Fishing Leaders & Why YOU Need to Use Them 

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@@FishingwithNat thank you for the playlist. I'm gonna binge watch everything you recorded. Your videos are a goldmine for fishing advice. I ordered just 15, yes just 15 quid worth of accessories for my kit rod instead of spending around a 100 in the fishing store because before I didn't know what I'd really needed. Damn man, your videos are so good. I don't know how to express my gratitude for your channel. Top class. Who knew starting fishing can be so easy!

@@papiezguwniak I really appreciate the feedback and I'm glad my videos have been so helpful to you. Good luck fishing!

​@@FishingwithNatI heard a story once down here in Texas,someone needed a piece of chain with a meat hook to catch a 90lb. catfish.

@@galvinstanley3235 That's a heck of a strong leader! I'd probably reach for some 100lb braid to 100lb mono/fluoro leader instead though.

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Exactly my thoughts. This channel made me actually decide on what I need to start fishing. I was still unsure after a month of watching other videos for advice until this guy explained everything so simply and clearly. What a gem!

@@papiezguwniak Thanks

I have fished different techniques a lot for 13 years and this was still useful information

Thank you and I appreciate your feedback

Yeah a leader knot can skip along your guides. It can impact your casting distance and just be downright annoying. A longer leader is great for trolling when you don't have to keep passing it through your guides, or if you're fishing really clear water and you're confident that you need the line to be as invisible as possible for many feet away from the lure.

Awesome - glad I could help. Thanks for the feedback.

👍

Glad I could help

It really depends on how much abrasion resistance you need from your leader. If you're fishing around lots of rocks or toothy fish, you might want to bump up the weight of your leader to help with that. If I'm fishing open water or for non-toothy fish, I usually have a leader of equal weight to my main line.

I'm glad you learned something! Thanks for the comment.

I'm glad you enjoy my videos. Thanks for the feedback.

Interesting - thanks for sharing. How heavy was the braid?

@@FishingwithNat I believe 8lb. It was attached to one of thoes steel braded trout rigs from Walmart

Good stuff. Thanks for sharing.

100%, FG makes a huge difference in smooth casting.

Great - thanks for the comment.

Perfect - thanks for the comment.

@@FishingwithNat your welcome

Steel leaders are good for toothy fish like pike and muskies. Pre-tied fluoro leaders are good for all kinds of things and are certainly convenient.

@@FishingwithNat Yeah but steel ones immediately bend out of shape and become a bit of a hassle. And it can be difficult to find the right leader. I'm kind of particular. lol

@@codster9 I agree. Bent/kinked steel leaders are annoying.

Awesome. Good luck fishing!

Thanks

That's how most of my spinning combos (and baitcasters) are set up

Thanks for the feedback. I'm glad it was useful to you!

Thanks for the comment

Thanks for the discussion. I am skeptical of the invisibility claims as well. I made this video last year to examine the difference between fluoro and mono underwater ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-vMNuKp-RNEs.html

You forgot how brittle FC can get and how more often than not snaps in casting due to losing its strenght and flexibility, once its damaged. Mono is the best, just have to find very oily, and very soft one, so knots can slide tight and nicely. I know a guy that is fishing only with mono in crimping tandem with very short wire leader. Unless the fish snagged the lure in the getaway, he never lost a fish. His weakest system never goes under 20 pounds mono. We once went light trolling for small bluefish, leerfish, bonitos and tunny and we didnt find any, but on the way back thru channel he left his gear in sea and hooked 12kg amberjack on his lightest system. If any of us hooked it, it would be waste of time. He is using smaller reel with less line cuz he will tire the fish very fast and she wont drag out so much.

