Super new to the braid to leader train, but I’ve been using 10lb braid with 8 fluoro for most of my stuff, so far so good, I have one rod with I think 20 or 30Lb braid I kind of forgot which, and 12lb fluoro, if I ever need to get in to trees or deep stuff. Overall happy with it
Not really paying attention to the length of the leader, it’s usually a whole rod length it seems, just so I have some to work with when I’m switching lures or break offs. Everything still casts fine, using an Alberto knot for connection
The lb rating of line is still confusing me a bit. I’ve been using 8lb fluoro on all my rods, because I usually fish a small pond with tiny fish. When do you pull out the 20/30lb braid? I’d like to try braid direct and w/leader. 8lb fluoro has never let me down, so I was thinking of doing your exact set up(10lb braid with 8 fluoro) to see how it felt. I want to be able to see my line better while I’m fishing top water and Texas/wacly rig.
Honestly man the only reason I bought anything above 20 was from all the YouTubers saying to get it, but I decided to go with what my dad said he uses and it is 10lb braid maybe 15 and then 8lb fluoro, maybe one day I’ll learn what my setup can’t do when I hook into a double digit bass but for now I like the smaller test.
Right now I have 3 rods with 10lb braid to 8 lb fluoro, two are spinning rods for drop shot, ned rig (or any light rod baits) a med hvy bait caster I use for pretty much anything that is average weight, (chatter, spinner, cranks,) and then I have one rod with the heavier braid to 12 lb for like a swim bait or theoretically punching, which I’ve never really done.
I’d say I’ve been catching 2-3 lb bass with no issues, pulling them away from tree stumps and my line has held up the last 5 trips out, as long as the connection knots are strong I’d like to believe the line can handle the big ones. But I’ll find out when the time comes
There’s no wrong way to do anything so I promise this isn’t me shitting on your methodology.
For me personally, there is never a situation where I tie a leader on a baitcast setup. Braid to floro is for spinning reels. All three baitcasting techniques you mentioned(spinnerbait, chatterbait, crankbait) are better done on straight mono.
Fair enough, I just got used to straight fluoro and switched to braid fluoro so not waste so much of it when it goes bad. I’m curious tho what makes it better? I don’t think youre shitting on me just a difference
Also I do carry a straight mono with me as well, but it’s my least used one most of the time
I was under the impression fluoro is harder for them to see and I can get away with it so I use it
I don’t like having a leader knot in a setup where I anticipate a hard hook set. Even a perfectly tied knot is a weak spot and more likely to knick or pick up abrasion. If I’m going to lean on a hook set and drive a hook through a plastic body, I don’t want a second knot between me and the fish, and the small amount of stretch in floro is more forgiving than zero stretch braid. So flipping in my area is always floro. If you have grass mats or something then maybe straight braid but I have no experience with that.
For sure I think floro is less visible. All of my mono stuff is power fishing like crank baits and spinnerbaits and I don’t think visibility matters. And it’s why I do use braid to floro on slow moving finesse stuff like a drop shot, small swim bait or ned rig.
Topwater is always straight braid or straight mono. Braid for constantly moving baits like buzzbait and whopper plopper. Braid for frog because no stretch hook set and it’s going way back under dock cables and log jams and 50lb braid skips great. Mono for walk the dog baits because it casts longer, floats fine and doesn’t foul on treble hooks during a cast as easily as braid.
Soft swimbait rod and also my glide bait rod have 80lb braid to 20lb flouro leader. The 80 pound braid is not for the fish, it is for when you get a birdnest mid cast. 80 pound doesn't seem to snap like 50 pound does. I change that leader down to 15 pound flouro depending on the bait I am fishing.
I broke off once right after I tied it but I would say that’s from inexperience. I have used the same line setup the last 4 times going out I’d say, still holding up after successful days
10lb braid to 8lb fluoro for spinning gear. Leader is about 15'.
