Leaders?

[Em591991]

Again, new to salt water fishing. I always appreciate the advice and insight I get from you guys. My question now is about leaders. I've caught plenty of fish tying straight to my line with no mono or fluorocarbon leader. I've talked to other people and they say that the fish can see your line. Let's hear it.

[Clampy]

I think it matters if the water is super clear and fish are finicky. All it takes is one mangrove snapper trip to know the can see the line but it's not that often you get that clear of water inshore. That being said. I tie 20# floro leader on everything. I just like having a leader.

[Bdub]

I see it as a possible issue when you get in that good gin clear water, but Ive never used a leader with my braid and haven't had a problem catching when the fish are there...Earlier in the week I caught trout with a 6+inch piece of braid hanging off my hook bc I had line tangled in my scissors and couldn't cut it off.

[Gasper Master]

When I fish Reds, I don't use a leader. I don't have much speck fishing knowledge but always use a flouro leader with my braid due to what I have seen with my own eyes. I was fishing in tiger shoals with two other guys, fishing live cocahoe's on the bottom. Me and one guy were tearing them up, cast after cast. We probably had 30 or 40 fish in the boat while sitting in this one spot and burning them, but the other guy had only caught about 3 or 4. I was using Braid to swivel with an egg sinker than flouro for my leader to my hook. The one guy that was catching was using straight mono. When the guy that was not catching reeled up, I saw that he had braid all of the way to his hook. I told him right then and there that he needed a leader. He then picked up his other rod that had mono on it with double rigged plastics. He started catching two at a time. Me and the other guy both rigged double plastics and we started catching two at a time.

Moral of the story. The trout were on fire enough to give up the live bait and catch two at a time on plastics, but they still would not hit a live cocaho with braid all of the way to the hook.

[evis102]

12# big game with 2' 25# flourocarbon leader best trout setup I have found.

[Em591991]

Always useful info when consulting the salty Cajuns

[Top Dawg]

Originally Posted by Clampy

I think it matters if the water is super clear and fish are finicky. All it takes is one mangrove snapper trip to know the can see the line but it's not that often you get that clear of water inshore. That being said. I tie 20# floro leader on everything. I just like having a leader.

This x10000. I'm pretty sure mangroves are more finicky than white perch.

[Sightwindow]

I go back and forth fishing leaders on mono for trout. This past weekend I used a fairly long 30# mono leader - just trying something new. I really liked not giving retying a second though, even with some abrasion near the knot. And I really like being able to manhandle the leader immediately after flipping a fish in the boat with no fear of the line parting and having to spend time retying.

It hasn't happened in a while, but if I hung up and broke off the leader, there's little chance I'd take the time to retie the leader on the water. And I don't get a great feeling hearing and feeling a longer leader knot going through the guides.

[jpeff31787]

besides fluorocarbons ultra clear perk, it has one other HUGE perk that you will notice when fishing deeper water with lots of current and fish are on the bottom, it sinks and it sinks fast meaning you will get your bait faster than others with braid and mono and your bait will stay down longer and you get to your bait in the strike zone longer than everyone elses. It took about 3 trips to prove this to my stubborn Dad and Uncle, but once they realized that I was catching more than half the fish every trip, they finally put it on for the next trips and they realized I wasn't kidding.

Now its not every trip you want fast sinking line, but for fishing at the rigs that's all I use. I also believe you have better chances at catching more fish with flouro as leader, and we've compared that too and my theory has been confirmed on many trips.

[RickLafayette]

I use an 18" to 24" 20 lb. flourocarbon leader with 20 lb. braid for both trout and reds.
If i'm not using a float and tying directly to the main line i use an Albright knot. If using a float I use a spinning reel, if not I use a casting reel. I've had no failures with these set ups.

[Sightwindow]

Originally Posted by jpeff31787

besides fluorocarbons ultra clear perk, it has one other HUGE perk that you will notice when fishing deeper water with lots of current and fish are on the bottom, it sinks and it sinks fast meaning you will get your bait faster than others with braid and mono and your bait will stay down longer and you get to your bait in the strike zone longer than everyone elses. It took about 3 trips to prove this to my stubborn Dad and Uncle, but once they realized that I was catching more than half the fish every trip, they finally put it on for the next trips and they realized I wasn't kidding.

Now its not every trip you want fast sinking line, but for fishing at the rigs that's all I use. I also believe you have better chances at catching more fish with flouro as leader, and we've compared that too and my theory has been confirmed on many trips.

This is a great point and not one I'd thought of previously. Thanks!

[Em591991]

So does everyone pretty much agree that toying the leader directly to the mainline is better then a swivel?

[Em591991]

Or just when using an egg sinker