models, so do lots of other manufacturers, line them with appropriate pound test for what your doing, and when you want to fish for trout switch reels to your 6lb stuff.

[Deleted account]

18 hours ago, TheLastBestFish said:

I've seen some massive pike in this particular lake, I'd say about 10 lbs.

"We're gonna need a bigger boat"

[moguy1973]

22 hours ago, TheLastBestFish said:

I fish for bass in Montana and when I find a bass lake, it seems pike always follow. I am terrified of losing lures, so I use a 40 lb. steel lead, but never catch the bass people claim are so numerous.

 

Why such a heavy leader if you are only using 6lb main line?  Not that it can’t be done with a good drag setup but a 10lb pike is most likely going to take your lure and your steel leader if you aren’t careful with small mainline like that anyways. I’d get a new rod and reel set up specifically for bass and not use your trout rod for double duty. 

[Dens228]

I would think that a steel leader would devastate the intended action of most bass lures. 

[gim]

On 2/12/2021 at 11:05 AM, Deephaven said:

I regularly run just straight 30lb PP braid and have nearly no issues. 

I used to not have bite offs either using 30 pound braid...until last season. Three trips in a row I got snipped clean off. $50 in lures, gone. I had to do something about it so I started using 20 pound fluoro leaders in about 12 inch length in August. Once I started using that, I didn’t have a bite off the rest of the season. Inspecting the fluoro leader regularly is a must. The material I used was Seaguar Blue Label.

Like others have mentioned, it’s part of fishing when you live in a certain part of the country.  It sucks when you lose an expensive lure or even a discontinued lure. It’s funny when it happens to someone else that your fishing with though but when it happens to me it’s not funny. Usually a loud swear word follows. The small ones don’t usually bite me off, they just ruin certain lures. The bigger ones bite everything clean off. There’s a “thump” and then nothing there but the end of the line.

 

https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/seaguar-blue-label-fluorocarbon-leaders-25-yards?ds_e=GOOGLE&ds_c=Shop|Generic|AllProducts|High|SSCCatchAll&gclid=CjwKCAiAjp6BBhAIEiwAkO9WupVckZ7cQ7XbhWxJnRSIHPym7BhzptgjUk0bsiyXjArPu7jZ6PEWvhoCwuIQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

[BassinCNY]

I use the Eagle Claw micro leaders. 12 pound, 8" long. My local Walmart usually has them or I think I ordered them from Tackle Warehouse last year. I mostly use them on crankbaits and chatterbaits. I'm sure they affect the lure action a little but it doesn't seem to have an impact on the number of bites. I don't use them in tournaments though.