Thank you - I appreciate the comment

Thanks

That's a good point and good discussion. I certainly agree that a fish's lateral line will detect that there is a lure vibrating and displacing water nearby. But I think a fish will often make a conscious decision based on appearance of whether or not to strike a bait. This is likely impacted by how hungry the fish is too. More hungry = more willing to strike just about anything that could be food. You can see this concept in action by tossing small pebbles near a school of bluegills or bass. The fish will detect a pebble as it breaks the surface and falls through the water, and many of the fish will rush over to see it. Most will stop short as they see the pebble and realize that it isn't food. A few might bite the pebble and quickly spit it out. If you keep tossing pebbles by these fish, eventually none of them will bite them. Their vision, not their lateral line, is telling them that it isn't food and they shouldn't bite it. I will continue using less-visible leaders because I do think that fish use their sight to make a final decision of whether to bite a lure. The lateral line system gets them close and then they rely on other senses (smell or taste in some species) to make a decision. I have caught fish on straight braid to a lure before, I've caught fish on bare hooks, and I've caught predator fish on chunks of bread. So it certainly happens that fish strike baits due to predatory instinct or maybe their intense hunger caused them to disregard their other senses that normally help them discern food vs. non-food.

@@FishingwithNat I'm not knocking anyone for leaders and I'm a huge fan of doing anything that you think will result in more success. I'm not trying to get anyone to stop using leaders. I can't even make the claim that I don't use leaders at all because I still tie snells and use wire when I'm too much of a coward about losing a favorite topwater lure. At the end of the day I think fish are way more instinct driven than we think they are and way less cognitive than we tend to give them credit for. Even if the visibility of a leader meant absolutely nothing I doubt it'd hurt in any way if it was harder to see. Ultimately I guess I'm just getting revved up about pretty much nothing. 😂

@@danorris5235 I agree - I don't think it would hurt anything. There certainly are drawbacks, like the extra time spent tying leaders and the extra expense of the leader line.

Thanks - I appreciate it.

Thanks - I really appreciate the feedback. The best advice I have for keeping your bait and weight from tangling is to cast in a very smooth motion. The jerkier your cast, the more the weight and bait will spin during the cast and potentially tangle with each other. Even with the best of casts, you'll still occasionally get a tangle because the weight is always going to fly faster than the lighter bait and that puts your bait close to your main line.

Thanks - I appreciate the comment 🙂

Yes, a cheap rod with some worms will catch fish all day long!

Thanks - I'm glad you enjoyed the video

Thanks - I appreciate it

Thanks for the comment. From my experience with the fluoro and mono lines I've used, I believe the fluoro has held up better against abrasion. It's the main reason I continue to use fluoro, but I agree that it's not a big difference and I'm not sure whether I'll replace the fluoro when it's gone or just stick with a variety of mono weights for leaders.

Probably not but in really clear water, it might turn a few fish off. A longer leader to position the swivel clip / snap swivel a bit further away may help with that.

Glad it was helpful to you!

Happy to help!

Interesting. Thanks for sharing.

You’re welcome...thanks for the feedback!

Thick fluoro

Fluorocarbon is best. Thick monofilament will work too but you can get more abrasion resistance from fluoro compared to the same diameter monofilament.

i still dont see a big difference between mono and flouro just more expensive and a bit faster sinking which u can add weight .. @@neonwhitea.1548

Wire is best, tieable wire tied into the main (FG or Alberto knot) line is the best option for wire. If a swivel is needed, tie it in at the end.

Swivels and snaps/clips can be very useful and sometimes essential. Check out my video on Fishing Snaps and Clips: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-RM-mmBS_yO4.html and the one on The Best Way to Attach a Lure to see how different approaches affect lure performance underwater: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-mRShF5tYMDo.html

@@FishingwithNat Thank you so much!

Me too

The idea is that braid will potentially cut through lily pads. Braid is best for fishing in heavy pads because it is very strong and has no stretch, so you can horse a big fish out of there quickly before it wraps you up.

@@FishingwithNat so if I am fishing lily pads then I shouldn’t use a leader?

@@nessfittraining9679 I still use a short leader in heavy pads because there are a lot of pike and musky here and a lot of my local lakes are pretty clear. But many people run straight braid to their lures when fishing in heavy cover.

Braid is extremely strong with a thin diameter. 20lb braid has the equivalent diameter of 6lb mono, so it can cast a ton farther than 20lb mono, you can have more line on your spool, and it has much less memory. Check out my video on types of fishing lines ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-4OWs0s8PYUQ.html . 20lb or 30lb braid with a mono/fluoro leader would be good for stripers.