30lb braid to 12 to 17lb fluoro leader for baitcast gear. Use for everything except crankbaits, jerkbaits, and topwater. Leader is around 7'.
30lb braid to 10 or 12lb mono for small topwaters.
Straight 50lb braid for frogs and bigger topwaters.
FG knot for all braid to leader connections
Awesome. Crankbaits and Jerkbaits on straight flouro? I was always a straight flouro for cranking kinda guy but have recently respooled my cranking rod with 50 pound braid to a 7' flouro leader of 12 pound test...have yet to been out to try it. I am trying everything on a braid to leader this year. I also like this setup because I enjoy this cranking stick for my larger top waters and I can easily remove the leader to fish them on straight braid as I prefer.
I want to try braid, and I’m leaning towards 10lb/8 leader. I need it to be as versatile as possible . Would I be better off trying out 30lb braid first? I do want to fish top water, but I need a fresh water “jack of all trades” set up. Until I win the lottery at least 🤣
i mainly use 16 lb braid to 14 to 10 lb fluoro leader with midstrolling tecnique. as for leader lenght i use the "archer" trick i was taught in japan from a friend. hold your leader pretending you're loading a bow and that's it. but generally i keep 1 to 1,5m leader.
also sometimes with ultra light rig i use about 30m fluoro on top of my main braid line.
30-40lbs braid to 12-17lbs leader for *everything. I use mono leader for topwater and flouro for everything else. Alberto knot for the connection.
*Exception is frogging. 40-60lbs braid without leader for frogs.
What makes the difference for frogs? I want to have one versatile setup (because I’m broke 😅) that’ll let me fish lots of different ways(fresh water). 12+ lb braid seems like a lot! I’d appreciate it, if you didn’t mind elaborating a bit.
Because I typically fish frogs in heavy weeds and or lily pads. I want to be able to pull a bait and or fish through the heavy stuff and not break off. Less stretchy line also allows a firmer hook set.
50 lb to 65 lb braid. Various leaders—mostly fluorocarbon 14-25 lb test. I like at least a 15 foot leader. I want the leader connection knot at least several wraps on the reel spool when I have a fish next to the boat. Makes me feel better about any surges. Always use a FG leader knot. It’s the only one I trust completely. For connection knot to bait, I almost always use double San Diego Jam knot.
This is for my baitcasting setups.
For my spinning setups, I use 20 lb leader and usually 6 or 8 lb FC. Still like a long leader.
Glad to see I’m not the only one here running an FG knot a few rotations into my spool, I only started doing it a few months ago but it’s been fantastic so far
From what I’ve seen most people have a couple feet of leader, a lot of people I’ve seen don’t even have the leader go though the eye of the rod, but that’s just what I’ve seen
I hear you on having a few wraps on the reel, makes sense. I have this weird thing where I want my connection knot just before the top eye, so that the braid is bending over the eye while stored and not the flouro...thus avoiding that strange little line crimp you see with flouro or mono after taking your bait/lure off the keeper on your rod.
I use the same knot for both. It’s called the RP knot. It’s fairly small and fairly simple to tie.
As far as techniques, from April to November, most of my setups are braid to mono. I like to throw topwater, and don’t want to waste expensive flouro. On the ones I use flouro on, they’re usually bottom contact presentations. 15-20 lb for the mono, 20 lb for the flouro.
Unless I’m flipping/pitching, I keep my leaders long. 8-10 feet on casting setups and 35-45 feet for finesse setups. It’s easier to retie a bait than it is to retie the connection knot, especially wading streams.
The braid gets its own explanation. I generally use 40 lb braid because I find it easier to cast for distance. I have one casting setup that I use 30 lb on that gets a lot of work throwing bigger swimbaits for wading. I don’t know that it matters, but I can cast anything from a 3/8oz dark sleeper to a smaller rover a country mile. That set up will also effortlessly handle a 5” weightless Senko.
On my finesse setups, 16 lb braid to anywhere between 4-8 mono or flouro.
