leader for braid?

[ice-nut]

I am going to use braided line for bass.should I use a flouracarbon leader for braid or should I tie directly to the braid? thinking of using 12 pound flouracarbon leader.

[fishinjohn]

I am going to use braided line for bass.should I use a flouracarbon leader for braid or should I tie directly to the braid? thinking of using 12 pound flouracarbon leader.

I fish for walleye pretty much exclusively.. I run 10 lb power pro on my jigging/casting rods with a small barrel swivel with 10lb flourocarbon leader. I run same scenario on my trolling rods, 20lb power pro with a 17lb flouro leader

[boondox]

depends on the line i use to use that white berkley stuff that cast ultra far and fish would ignore it then switch to a pale green and caught more fish switched to mono and caught more yet... so i would say for sure use a leader that was for small and large mouth bass while using bait for them...they get a good look at the bait so that should tell you some thing...    

[stripernut]

I have posted before;
I use braid all the time, salt, fresh. I still use mono for trout fishing brooks (mostly casting Roostertails), but most everything else is braid. Striper fishing I use a Seaguar fluorocarbon leader 40lb, I know I get more hits using a fluorocarbon leader and it gives me something to grab. For most of my fresh water bass fishing I use the short leader with the Sampo, 20-30 floro. I only use about 2 feet of leader with a Sampo Ball Bearing Swivel between, line and leader.  Fishing bass in the slop, I tie direct. Offshore fishing I use wind-on leaders (a VERY cool connection). I also like how cheap braid is, in the long run, I get many years out of it. Most of the time I use Cortland's Master Braid or Power Pro, I have a outfit with Power Pro's Slick line, for casting distances from shore, it works, but I am not that impressed... For connecting leaders to line; on the braid side I tie a Bimini Twist (stronger than the line itself) and loop on the swivel. For the  leader to swivel I use a Palomar knot. When I tie direct to the braid I use a Double Palomar. Keep in mind the Spectra lines are rated (the pound test on the box) by what the average anglers knots are expected to hold at, not at the real breaking strength of the line... It breaks much higher! Learn to tie the right knots and your line will hold stronger than rated...
Many anglers are happy with using a knot to tie a leader to braid, but for me it is a weakness I don't need to add or want to add, between me and the fish I hook...

[3300]

i use a home made black vinyl cover stainless steel wire leader materiel (bought in bulk spool) and snap lock and cabelas or sampoo ball bearing swivels. on the power pro 20# line i use, i cut a slit with a sharp razor blade into a jumbo maker but not all of the way down to the metal barrel. i use the marker to stain the green braid line to all black. just push the marker onto the line and rub slowly a few times all of the way up to where you release the line on an open face reel or about 6 foot.

should you use a leader? i would say no if using a 20# braid, but thats if you can keep the pike off the bait and if you are always cranking the bait in. i found i can not keep the pike off so i use the home made leader. i mainly use horny toads and beetle spin jigs. horny toads i swim top side so they don't see any line any way.

don't forget to use some junk mono as a filler to keep the braid from spinning on your spool and save some loot. reverse it when it gets worn out. i tie into the mono in case i get a "runner".
and i use a product called reel magic. its supposed to help water proof the line. what ever they use on it when its manufactured is not let known.

[panfishman13]

i always use a leader these days, i usually use 40 lb spiderwire stealth, and give it an 8-10 lb flouro leader with a swivel in between. i fish for bass, carp, and catfish with this; same setup in a lighter poundage for panfish.

[IllynPayne]

I've always heard that a flouro lead is best.  Is the swivel really necessary or is it possible to get by with a barrel or nail knot?

[stripernut]

Is the swivel really necessary or is it possible to get by with a barrel or nail knot?

I have posted before;
"If you are going to use a swivel then the best one to use is a Sampo Ball Bearing Swivel (black). Almost all swivels do not turn under torque, Sampo ( and Spro) is one of the very few that do. Yes they cost more, but none of the other work at all, so the money spent on others is a complete waste.
It always makes me laugh when I look at a wall of swivels in a tackle shop and almost all of them are only good as a sliding weight stopper. Don't take my word for it, hang some (small) weights on a line with a swivel tied in the middle and give the weight a spin. In almost every case you will find that the whole line spins and the swivel never breaks free and lets the lower section spin by its self. With a Sampo the lower section will spin. Barrel swivels should not even be called swivels in my book. They just don’t have the low friction needed to keep the line from spinning. Keep in mind just how easy it is to spin a line and how a swivel needs to be very near to friction free to actual to work. That is why most don’t work!"

As to joining with knots, many are happy with going that system, but in the end I find a swivel is a stronger connection. If I want a longer leader then I go with a "Wind-on" very strong connection... If you do go with using a knot, don't use a nail knot for braid to anything, there are much stronger knots...

[jibbs]

Depends on what lures you are throwing...top water baits you can go right to the lure as well as jigs...even though I use flourocarbon ..however crankbaits I would put flourocarbon ...shakey heads, drop shot and carolina rigs I use leaders but that seems standard set up

[IFF]

I use braid main line with swivel, and tie floro leader to the swivel first with a palomar knot, then the swivel to main also with palomar.

[slipperybob]

Depends on what I'm fishing for and most of the time, it's a mono for a leader. 

[jopes]

I fished mono for decades, then started using fireline.  It was ok on super murky waters.  But on clearer water I started tieing a 10# leader on the fireline.   

I use the Alberto knot and it is stupid strong.  Youtube has videos of it. 

[Walnut109]

Lots of good info above, with presentation and water clarity being the key components.  I have been tying topwaters and cranks directly to the superlines since they came out.   I also use mono and fluorocarbon depending on the water conditions and species. 

[Jethro]

I am going to use braided line for bass.should I use a flouracarbon leader for braid or should I tie directly to the braid? thinking of using 12 pound flouracarbon leader.

I started running braid on my bass fishing rigs a few years ago. I quickly learned how strong that braid is. I use a leader almost exclusively so it will break off if I get horribly snagged. If you fish moving water at all, like a river (I often do) then keep a sharp knife handy if you choose not to tie a leader.