15lb would be balanced, but you can use a heavier leader for more abrasion/teeth resistance if you're fishing around rocks or toothy fish like pike. If you're finesse fishing for bass, you might want to go with 8 or 10lb fluoro for less visibility.

@@FishingwithNat Ah I see. I am planning to use it on a 7 foot, medium fast spinning rod for general use (no specific techniques in mind). Sounds like anything in the 10-15lb would work aside from the other conditions you mentioned that would require a stronger line. Thanks for the reply and videos, they are always really helpful!

@@hiphip808 I would agree. Keep in mind that your setup is only as strong as your weakest link, so a 10lb leader will eliminate the extra strength of your 15lb line. But 15lb braid is a good all-around weight that allows you to fish a lot of different baits/techniques for a variety of fish, and adjust leader weights as needed.

Glad you enjoyed it - thanks for the comment

Right

LMFAO! Fish are caught on alabama rigs with tons of gear visible. Suggesting that fish can not only see the line, but also understands what the line is, utter BS!!! Total BS video.

@@marcuslinton310 Video is ok, i did not bash the video. Im bashing humans that generally in fishing overthink things abnormally. Point of my comment is, fish sees everything and fish does not only bite when its hungry. Most of times, fish bites cuz its irritated, or its defending its teritory, or its just inspecting the gear. If fish was leading a hungry life it wouldnt be fat and it surely wouldnt be in high numbers thriving. I am saltwater fisherman with decades of observation. Now, these facts can differ for freshwater fish, i can not deny that. What is your personal experience ?

I like Berkley Big Game monofilament for leaders or Seaguar fluorocarbons. My YoZuri fluorocarbon is more flexible but I think it gets cut more easily too. Berkley Big Game alnk.to/aLIvAmJ Seaguar blue label fluorocarbon alnk.to/btnxgHL

haha thanks

It's all about doing what you can to preserve the natural appearance of the bait to the extent that you can. The hooks, split rings, and plastic lip on a crankbait are all very visible and unnatural, but a predator sees variation in its prey all the time - different shapes, sizes, colors, body parts. I think a highly visible line pulling the bait is more suspicious than the hardware attached to the bait, but only the fish really knows whether it cares at all. I think it likely depends a lot on the water clarity, time of day, and species of fish.

You're welcome

If you're topwater fishing where there are pike, bowfin, musky, or snakehead, I would definitely suggest using a leader. Just 4-6 inches is usually enough - you just want to keep those sharp teeth away from your main line.

@@FishingwithNat thanks

Did you mean gear list?

You're welcome. I hope you enjoyed the video.

You can use a fluorocarbon main line to fill the entire spool but it's very expensive and tends to have a lot of line memory. It likes to jump off of the spool and cause big tangles. You're better off with a braided main line and a short section of fluoro/mono leader.

Thanks and good luck fishing!

It would make sense to keep the line strength consistent throughout. You can also choose to use a thicker leader for more abrasion resistance with teeth, rocks, or shells.

I use 30-50lb fluoro for muskies pretty often on a medium power rod. With a lighter setup like that, there isn't as much tension on the line and the leader is not as prone to get sliced. But if I'm casting for really big muskies, I will go to a 12" steel or titanium leader. Those big ones will even slice through 100lb mono. Steel or titanium is pretty much the only option.

I'll use the steel leader on a heavy power rod with 50lb braid.

They don't know what fishing line is, but they may find it suspicious, especially in clear water or on heavily fished waters.

LMFAO! Fish are caught on alabama rigs with tons of gear visible. Suggesting that fish can not only see the line, but also understands what the line is, utter BS!!! Total BS video.

I'm glad you enjoy my end screen. :)

You could but fluorocarbon is very expensive and can be hard to cast. The diameter of braid is about 1/3 of fluorocarbon of the same weight. Check out my quick video on the types of fishing lines and when/why to use them ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-4OWs0s8PYUQ.html

Thanks

@@FishingwithNat have a good one! I’m just starting and your videos have helped me tons!

@@FishingwithNat thank you for taking the time to reply

@@sollara505 Awesome - thanks for the feedback! Good luck fishing.

Yep, catch you then! 🙂

Thanks for watching