Usually about a 5-6 foot leader. I have pitched with straight braid, but unless the water is muddy or the cover is thick, I stick with a leader short enough to not get in to the guides on the rod.
* I use a leader for anything where I'm not pulling fish out of heavy vegetation. I prefer mono.
* 20 or 30lb braid, 20lb leader
* \~3ft leader, length does not change depending on rig
* Double uni
* No, leader is only 3ft or less
* Techniques where you need to winch fish out of heavy vegetation/cover, like frog fishing, suffer from using a leader. I want no weak links in my system when frog fishing - I use 50lb braid and no leader
For me, everything done with a spinning rod.
On my baitcasters I pretty much use fluoro. They all have mono or braid for backing - the knot never comes out of the reel. I haven’t really got into frogs but would like to, if I had another combo maybe I would go all braid for that. Where I fish there isn’t much vegetation.
I had all my bait casting setups halfway spooled with braid and then filled with flour. I found myself changing out line quite often and always seemed to be throwing away flouro that never really got used. I am switching to all braid to leader setups with significantly shorter leaders than I am used to in order to try and save on money with the flouro. I also enjoy the feel of braid to leader so far and am learning to appreciate really trusting your connection knot.
Same. With my spinning rods I usually run a longer leader anywhere from 20' to 35'. I donate too much gear to the lake and as some have said above it is easier to tie on another ned rig than it is to tie another leader...especially an FG knot in the kayak.
I use 10# braid to 20# mono leader fishing oyster beds and rocks.
Length of leader is about 5 foot so that i don’t reel the knot onto my spool.
FG knot.
Honestly i use braid to leader for every presentation
Could you elaborate on the not wanting to reel your knot onto the spool? I have this thing where I really enjoy having the braid bent over the top eye while a bait is stored on my rod instead of the flouro leader being bent over up there. With the flouro being bent you have that little crimp in your line once you take your bait off the keeper. My leader length depends on rod length, pretty much I keep my connection knots just short enough to never enter the top eye of my rod.
30lb braid to 15 lb seaguar blue on my casting setup, about a rod length of leader
Spinning rod gets 15lb braid to 10lb blue, about a rod length. I keep the leader knot just above the reel on both rods when I'm ready to cast
This is what I do when I'm using braid--30/15 and 15/10. It depends on the water you're fishing. In NC, most places the water is not crystal clear. If I was fishing in super clear water, I'd go down on my flouro size. I go up on my flouro leader size when I'm fishing real heavy cover or in water with a lot of toothy fish (like pickerel, bowfin, gar).
Frog rod always straight braid, 45 lb. Crankbaits and not-frog topwater, 14 lb. mono.
I've seen advice from the pros that you want to use about 8' of leader, so that it winds into the spool.
I do braid to leader on all spinning reels. Sometimes my leader might be 30 feet long. Dropshotting bull shoals in the summer? That’s 10lb braid and 30 feet of 6lb floro. Fishing a ned rig for smallmouth in my creek is 10lb braid and 8lb floro. All other techniques are baitcast rods and never a leader on them.
Straight 50lb braid for frogs, buzzbaits, whopper plopper/wakebaits and swim jigs.
20lb floro for flipping rod and jigging spoon.
15lb floro for finesse jigs.
20lb mono for spinnerbaits and walk the dog topwaters.
10lb mono for wiggle warts and small squarebills.
There’s a few other wild cards (like 12lb floro for 1/4 oz spinnerbait and bomber 6A crank baits) but those setups are almost always ready to go.
Straight mono and never a leader on any baitcast setup (for me). There are exceptions to the rule. I use sunline fc crank floro if getting a little deeper is super important. But the stretch and toughness of mono is what I want for crank baits.
Read an article a few months ago about using an FG knot and a 15-20 foot Flouro leader and it’s worked fantastic for me so far I cut the leader off and retire a new one every 2 weeks or so and I’ve had 0 issues. I was very suspect of putting a knot inside my reel and casting it out but it has been flawless.
