Mono leader in black water?

I long line troll the black water on the St. John's and adjoining lakes. I use 6 LB. green high vis line and catch plenty of fish with it, but I'm thinking about putting on a clear leader. Do any of you guys do this? and what do you use? thanks JC

For 2 years I used a flourocarbon leader longlining on Monroe and surrounding ares. Have not in years and see no difference

I agree with Huntinslabs -
Most of us use various colored lines - florocarbon as well as mono,
with 2 1/2 - 4 ft leader of clear mono or florocarbon ...
With stained water of most Florida lakes - streams & rivers -
I have not noticed that much difference.
I use the leader more for use with a swevel - keep the line from twisting
rolling up..........
I have seen guys use "power pro" and short leaders working brush piles............
No big difference.

Clear lakes (spring fed) you should change to a Florocarbon line..........

Let me back up just a tad. It certainly can not hurt. I stopped simply out of convenience. If I had twist problems and needed a swivel, I would use flourocarbon leader for drops. If it gives you a confidence boost then do it. I did just because of old habits in the salt. And as well as i have done so far this year I might try it again.

After many years of experimenting I settled on green tinted mono. Almost every water I fished was green tinted and as I was developing finesse presentations for finicky fish I arrived at the conclusion I was catching slightly more fish on the green tinted mono.Deep water made less difference than shallow. Most of the lakes I fish have developed significant grass beds.The fish spend a lot more time shallow now because of that grass and it played a major role in my testing.Also fishing spawning beds in shallow water.6lb rated also seemed to be the overall most effective too.This probably has more to do with the lure action when casting to fish though.

Essentially when I started catching fish in a hot spot I would switch up to see if it affected the catch rate...if I switched and they slowed or quit biting I switched back and if they picked right back up then I determined it did make a difference.Common sense right? This testing was not just for crappie but bass,bluegill,redear,sauger,walleye,etc.

I also use 20lb power pro braided green tinted.But If I tie it directly to the jig or hook catch rate goes way down. I use a leader with it of 18" to 3 ft of green tinted mono. I like Trilene easy cast and the older Spider wire super mono (lot of good mono's though,I like low memory). I did determine though there was little difference between 6 or 8 lb for the leader. 20lb power pro will cast a mile on a lite spinning rig and coupled with 8lb good mono and good knots is really strong but still very stealthy. The uni to uni knot is the only one I have found to go braid to mono and retain good break strength. This is an awesome setup even though leaders in general are a pain to some degree.YOU WILL straighten the hook many times rather than break off with this on hangups. And with good drag you can land BIG fish with this.But you can also pull some hooks because of the lack of stretch,hence good drag needed.

Surf fishing I think a flouro leader is helpful especially when you need to use a heavier leader for the teeth and abrasion associated with the surf and those fish.

But consider this....some guys use to use a drop rig with like 15lb main line and sinker on bottom and 50lb short clear mono droppers.The stiff 50lb made them stand off the main line essentially making a crappie bait rig without the wire.AND THEY CAUGHT FISH.Vertical deeper fishing is less critical much of the time,especially in murky muddy water. I think trolling is less critical too .

Trolling is so much about the depth and the way the lure runs agreed?

Your results may vary LOL

Thanks for info Doggone.......................could be very useful for some of us.
Like the idea of green tint..............
Mr. Crappie has a camo type green tint that seems to be pretty good - was told
that is same company that used to make the triple-tail line ....some good stuff
and very inexpensive vs vanish - power pro - trelene big boy line

Consider that line or leader choice is to be less visable to a fish. You can use a leader or main line to do this. This is to make a bait look more natural to a fish, what fish would believe their meal would have a string protrudeing out of its mouth going to someones rod or pole. Now to me even with no line attached a live minnow with a hook stuck through its mouth or eyes is not natural either or some creature looking thing with a silver or gold spinner flying by at 1.2 mph is not natural either. But they still attack it sometimes witth a vengence no matter what unnatural looking line is attached to that unnatural looking lure or bait.

After reading these posts I will stay with my high vis green. I didn't like the idea of a knot in my line anyway. I am going to put a bobber stop on the line about 2 foot up from the jig head to see if it will catch the silt from running straight to the jig. Sometimes I find myself steadily working front left to right pulling in and cleaning the silt off the jig. I'm heading down for 2 weeks starting 11/7. Thanks for the comments. JC

Alot of good insight on the subject, but the game changer for my double rig poles have been fluorocarbon off 3-way treble swivel....... switching from 6lb to 4lb= less tangles & better numbers...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Speck Detector

Alot of good insight on the subject, but the game changer for my double rig poles have been fluorocarbon off 3-way treble swivel....... switching from 6lb to 4lb= less tangles & better numbers...

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I really like the fluoro since I started using it this year. I bought 4lb test last year but too chicken to use it. Only on one reel. You're giving me a little more confidence... a little. lol

4# will work almost anywhere except Crescent (Late Nov - April)

Tried alot but cant seem to find any issues using Mr Crappie cheaper mono / camo. I do replace yearly, but at the price of that stuff its manageable x 16-18 assorted reels. usually 6 pound test.