The Vanish Theory

[Flattie Assassin]

Ok guys, who out there can give me the lowdown on flourocarbon leaders. I have purchased two spools of Vanish leader in 6pd and 8 pd. To be used with 6pd and 8pd fireline flicking sp's.

Q1.. Have i wasted my money?? I have done a search and found what a few of you guys are using, and it's got me wondering, if i'm making a wise choice. I have read in a few posts that vanish seems to break a bit. Is this a physical line fault?, or more likely caused by the knot that has been used? Can anyone who has had some experience with vanish put my fears to rest?

Q2.. I'm using a 5 turn surgeons knot to attach the leader? is this a safe bet? Or would you prefer an albright in this situation?.

Q3.. Also my leader is about 1.5 mt long. Is the small knot going to affect my casting distance/accuracy?


I've had a few bits of advice, ranging from using just the 6 pd fireline with no leader, to having a swivel.. what the...
I guess i'm just looking for a setup that i can be confident about. Any help would be much appreciated.


Merrick

[imnotoriginal]

Vanish still works mate, it's not the best of the fluorocarbons but I found it to be pretty tough. I personally used it for barra at the barra park and found it survived pretty well on their gills. I use the stren knot to attach my fluoro leader and vary the length of the leader depending on my conditions. Unless I'm expecting to be constantly retying hooks cause of leader wear (e.g. barra or flathead fishing) I keep mine down to 2-3 feet. Good luck with it mate.
Joel

[tunaticer]

Vanish is a decent line as such, it handles barasion quite well and its knot strength is quite good. I think you may be comparing the Vanish to a leader material tho. Two different ball parks. Leader materials are usually stiffer than main lines and very abrasion resistant and quite commonly not the best knot takers esp in heavier thicknesses. The Vanish will do as a leader quite well but it wont be as good at that application as something like Nitlon PE. I use both nitlon and vanish regularly. If I am fishing for bream on 4lb fireline and using small soft plastics i will use vanish, if im chasing snapper on 6lb fireline I will use the nitlon.

As for the knots i use a variation of an albright for leader to fireline and another knot ive never seen described for the terminal end.

Generally for clear waters i use up to 3m of flourocarbon leader. In discoloured waters I use about 1.5m of leader. In deadset dirty water I do not use a leader at all.

For harbody fishing for flathead or tailor or tuna or mackeral I do not use a leader as a rule. Fireline straight to a snap swivel.

Jack.

[Tangles]

Brands, what a mine field, been there myself, ive tried a few different brands of braid (like Fireline Cystal etc) and leader ( Yamatoyo etc ) but recently got put onto Sunline stuff, both braid and leader, reckon its brilliant stuff especially their lighter braid,

but i reckon use what youve got, as for knots well I stick to the plain old vanilla uni/uni and never had problems yet .. and i can tie it

Also knot to jighead, try the perfection loop or Homer Rhode Loop, and what Tuna said about leader lengths

thats my 2 cents
mike

[Flattie Assassin]

Thanks very much guys. Cleared a few things up for me... cheers.

[Little grey men]

Depends on where you are fishing. I always use @ 2m of leader because I fish in the nastiest snags I can find. I'm using 20lb FC Rock and I'm finding it as tough as old boots. I hooked onto a pretty good snag on the weekend and started to pull a descent sized log off the bottom of the river. ( I hate cutting my line and leaving it in the water, and I had some pretty strong feelings for my little team diawa spinnerbait, I really wanted to take it home with me rather than have it embedded in an old piece of gum tree at the bottom of the river for the fish to laugh at )
As you said, you want to have confidence in your gear. If you have any doubts upgrade until you are happy.
In regards to the knot running through your guides, I use an improved albright because it has a cylindrical shape, which makes sense to me when it has to fly through the end guide of a little baitcaster. I've never had this knot fail, I just tie it carefully and test it well. There are probably better knots out there, but I know how to tie this one with my eyes closed, which is important when your out fishing and swatting mozzies and not quietly sitting at your kitchen table practising all different combinations.
With the setup that I'm using I feel quite confident that only the biggest, grumpiest fish will dust me.

[Timfishin4fun]

Yep the fc rock for me

[NAGG]

Vanish is OK as a main ... but not really leader material. As far as knots go ... I use either a Improved Albright or Braid leader knot for heavy leaders. I also try to smooth over the knots with a drop of Sellys Kwik Grip ( let it dry for 5 mins & roll it between the fingers to taper it out) .... Best done the day before ..... Nagg