Flouro Or Mono Leader

[MikeinFresno]

Only been fishing about 1.5 yrs. Ive got two rigs with braid and flouro leaders, both with a Uni to Uni knot. I have had flouro break at the knot where the two join on a big bass, 30 lb braid to 8 lb Seagaur flouro, both fresh and in good shape. Ive now gone to 12 lb leader on this rig. Ive also read how flouro cuts itself at the knot using a Palomar. I may have had a couple of those break offs and it got me thinking. So the question is, is mono more resistant to cutting itself in these situations? Should I use a quality mono leader with the braid instead?

[slonezp]

It's personal preference. I use flouro leaders with braid tied with an albright knot. When tied properly, I feel it's the best line to line knot.

Mono stretches and is less sensitive. If thats ok with your presentation, by all means use it. There is no one set way to setup your rigs.

As far as the palomar knot. IMO the best and easisest knot around. All line will burn if it's not lubricated when you cinch the knot. Spit on the knot before you cinch it down and you'll be good to go.

[J Francho]

Mono floats, so it's better if you are using a spook or popper.

[SirSnookalot]

All of my freshwater and inshore fishing is done using braided line and a mono leader. My preference is for moving baits, mostly in fairly shallow water so whether line floats or sinks isn't much of a concern. The alberto knot is an excellent knot, but I use it for targeting only one species of fish, one of which will hit a swivel as quick as lure, so the knot does save me money. That aside I use a swivel and a mono leader of about 15", attaching a fresh leader when needed takes a couple of seconds. I attach my braid to swivel using a double wrap improved clinch knot, my leader is attached with an ordinary clinch and my gets a loop knot. I use a 20# leader for my freshwater, reason being is snags, I'm able to free my lures much easier and lose fewer lures than if I used a lighter leader line. The loop knot gives me all the action the lure was intended to have.

[I.rar]

i use 6# - 10 or 12# p line cxx as leader joined with a albright knot depending what rig im fishing with. never had any issues with line breaking except for when i get snagged. well , i did have one instance where i tied a bad knot and was too lazy to retie a better one...i lost that fish. the knot itself is very compact and flows through guides easily.

i also use a palomar when tying to baits. never any problems there. the palomar is a solid knot when tied correctly.

[dodgeguy]

get rid of the leader altogether.

[SirSnookalot]

This is one reason I use a leader instead of braid direct on my lure. It's not unusual when casting lures to get your line or leader wrapped around your hooks, especially top water plugs on the retrieve. A mono or flouro leader is very simple to unravel, braid can really get tangled up bad and not easy to unravel. A quick fix to that is to burn the tangled braid with a bic, then retie. I can come up with other reasons for the use of a leader but they don't really apply to bass fishing. In reality it's a personal choice, I don't think the strike rate is affected.

[Jim_M]

Exclusively flouro for finesse and both for everything else.

[MikeinFresno]

I do wet it well, but that is a possibility for sure. Checking the Albright knot, thx.

[BobP]

If you are mainly concerned about breakoffs, yes, a low stretch copolymer makes a stronger knot. If you're more concerned about line visibility, fluoro is better. Personally, I'd do what you've already done - go up in diameter on the fluoro leader. And I think line breaks with a fluoro leader (or when braid is tied directly to a lure) are often due to snap hooksets. The instantaneous strain of a snap hookset can easily break braid up to 30 lb test, or break the fluoro leader at the knot. A little restraint is called for.

[rubba bubba]

If you are mainly concerned about breakoffs, yes, a low stretch copolymer makes a stronger knot. If you're more concerned about line visibility, fluoro is better.

This plus:

- what JF said about float/sinking between mono/fluoro

- abrasion resistance of mono/fluoro for the area you are fishing

Ditch the uni-to-uni and switch to the Alberto; much easier and much better.