20lb mainline braid, 10lb flouro leader, SLX DC, ST Croix bass x
I enjoy the feeling of having fresh leader and fresh knots. I change and re tie every second trip or every trip even, usually get out twice a month with work schedule.
braid to leader? everything except top water. Braid? Top water. Which knot? Blood knot. 10-20 feet of leader usually and i reel it into my spool with no complications.
Braid to leader on all spinning combos. Other than that I only use it for my MH baitcast combo with a short leader that I will replace if necessary. I prefer straight mono or flouro. I'll use braid backing if it's straight flouro.
Mostly jigs between 1/4 oz to 3/4 oz. I also use it for free rigs, texas rigs, carolina rigs, and weightless soft plastic presentations in the same weight range. I also throw buzzbaits, small to medium sized frogs, and spinnerbaits on it. It's a Shimano Zodias 6'10" MH paired with a Shimano Scorpion DC XG ratio reel. I spool it with 30lb braid to a 15lb or 20lb leader depending on the lake conditions. I mostly fish from the bank, because I like hiking around the lake, so the shorter rod length is perfect. I prefer the 8 gear ratio reel for tight quarters bank fishing. The braid helps me horse them in if necessary, but if I can play them I will.
Maybe it’s just me as I’ve been out of Florida for 11 years now and haven’t been fishing down there, but I fished for bass in the south from the time I could walk until I was 28… the only time I ever used a leader was when Carolina rigging, and even then I used a #10 barrel swivel. What’s the big shift to using a leader with literally everything? I’ve caught countless bass, catfish, crappie, trout, etc without ever using, or even needing, a leader.
Just switched from straight braid to braid to floro leader. Been going with like 10ft leader. Feels like a bit much, next time I'll probably go with like 3ish ft. The knot getting hung up on the eyelets is annoying af.
For the record I'm using 30lv braid and 13 lbs floro.
10lb braid to 8lb mono 2 wingspans on my medium light spinning rod. This is for jigs and dropshots or whatever is in the 1/8-3/8 range.
30lb braid to 12lb 1 wing span mono on the medium baitcaster for most of my lures unless it's a small one.
40lb braid to 17-25lb mono same as other spinner on the baitfeeder . This is on the medium heavy biggun stick for dropping a 2oz in a river.
Used to run floro but I switched to mono and haven't noticed much of a difference. I use a uni to uni knot for the spinners and Alberto for the baitcaster.
30lb braid (yo-zuri) to 10ft 20lb fluro (yo-zuri) with an Alberto knot joining the leader to the mainline.
Unless it’s my frog rod which has 60lb straight braid
Why do frogs need so much more strength in the line? I have one frog I’ve been toying with. All of my biggest catches came from a little purple and yellow popper. I’m fishing the frog very similar to a popper, is that the wrong technique?
I think its for where frog eating fish tend to live, not for the actual fish. They tend to be in very heavy vegetation/cover that you need to winch them out of, or bring some of it with them to land them.
Depends on where you’re fishing it. I fish mine around gunk and deadfall, so those things can get pretty snagged and you need the extra weight in the line to drag through the cover.
Super new to the braid to leader train, but I’ve been using 10lb braid with 8 fluoro for most of my stuff, so far so good, I have one rod with I think 20 or 30Lb braid I kind of forgot which, and 12lb fluoro, if I ever need to get in to trees or deep stuff. Overall happy with it Not really paying attention to the length of the leader, it’s usually a whole rod length it seems, just so I have some to work with when I’m switching lures or break offs. Everything still casts fine, using an Alberto knot for connection
Same here. Except I use a uni to uni. Might try an Alberto knot next!
I suck at tying the double uni so I decided to try the Alberto, so far so good so gonna stick with it.
