Heavy Leader, And Coloring Braid

[Mike L]

Ok I've been been useing a 20# floro leader on 20# PP braid on 2 of my spinning rigs.

I use those for worms, senko's, wacky and shakey heads.

2 questions if I may...

1. Is that too heavy of leader? or should the leader be a smaller diameter?

2] I've ben reading here for a long time that a lot of you guy's use a sharpie to color the last 6' ft or so of braid.

Is that only for higher visability so you can see your line in shallow water when the green tint of the braid fades?

I fish mostly in the shallow, weedy, grassy lake of Central and So. Florida.

Thanks

Mike

[Packard]

Most people on here and myself like to match the diameter of our leader. For instance, your 20lb. Power Pro has a diameter of .23mm and your 20lb. leader has a diameter of .40mm which is quite a difference. Having the two being close in diameter will make the connection more fluent with a fish on and will go through the guides smoother. Power Pro has a thin diameter because it is braid of course. So I would recommend stepping down to a 8lb. fluorocarbon leader if you are going to use one.

Some sharpie the last few feet of their line to actually make it less visible in the water. Black line is very hard to see underwater. They do this because it gives them more confidence than them thinking that their bright red or yellow power pro is what is causing the fish not to bite. Not that the color of the line will affect how the fish bite unless you are on really clear water. A tip would be to cut down the middle of the marker so that the line can fit between it and you can color the line on one swipe.

In your case, you probably don't need to sharpie or need use a leader because your water is mostly stained and your green line is hard to see underwater anyway. But if you are fishing around rocks or anything metal, switch to an abrasion resistant leader.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

Lose the leader for weed fishing and color the line when it starts to fade. If you need a leader for abrasion resistance go with a 8-10lb.

[J Francho]

I match to the break strength I need. I don't want the leader so strong, a snag won't break, but I also don't want it breaking on the hookset. About the ONLY time I use a very heavy leader - 50-100 lb. fluoro - is fishing for northerns. Otherwise, 8 to 14 lb. leader works fine.

[Wayne P.]

Most of the time when I use a leader it is fluorocarbon and in 20# test. I use it for weight to make the braid sink for finesse presentations. Most of my braids are the 8# mono equivelent diameters. My light setups have 6# mono equivelent diameter braids and I still use the 20# fluorocarbon if I need the weight. Otherwise I don't use a leader.

One of the most visible non-fluorescent line colors is black and I see lots of recommendations for coloring braids with a black magic marker- just more fishermen's superstitions.

[SirSnookalot]

I use Ande mono for my leaders, 15 or 20# test and I'm using 10 or 15# braid. Inshore I double the braids test 15/30, 20/40 and 30/60 lb.

[Mike L]

Thanks Fellas:

Even tho opinions vary somewhat I do have a better understanding after learning what you guy's do and think.

I appreciate your reponces.

Thanks again

Mike