Braided Line With Fluorocarbon Leader?

[Pa_Photo]

I have been trying to figure out what to put on my bait caster reels and have read so much negative about Fluorocarbon lately, and yet braided is not very good for clear lakes and plastics.

I would love the sensitivity of braided and wonder if using that and say a 3-4' Fluorocarbon or Mono leader would give you the best of both worlds?

I am thinking of going that way or just old fashioned mono

[joshholmes]

well i understand that you may have heARD A LOT ABOUT FLUOROCARBON being bad but in reality it just takes a bit more time to figure out at first. fluorocarbon is great for clear lakes. you usually only have to deal with problems with it for the first fish. after the first fight many of the problems seem to fix themselves. as for braid with a leader, it does work very well but (IMO) if you make the leader so that its so long the knot goes into your guides when you cast it it will cut down on casting distance. i also don't think you should call mono, old fashioned because there are so many new improved forms of it. it really comes down to your own personal preference. if your willing to take the time to learn how to handle fluoro it will pay off in the long run. if you have several baitcasters spool one up with fluoro, on with mono and one with a braid and fluoro leader. it allows you to be more diverse. very few pro fisherman use just one type. braid works great for heavy cover while mono works good for spinnerbaits and fluoro works great for crankbaits. take the time to choose your own preferences.

[ChrisAW]

Any of my reels that have braid with a leader have NO problem with casting distance because of the knot. And most of mine are tied with 6' or so leaders.

[bigbassdave]

ChrisAW, what kind of knot do you use to tie on your fluoro leader? I have tried varying leader lengths, but a 20 or 25lb leader makes a big knot and I sometimes have problems with the knot catching.

[RoLo]

When I first began to use braided line, I included a fluorocarbon leader (don't ask me why).

The joiner knot was an unnecessary nuisance, and I had trouble seeing the fine braided line.

This gave me two good reasons to tie my lures direct to the braided line. .

To this day I tie everything direct to the main line and if there's any difference in fishing action, I totally missed it.

It goes without saying, if I'm fishing for northern pike, I'll incorporate a titanium leader,

and if I'm fishing in rocks or shellbeds, I'll include a fluorocarbon leader.

Roger

[ChrisAW]

ChrisAW, what kind of knot do you use to tie on your fluoro leader? I have tried varying leader lengths, but a 20 or 25lb leader makes a big knot and I sometimes have problems with the knot catching.

I use the Alberto knot. One of my braid rigs is using 20# flouro tied to 40# braid if I feel the water is too clear for straight braid. It's normally a flipping/pitching rig, but I do cast with it when I'm fishing drop-offs or even swimjigs/swimbaits. And I've actually had the backing knot on my punching rod make it off the spool multiple times when casting it out to allow me to respool the braid when it starts to spool lopsided. Thats using 60# braid and 15# Big Game for backing, the knot easily passed through the micro guides on my punch rig. It scared me, but nothing happened. Those are the heavier two. The rest, the knot is so tiny, I don't even hear it ticking through the guides. Using around 20# braid and 8 or 12# leaders.

[breezy]

I don't feel using a long leader cuts down on casting distance by any appreciable amount. I have a Revo spooled with 40# Sufix (which is 2 years old and I have never even flipped it to use the other end) and will often use 14# fluoro, 14# trilene XL or even a 17# trilene XT leader. Using an Alberto knot you can trim the tag end of the leader flush with the knot.

As far as braid vs fluoro vs mono, it really depends on personal preference and fishing conditions. I use the above setup if there's a lot of vegetation, weeds, etc. The main reason I use a leader is to either help the lure sink/float, abrasion resistance and if you get snagged you're never going to lose more line than your leader.

Last year I considered switching to all braid on my BC reels (except cranks). Line management with braid is an absolute dream and it is frustrating dealing with fluoro after using braid. After a while though I ended up going back to straight fluoro for 90% of my jigs, plastics, etc. Braid is just as sensitive, if not more so, than fluoro on a tight line...but you have very little sensitivity on a slack line. I felt that I was missing a lot of bites while the lure was falling on a slack line, where fluoro would transmit the vibration easily.

[Pa_Photo]

Thanks guys and I will set up some rigs different ways. I am fishing northern lakes so the bass are not as big as they are down south. I may try a small braided line and tie right to it. I can always add a small leader if I need to.

My logic tells me that a 3' piece of mono or floro should be enough in most cases to satisfy wary bass in clear water.