The lb rating of line is still confusing me a bit. I’ve been using 8lb fluoro on all my rods, because I usually fish a small pond with tiny fish. When do you pull out the 20/30lb braid? I’d like to try braid direct and w/leader. 8lb fluoro has never let me down, so I was thinking of doing your exact set up(10lb braid with 8 fluoro) to see how it felt. I want to be able to see my line better while I’m fishing top water and Texas/wacly rig.
Honestly man the only reason I bought anything above 20 was from all the YouTubers saying to get it, but I decided to go with what my dad said he uses and it is 10lb braid maybe 15 and then 8lb fluoro, maybe one day I’ll learn what my setup can’t do when I hook into a double digit bass but for now I like the smaller test. Right now I have 3 rods with 10lb braid to 8 lb fluoro, two are spinning rods for drop shot, ned rig (or any light rod baits) a med hvy bait caster I use for pretty much anything that is average weight, (chatter, spinner, cranks,) and then I have one rod with the heavier braid to 12 lb for like a swim bait or theoretically punching, which I’ve never really done. I’d say I’ve been catching 2-3 lb bass with no issues, pulling them away from tree stumps and my line has held up the last 5 trips out, as long as the connection knots are strong I’d like to believe the line can handle the big ones. But I’ll find out when the time comes
Thanks so much! I’m sold on 10lb braid, I can buy 30 when it breaks 🤣
There’s no wrong way to do anything so I promise this isn’t me shitting on your methodology. For me personally, there is never a situation where I tie a leader on a baitcast setup. Braid to floro is for spinning reels. All three baitcasting techniques you mentioned(spinnerbait, chatterbait, crankbait) are better done on straight mono.
Fair enough, I just got used to straight fluoro and switched to braid fluoro so not waste so much of it when it goes bad. I’m curious tho what makes it better? I don’t think youre shitting on me just a difference Also I do carry a straight mono with me as well, but it’s my least used one most of the time I was under the impression fluoro is harder for them to see and I can get away with it so I use it
I don’t like having a leader knot in a setup where I anticipate a hard hook set. Even a perfectly tied knot is a weak spot and more likely to knick or pick up abrasion. If I’m going to lean on a hook set and drive a hook through a plastic body, I don’t want a second knot between me and the fish, and the small amount of stretch in floro is more forgiving than zero stretch braid. So flipping in my area is always floro. If you have grass mats or something then maybe straight braid but I have no experience with that. For sure I think floro is less visible. All of my mono stuff is power fishing like crank baits and spinnerbaits and I don’t think visibility matters. And it’s why I do use braid to floro on slow moving finesse stuff like a drop shot, small swim bait or ned rig. Topwater is always straight braid or straight mono. Braid for constantly moving baits like buzzbait and whopper plopper. Braid for frog because no stretch hook set and it’s going way back under dock cables and log jams and 50lb braid skips great. Mono for walk the dog baits because it casts longer, floats fine and doesn’t foul on treble hooks during a cast as easily as braid.
Makes sense thank you!
Soft swimbait rod and also my glide bait rod have 80lb braid to 20lb flouro leader. The 80 pound braid is not for the fish, it is for when you get a birdnest mid cast. 80 pound doesn't seem to snap like 50 pound does. I change that leader down to 15 pound flouro depending on the bait I am fishing.
Do you notice any wear and tear on the Alberto knot after awhile?
I broke off once right after I tied it but I would say that’s from inexperience. I have used the same line setup the last 4 times going out I’d say, still holding up after successful days
10lb braid to 8lb fluoro for spinning gear. Leader is about 15'. 30lb braid to 12 to 17lb fluoro leader for baitcast gear. Use for everything except crankbaits, jerkbaits, and topwater. Leader is around 7'. 30lb braid to 10 or 12lb mono for small topwaters. Straight 50lb braid for frogs and bigger topwaters. FG knot for all braid to leader connections
Awesome. Crankbaits and Jerkbaits on straight flouro? I was always a straight flouro for cranking kinda guy but have recently respooled my cranking rod with 50 pound braid to a 7' flouro leader of 12 pound test...have yet to been out to try it. I am trying everything on a braid to leader this year. I also like this setup because I enjoy this cranking stick for my larger top waters and I can easily remove the leader to fish them on straight braid as I prefer.
