Twisted Leaders?

[Sniper]

Hi all. This topics propably been brought up before but whats the easiest way to tie up twisted leaders and the advantages? Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks Sniper [smiley=rifle.gif] [smiley=rifle.gif] [smiley=rifle.gif] [smiley=rifle.gif]

[mackmauler]

You mean like the knotted dog ones in the shops? machines ???

[damons33]

its a way of getting heavy breaking strain without having extra line 2x 8kg = 16kg leader but i havent seen heaps of ppl using it, basically its like a twisted dropper loop paternoster rig! twist to ends into one another till u get the desired amount of twists the more twists the more shock absorbent it becomes and albright it to ure double/tippet/fly line or the connecting knot ure acustom to - i use the slim beauty doing this connection to braid. but really apart from not have the heavy leader on u i cant see its benifit as i like a minimum of stretch not extra! only i've bara guys and jiggers using it. i would be afraid it creates extra leader trail in the water for trolling or fly or top water lure ie fizzers/poppers. damon

[ferralflyer]

HI Sniper,a twisted leader is a way of tappering your leader to turn over your fly,quad,double,single,or double,single.To start e.g.take 3 full arm widths of mono or flurocarbon say 6KG,I go hand to chin for a tippet,fold the long end to this point ,find the middle of the double,then from that end start twistting it all the way down to the single strand,then tie a double surgans loop,then fold the double over to make a quad,the lenght of the quad should be the same as the double,then twist the quad down to the double and tie a double surgans again ,you should have a third quad,a third double and third single,twistting it between your finger and thumb is a chore,50%,25%,25%,is a better for allround performmance,for an easyer leader I use single strand 30,25,20,15,all loop to loop,the twistted leader will have more stretch but that not allways good for setting hooks,have a go and find what works for you. also not all monos and flurocarbon twist well,Cheers

[Maxg]

Basically one ties a 100 twist bimini to produce a double, about 6 feet long, then one twists the double about 200/300 times using a drill, then one doubles it and ties a double surgeons knot just above the Bimini. There are other methods of getting it to furl so that the twists don't unravel on you. Then on the standing single line you tie a 45 twist bimini allowing a tippet length of about 16/20 inches. Then you have a furled butt, to a big bimini to the tippet and then to a 40 twist bimini to the shocker, usually, in my case, single strand 40lb wire.
If you are using negative stretch systems you need a buffer, so the twisty leader gives you that by stretching a fair bit under shock loads. Mostly these things are used with LC head systems, or thin low stretch heads.
Most pelagic fish are blue/green dichromats, in other words two colour vision they mostly don't see red. There is no red in the deep blue ocean, and the fish tested like MahiMahi don't have a red cone in their retina.
They probably don't see leaders very well and if lines etc would put them off they would never take lures etc hung off game fishing gear. Its about 1000 times more visable than a simple small fly leader system.
Max

[Sniper]

Thanks all. Sounds complicated but probably knot when you give it a go. Taken ll coments on board and gonna give a shot. See if I can totally stuff things up again. lol Well, back to watching the Lions kick some Swan butt. Go the Lions
Cheers
Bill [smiley=rifle.gif] [smiley=rifle.gif] [smiley=rifle.gif]

[Harry_In_Toowoomba]

Sniper, i've used twisted taper leaders for about 2 & 1/2 years now successfully. It's a good way to get your weighted clousers and vampires etc sinking at about the same rate as a sinking line. ie, it reduces the size of the belly that occurs as the lot sinks, thereby increasing your contact with the business end.

A couple of things with them. They're better tied with heavier/denser lines such as flourocarbon. (this may also make the leader less visible, but i won't start another discussion on that one). They should be tied up with a 4-5 loop surgeons knot to maintain knot integrity. a lot of failures will occur on good sized fish with a 2 or even a 3 loop surgeons knot.(my experience and opinion only).

As someone else said, a 50%, 25%, 25% ratio is appropriate for most applications ie, 1.5 mtrs of 4 strands , .75 mtrs of 2 strands, .75mtrs of single strand or "tippet".

If you've not seen any, yell out & i'll send you a couple in 14lbs BS in the mail to try out. Just drop me a PM with your mailing address.

Cheers,
"Harry"