Tell me about leaders

[dnej]

At what time do you use leaders ( type of fishing) , and the reason behind their use. I am very old school, and know about the use of traces, and the use of heavy line in certain circumstances.

Any one want to have a go of explaining
Regards David

[Platitudinus]

Hi David;
I'm old school as well - buts lets start somewhere:
1. Leaders used in Surfcasting have been around for years and tend to be shock leaders - about 8m of heavy line to guard against breakage when making long casts from the shore.
2. Mono or fluoro carbon leaders are necessary when fishing with braid as they are more transparent to the fish - having scuba dived I can tell you that braid is so easy to see in depths of up to 35m that a 5-10m length of leader on the end of braid will ceratinly help.
3. Braid fishermen get very sensitive bites but also use leaders of mono when fishing over reefs/wrecks etc that can cut braid very easily. Imagine using a 2m leader off braid when floatlining - you would still have 5m or so of braid in the reef or floating very close.
4. Because mono is so thick, most leaders are now made of fluoro carbon and generally the supple variety. You can combine a leader off braid of say 5+ m of mon and then use a short 1m FC leader in your terminal rigs. This way you can change rigs/weights etc quickly without messing about with the long length of mono at the end of your braid. It is also cheaper to use part mono as well.
5. Double leaders are used in IGFA fishing and the length and type is regulated to facilitate handling offish close to the boat etc. Lure fisherment also use doubles for similar reasons.

Anyway - thats a start and i'm sure lots of people have different reasons/uses as well. I also use FC leaders of up to 2m when fishing all mono as the lower visibility can only help!
Cheers
Plato

[Platitudinus]

Heres a few more to add to the list:
1. Use a light leader off heavier line if the fish are finicky - many people carry spare spools/reels but you can still fish say 50lb braid with a 15lb leader of mono at the end so the fish dont see the terminal tackle so easily. It also helps in floatlining (sometimes) to use a thicker line to 'bow out' more easily from the boat in the current before hitting the bottom. This gives you a bottom bounce effect until the angle from the boat equalises with the weight used e.g. in 50m of water, normal floatlining may require you to use 80-100m of line to hit bottom. If you 'bow out' by casting uptide you may have 130m+ of line out but the weight is still just coming under the boat. You then tighten up and let the weight 'walk' the bottom until you feel it.
2. Use a heavier leader (compared to main line strength) if you are worried about a) loss of line strength through knots on the terminal gear b) bottom reef cutting a weaker leader c) toothy critters e.g leatherjackets
3. Think of the analogy of fly fishing - here the leader on the end of the floating/sinking line is used to present the fly as naturally as possible. Use the lightest leader (v the fish sought) you can get away with for sea fishing as well!
Anyone else got any thoughts?
Cheers
Plato

[tunaticer]

Two qualities of leaders that are pretty much universal. Less visible than braid and they handle abrasions under load a lot better than braids.

Another feature some braids have is they are stiff for specific applications where tangles might be problematic.

Leaders also tend to tie more easily and are less inclined to slip than braids in some brands or knot types.

Personally I used to use a section of the mono main line for a leader, these days I reach for a length of Nitlon DFC instead.

[dnej]

1. Use a light leader off heavier line if the fish are finicky - many people carry spare spools/reels but you can still fish say 50lb braid with a 15lb leader of mono at the end so the fish dont see the terminal tackle so easily. It also helps in floatlining (sometimes) to use a thicker line to 'bow out' more easily from the boat in the current before hitting the bottom. This gives you a bottom bounce effect until the angle from the boat equalises with the weight used e.g. in 50m of water, normal floatlining may require you to use 80-100m of line to hit bottom. If you 'bow out' by casting uptide you may have 130m+ of line out but the weight is still just coming under the boat. You then tighten up and let the weight 'walk' the bottom until you feel it

OK so this is where I would just use a 50lb line, but it would work differently. I assumed must leaders were heavier breaking strain line. I understand the braid issue., and the clarity problem.