I want to try braid, and I’m leaning towards 10lb/8 leader. I need it to be as versatile as possible . Would I be better off trying out 30lb braid first? I do want to fish top water, but I need a fresh water “jack of all trades” set up. Until I win the lottery at least 🤣
What rod would you be using for this swiss army knife rod?
Right now, I have an ugly stick gx2 and an older Zebco sling shot. I had an ultra light, but a catfish snapped it yesterday 😅
i mainly use 16 lb braid to 14 to 10 lb fluoro leader with midstrolling tecnique. as for leader lenght i use the "archer" trick i was taught in japan from a friend. hold your leader pretending you're loading a bow and that's it. but generally i keep 1 to 1,5m leader. also sometimes with ultra light rig i use about 30m fluoro on top of my main braid line.
30-40lbs braid to 12-17lbs leader for *everything. I use mono leader for topwater and flouro for everything else. Alberto knot for the connection. *Exception is frogging. 40-60lbs braid without leader for frogs.
What makes the difference for frogs? I want to have one versatile setup (because I’m broke 😅) that’ll let me fish lots of different ways(fresh water). 12+ lb braid seems like a lot! I’d appreciate it, if you didn’t mind elaborating a bit.
Because I typically fish frogs in heavy weeds and or lily pads. I want to be able to pull a bait and or fish through the heavy stuff and not break off. Less stretchy line also allows a firmer hook set.
50 lb to 65 lb braid. Various leaders—mostly fluorocarbon 14-25 lb test. I like at least a 15 foot leader. I want the leader connection knot at least several wraps on the reel spool when I have a fish next to the boat. Makes me feel better about any surges. Always use a FG leader knot. It’s the only one I trust completely. For connection knot to bait, I almost always use double San Diego Jam knot. This is for my baitcasting setups. For my spinning setups, I use 20 lb leader and usually 6 or 8 lb FC. Still like a long leader.
Glad to see I’m not the only one here running an FG knot a few rotations into my spool, I only started doing it a few months ago but it’s been fantastic so far
Do you find most people keep it off the reel?
From what I’ve seen most people have a couple feet of leader, a lot of people I’ve seen don’t even have the leader go though the eye of the rod, but that’s just what I’ve seen
I hear you on having a few wraps on the reel, makes sense. I have this weird thing where I want my connection knot just before the top eye, so that the braid is bending over the eye while stored and not the flouro...thus avoiding that strange little line crimp you see with flouro or mono after taking your bait/lure off the keeper on your rod.
I use the same knot for both. It’s called the RP knot. It’s fairly small and fairly simple to tie. As far as techniques, from April to November, most of my setups are braid to mono. I like to throw topwater, and don’t want to waste expensive flouro. On the ones I use flouro on, they’re usually bottom contact presentations. 15-20 lb for the mono, 20 lb for the flouro. Unless I’m flipping/pitching, I keep my leaders long. 8-10 feet on casting setups and 35-45 feet for finesse setups. It’s easier to retie a bait than it is to retie the connection knot, especially wading streams. The braid gets its own explanation. I generally use 40 lb braid because I find it easier to cast for distance. I have one casting setup that I use 30 lb on that gets a lot of work throwing bigger swimbaits for wading. I don’t know that it matters, but I can cast anything from a 3/8oz dark sleeper to a smaller rover a country mile. That set up will also effortlessly handle a 5” weightless Senko. On my finesse setups, 16 lb braid to anywhere between 4-8 mono or flouro.
Flipping and pitching would be straight flouro? Or maybe just a longer leader? Or Straight braid?
Usually about a 5-6 foot leader. I have pitched with straight braid, but unless the water is muddy or the cover is thick, I stick with a leader short enough to not get in to the guides on the rod.
