do I need to buy leader

[Bassin.Drew]

my friend teammate told me today that I should with to braid and leader on my spinning rod. he said I will feel more and won't get tangles as much. I am also switching to tungsten weights soon. I want to know if I need line that says leader. why wouldn't I be able to just use 8 lb mono or regular line?

[optimator]

I just use regular mono for leader.

[ATA]

Yes he is right, Better to go with FC100, Since it is spinning set up, I assume you want to be finesse as much as possible, so FC100 is the best of both world, stretch and give like mono and clear like Flouro.

[PourMyOwn]

I use mono and copolymer for leader (and FC too). I would try mono first to see if you like it before dropping $$$ on 100% FC. 

[MN Fisher]

27 minutes ago, Bassin.Drew said:

my friend teammate told me today that I should with to braid and leader on my spinning rod. he said I will feel more

Feeling strikes is a function of line stretch - braid is the least stretchy, so transmits the hit clearer. Any leader is going to dampen that a bit, based on the leader type and length. Mono the most, FC the least - but at normal leader lengths of 6'-10' the difference isn't all that noticeable.

 

29 minutes ago, Bassin.Drew said:

and won't get tangles as much.

Wind knots with braid on spinning reels are caused by a few factors - unless proper technique is used, braid actually has more of a chance of wind knots and tangles than straight mono, FC or hybrid - good talk about that here

 

 

33 minutes ago, Bassin.Drew said:

I want to know if I need line that says leader. why wouldn't I be able to just use 8 lb mono or regular line?

 

I don't buy line specifically labeled as 'Leader' - I just use the line from my regular inventory...mono or FC and an appropriate pound test based on what I'm doing with that rig.

[LCG]

20lb braid to 6lb mono on my spinning set up. Works well for my purposes. 

[Born 2 fish]

I use regular fluorocarbon or mono for my leader.

[BrianMDTX]

I use 6 or 8 lb mono or YZH as leader for braid. 

[Craig P]

You don't need "leader" although "leader" is suppose to be of a more consistent quality than say a spool of floro, even if the same brand.....at least that is what marketing says.

 

As for floro, I would suggest that if you are going to go through the effort to tie a leader onto braid, why not go with something that "may" give you an advantage in visibility....unless of course you want / need shock absorption.

[Michigander]

I use regular Invisex as a leader most of the time and it works fine. Actual leader material is better but not necessary.

[softwateronly]

Had a nice run with Invisx and abrasx, gonna try Maxima green this year for a bit more stretch.  By the end of May I usually end up with tieable steel leader on anyway because of those pesky pike and the water has changed from gin clear to clear(ish).

 

scott

[Teal]

41 minutes ago, Michigander said:

I use regular Invisex as a leader most of the time and it works fine. Actual leader material is better but not necessary.

I'm gonna find out.  Just put in an order for a few spools of gold seaguar 

[GetFishorDieTryin]

4 hours ago, Bassin.Drew said:

my friend teammate told me today that I should with to braid and leader on my spinning rod. he said I will feel more and won't get tangles as much. I am also switching to tungsten weights soon. I want to know if I need line that says leader. why wouldn't I be able to just use 8 lb mono or regular line?

FC leader material is harder, less stretch and more resistant to abrasion then FC main line.  You dont need leader material at all.  If you want to go with FC, get a spool of 8 or 10 lb red label and it will last a long time.  Connection knots are easy, look up Uni Uni connection (Double Uni) or crazy alberto and in no time you will be able to tie a good connection knot.  Length of leader depends on your preference, could be anywhere from 18 inches to over 10 ft.  You can use mono as leader if you want, the knots are a little stronger but it stretches and is much more visible to fish then the FC.

Berkleys X9 or Power Pro V2 are both great.  Try to get a bright color like hi viz yellow or hi viz green, that way if you dont feel the bite you can actually see it.  As long as you dont reel in slack you shouldnt have problems with knots.  I would also recommend manually flipping your bail instead of using the auto trip, that will reduce knots and its much easier on the reel. 

[Bluebasser86]

If you're getting a lot of tangles with braid on a spinning reel, you have another problem that a leader isn't going to solve.

 

Regular line is fine for leader material. Leader material is harder, more abrasion resistant, and has less stretch, so it does make a better leader material for the most part, but it's not required.

[roadwarrior]

6 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

Leader material is harder, more abrasion resistant, and has less stretch, so it does make a better leader material for the most part, but it's not required.

[Deleted account]

BG or Ande. Roll credits.

[basser27]

On 2/23/2021 at 8:04 PM, Bassin.Drew said:

my friend teammate told me today that I should with to braid and leader on my spinning rod. he said I will feel more and won't get tangles as much. I am also switching to tungsten weights soon. I want to know if I need line that says leader. why wouldn't I be able to just use 8 lb mono or regular line?

I never use “leader material” my leader material is off a regular spool of mono. Berkley big gam or trilene xl

[KDW96]

On 2/23/2021 at 10:20 PM, Teal said:

I'm gonna find out.  Just put in an order for a few spools of gold seaguar 

Good choice. I currently have enough of the blue label for awhile. I will be trying the gold eventually. 

[Deleted account]

No.

 

[Big Hands]

'Need' is such a strong descriptor that I can say you are not likely to 'need' premium leader material to do well. My first 10+ lb bass was caught on 6 lb Ande monofilament, which is bargain bin for half decent monofilament. My PB at 12 lbs 13 oz was caught on 10 lb Ande mono.

 

'Need? Not in my humble opinion. 'Want'? Possibly, but again, I am inclined to suggest that 'regular' line will suffice for anyone that doesn't get paid handsomely to put fish in the boat.

 

With a little cost/benefit analysis, I feel like paying $15 to $18 (plus tax) for 25 yards of premium leader material isn't going to benefit me as much as something like better main line or premium hooks (or any number of other things) will. 

 

If my disposable income was such that I didn't have to make such choices, what the heck, I would probably try some gold label to see if I thought it was noticeably better in some way.

 

BTW, I do feel like switching to braid with a leader is worthy of making the switch. I also like tungsten weights, but I am in the middle of seeing if they should fall in the 'need' or 'want' category.

 

Disclaimer: I am using the term 'need' in the loosest possible fashion, speaking from one angler to another and fully realizing that it's a good dilemma to have in life.

[soflabasser]

I use monofilament leaders when needed since monofilament line has much better abrasion resistance.

[roadwarrior]

9 minutes ago, soflabasser said:

I use monofilament leaders when needed since monofilament line has much better abrasion resistance.

Next time you find the Seaguar Gold Label on sale, give it a try. I think you will like

it...a lot!  The leader is stronger, thinner and more abrasion resistant than anything

comparable.

[soflabasser]

2 hours ago, roadwarrior said:

Next time you find the Seaguar Gold Label on sale, give it a try. I think you will like

it...a lot!  The leader is stronger, thinner and more abrasion resistant than anything

comparable.

Thank you for the recommendation. Is it more abrasion resistant than Berkley Big Game mono? From what I researched it is one of the best fluorocarbon lines.