The concept quite amazes me, apart from the braid. This is good information by the way.
David

[Platitudinus]

Hey David;
Try googling up Fluoro Carbon line/leaders and you will discover lots of products such as Jinkai, Momoi, Ande, Berkley etc. Each hit on google can add information for you.
Cheers
Plato

[dnej]

When we went mooching for Salmon half the team rigged up with Trilene Big Game 20lb and mono leaders, while MP and I rigged up 4 ft. Seaguar leaders. The leaders were connected to our main line via a swivel. By the end of the day both MP and I had fish, while only one of the other guys had landed a fish. The interesting thing was that we had twice as many hits as the other 2 guys who rigged mono leaders to their anchovies. Salmon have pretty good eyesight, and it was no surprise to us that the baits that had Seaguar leader were more often hit. Because Seaguar is near invisible it is ok to go higher on your line weight. This is important if you are fishing for huge Salmon, or Albacore, as it allows anglers to use normally hi-vis lines like braided or fused varieties and still present a lifelike bait with a long thick leader. The charter boats we go out on always use some type of leader, and experienced deck hands claimed that at times even a foot of Seaguar can make the difference between getting hit and being ignored by finicky fish. So for this test we would have to say that Seaguar performed well, and did give us that extra edge over line-shy Salmon.

I cut and pasted that from one of the sites when i Googled. Interesting, I always thought of the leader being a heavier line, so it depends on why you are using a leader. For example on a reef structure.
Good stuff
David

[trueblue]

Hi David

I usually use lighter leader than my main line braid. This way in 90+% of cases, if I snag the bottom the leader will break instead of the main line and I get all of my braid line back. (ie, 80 lb braid with 50 lb flurocarbon leader)

I also find that by tying a single overhand (granny knot) just above the sinker dropper on a paternoster, that it will invariably break off on that little knot and I get my paternoster back and I just have to tie on a new sinker loop

cheers

Mick

[dnej]

What is leader line?

Before we start, I should explain that leader line is a length of fishing line which is attached to your main fishing line…it’s the line which will end up being tied to your lure.
Typically, true leader line is normally a bit “stiffer’ than regular fishing line…some leader lines are even flat, instead of round. However, any fishing line can be used as a leader line.
When should I use leader line?

There are a few different scenarios where you will want to use a leader line. For example, if your main spool of line is spooled up with monofilament fishing line, then you may want to tie on a fluorocarbon leader.
The fluorocarbon leader is virtually invisible to fish, which will help you get more hits. Fluorocarbon line is also very abrasion resistant, so it will take more abuse if you are fishing rough structure, and save your main spool of line from the wear and tear.
Or, you may simply want to tie on a monofilament leader to your main spool of monofilament line. In this case, perhaps your main fishing line on your spool is 12 lb. test monofilament and you may want to tie on 6 lb. test monofilament as a leader line.
The 12 lb. test monofilament is a thicker line and it will serve as a strong main line – where as the 6 lb. test monofilament line will be less visible to fish and will help you get more hits!
Another scenario is that you may want to tie a monofilament or fluorocarbon leader on to your main spool of braided fishing line. In this case, the monofilament line or the fluorocarbon line would both be less visible to the fish than the braided line.
Because braided line is so visible, as a general rule, it is always preferred to use a leader line with braid. If your main spool of line is monofilament line or fluorocarbon line, then a leader line is optional.
Summary

In any case, the most popular reasons to use a leader line are because you want a line which is less visible to fish – and/or a line which is more abrasion resistant. Other reasons could include the fact that you may want a stronger line as a leader, but these cases are rare.
Leader line – use it when you can & I’m sure this will put you on to more fish!
Until next time, good luck & good fishin’!
Ivo

Another cut and paste confirming the Ausfish posts. Thanks David

[trueblue]

I also use flurocarbon leader for all my fishing, now that it can be purchased locally and for much less cost than ordinary mono leaders.

cheers

Mick

[Cheech]

Hi David

I usually use lighter leader than my main line braid. This way in 90+% of cases, if I snag the bottom the leader will break instead of the main line and I get all of my braid line back. (ie, 80 lb braid with 50 lb flurocarbon leader)

I also find that by tying a single overhand (granny knot) just above the sinker dropper on a paternoster, that it will invariably break off on that little knot and I get my paternoster back and I just have to tie on a new sinker loop

cheers

Mick

Good idea about the knot on the paternoster. Thanks.

[dnej]

1. Leaders used in Surfcasting have been around for years and tend to be shock leaders - about 8m of heavy line to guard against breakage when making long casts from the shore.

Plato, what method of joining is used in the instance above. Does it interfere with the runners.
David

[Platitudinus]

Hi David;
I have used a double blood knot but reckon a uni knot would also be good for surfcasting. I haven't done any beach fishing for years so wouldn't know what is the modern trend. My old surfcaster was used to chucking out 4-6oz weights a long way and I had good sized rings all through.
Sorry - perhaps someone else has an idea?
Cheers
Plato

[dnej]

Plato, the term is called a shock leader. Here is alink to some knots to use.
David
http://www.stripers247.com/shock-leader-knot.php

[TheRealAndy]

Real gentlemen call them tippets