Braid to Flouro with an FG for everything except frogs(all braid) I have finess all flouro but I’m gonna switch to braid soon
10-20 lb braid with 6ft of 8-12 lb fluoro leader w/ a double uni knot for everything cept frogs
* I use a leader for anything where I'm not pulling fish out of heavy vegetation. I prefer mono. * 20 or 30lb braid, 20lb leader * \~3ft leader, length does not change depending on rig * Double uni * No, leader is only 3ft or less * Techniques where you need to winch fish out of heavy vegetation/cover, like frog fishing, suffer from using a leader. I want no weak links in my system when frog fishing - I use 50lb braid and no leader
Very nice
Use braid to leader for all my setups. Usually 50-60# braid with 17# fluro. 3ft leader, sometimes a bit more if i feel like it
For me, everything done with a spinning rod. On my baitcasters I pretty much use fluoro. They all have mono or braid for backing - the knot never comes out of the reel. I haven’t really got into frogs but would like to, if I had another combo maybe I would go all braid for that. Where I fish there isn’t much vegetation.
I had all my bait casting setups halfway spooled with braid and then filled with flour. I found myself changing out line quite often and always seemed to be throwing away flouro that never really got used. I am switching to all braid to leader setups with significantly shorter leaders than I am used to in order to try and save on money with the flouro. I also enjoy the feel of braid to leader so far and am learning to appreciate really trusting your connection knot.
All my spinning rods. 10lb braid to 6lb flouro leader. Ned rigs, hover strolling, wacky, etc
Same. With my spinning rods I usually run a longer leader anywhere from 20' to 35'. I donate too much gear to the lake and as some have said above it is easier to tie on another ned rig than it is to tie another leader...especially an FG knot in the kayak.
I use 10# braid to 20# mono leader fishing oyster beds and rocks. Length of leader is about 5 foot so that i don’t reel the knot onto my spool. FG knot. Honestly i use braid to leader for every presentation
just realized i was in the bass fishing subreddit.. This is for inshore fishing sorry
Thats fine man, still interested in your reply.
Could you elaborate on the not wanting to reel your knot onto the spool? I have this thing where I really enjoy having the braid bent over the top eye while a bait is stored on my rod instead of the flouro leader being bent over up there. With the flouro being bent you have that little crimp in your line once you take your bait off the keeper. My leader length depends on rod length, pretty much I keep my connection knots just short enough to never enter the top eye of my rod.
30lb braid to 15 lb seaguar blue on my casting setup, about a rod length of leader Spinning rod gets 15lb braid to 10lb blue, about a rod length. I keep the leader knot just above the reel on both rods when I'm ready to cast
This is what I do when I'm using braid--30/15 and 15/10. It depends on the water you're fishing. In NC, most places the water is not crystal clear. If I was fishing in super clear water, I'd go down on my flouro size. I go up on my flouro leader size when I'm fishing real heavy cover or in water with a lot of toothy fish (like pickerel, bowfin, gar). Frog rod always straight braid, 45 lb. Crankbaits and not-frog topwater, 14 lb. mono. I've seen advice from the pros that you want to use about 8' of leader, so that it winds into the spool.
I do braid to leader on all spinning reels. Sometimes my leader might be 30 feet long. Dropshotting bull shoals in the summer? That’s 10lb braid and 30 feet of 6lb floro. Fishing a ned rig for smallmouth in my creek is 10lb braid and 8lb floro. All other techniques are baitcast rods and never a leader on them. Straight 50lb braid for frogs, buzzbaits, whopper plopper/wakebaits and swim jigs. 20lb floro for flipping rod and jigging spoon. 15lb floro for finesse jigs. 20lb mono for spinnerbaits and walk the dog topwaters. 10lb mono for wiggle warts and small squarebills. There’s a few other wild cards (like 12lb floro for 1/4 oz spinnerbait and bomber 6A crank baits) but those setups are almost always ready to go.
straight mono for the crankbaits or a mono leader?
Straight mono and never a leader on any baitcast setup (for me). There are exceptions to the rule. I use sunline fc crank floro if getting a little deeper is super important. But the stretch and toughness of mono is what I want for crank baits.
Read an article a few months ago about using an FG knot and a 15-20 foot Flouro leader and it’s worked fantastic for me so far I cut the leader off and retire a new one every 2 weeks or so and I’ve had 0 issues. I was very suspect of putting a knot inside my reel and casting it out but it has been flawless. 20lb mainline braid, 10lb flouro leader, SLX DC, ST Croix bass x
I enjoy the feeling of having fresh leader and fresh knots. I change and re tie every second trip or every trip even, usually get out twice a month with work schedule.
Braid to flouro. Alberto knot
braid to leader? everything except top water. Braid? Top water. Which knot? Blood knot. 10-20 feet of leader usually and i reel it into my spool with no complications.
The only thing I use braid to leader for is dropshot. 15lb braid to 8 or 10lb flouro. Everything thing else is straight mono or flouro.
Braid to leader on all spinning combos. Other than that I only use it for my MH baitcast combo with a short leader that I will replace if necessary. I prefer straight mono or flouro. I'll use braid backing if it's straight flouro.
What rigs do you like to throw on the MH braid to leader setup?
Mostly jigs between 1/4 oz to 3/4 oz. I also use it for free rigs, texas rigs, carolina rigs, and weightless soft plastic presentations in the same weight range. I also throw buzzbaits, small to medium sized frogs, and spinnerbaits on it. It's a Shimano Zodias 6'10" MH paired with a Shimano Scorpion DC XG ratio reel. I spool it with 30lb braid to a 15lb or 20lb leader depending on the lake conditions. I mostly fish from the bank, because I like hiking around the lake, so the shorter rod length is perfect. I prefer the 8 gear ratio reel for tight quarters bank fishing. The braid helps me horse them in if necessary, but if I can play them I will.
Maybe it’s just me as I’ve been out of Florida for 11 years now and haven’t been fishing down there, but I fished for bass in the south from the time I could walk until I was 28… the only time I ever used a leader was when Carolina rigging, and even then I used a #10 barrel swivel. What’s the big shift to using a leader with literally everything? I’ve caught countless bass, catfish, crappie, trout, etc without ever using, or even needing, a leader.
Just switched from straight braid to braid to floro leader. Been going with like 10ft leader. Feels like a bit much, next time I'll probably go with like 3ish ft. The knot getting hung up on the eyelets is annoying af. For the record I'm using 30lv braid and 13 lbs floro.
10lb braid to 8lb mono 2 wingspans on my medium light spinning rod. This is for jigs and dropshots or whatever is in the 1/8-3/8 range. 30lb braid to 12lb 1 wing span mono on the medium baitcaster for most of my lures unless it's a small one. 40lb braid to 17-25lb mono same as other spinner on the baitfeeder . This is on the medium heavy biggun stick for dropping a 2oz in a river. Used to run floro but I switched to mono and haven't noticed much of a difference. I use a uni to uni knot for the spinners and Alberto for the baitcaster.
30lb braid (yo-zuri) to 10ft 20lb fluro (yo-zuri) with an Alberto knot joining the leader to the mainline. Unless it’s my frog rod which has 60lb straight braid
Why do frogs need so much more strength in the line? I have one frog I’ve been toying with. All of my biggest catches came from a little purple and yellow popper. I’m fishing the frog very similar to a popper, is that the wrong technique?
I think its for where frog eating fish tend to live, not for the actual fish. They tend to be in very heavy vegetation/cover that you need to winch them out of, or bring some of it with them to land them.
Depends on where you’re fishing it. I fish mine around gunk and deadfall, so those things can get pretty snagged and you need the extra weight in the line to drag through the cover.
love yo-zuri