Primarily vertical jigging brush piles in fairly clear water. Some casting/pendulum over brush. Question is, when using braid, is a leader needed?
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Primarily vertical jigging brush piles in fairly clear water. Some casting/pendulum over brush. Question is, when using braid, is a leader needed?
I have limited experience with braid for casting methods ... but, I have used it & caught fish with it while tied directly to the jig. Now, those occasions were not in "gin clear" water, but stained water of certain KY & Tenn lakes. I'd estimate the water clarity was such that a chartreuse jig could be seen down to no more than 2ft at the clearest condition. And the braid I was using is PowerPro 10/2 High Vis.
If you "think" it's going to be a factor in your "fairly clear water" lake .... then it's likely to be a factor. That's that "confidence factor" showing up. :twocents
I always use a leader, there's enough other things that affect these fish NOT biting so anything as simple as using a leader I'll happily tie one on to remove that doubt....
I believe your concern is due to water clarity and the spooking of fish if using straight braid. I use braid exclusively, with a fluorocarbon leader. Not for the invisibility factor, but more for abrasion resistance. Braid doesn't do well when rubbed up against cover and/or fish teeth. Fluoro is far superior in that area, which is why I use a 3' - 4' leader ahead of my braid. This way, I can better determine when abrasion has started and snip off an inch or two and retie. JMO. :)
I don't braid fish much , but when I do I don't use leader rotfl
I prefer a leader, only to change out a pretied setup.
I use 10/2 yellow and strike the last 15 or so inches with a black sharpie. I just fished that in some light stain water last week. I'm satisfied with that. I've been watching Kevin Rodgers and Todd Huckabee last couple of days on youtube and from what I see and hear, they don't use leaders. They use 15 lb braid mostly but they search for dirty water if they can find it. Kevin uses white line. They vertical jig mainly and they use a lot of 1/4 oz. jigs as well. Hope this helps.
I use braid exclusively, no leader. The braid i use is not high vis.
To me it is a sweet & sour thing. I believe that in very clear water (as cp said) the braid can look like anchor rope underwater. I love braid but I choose not to use a leader with it. My reasoning is that it is just 1 or 2 extra knots that could be the weakest link. If I feel that braid is not the line to use I simply switch over to a reel that has mono. No leader or extra knots required. Just my thought process.
Pretty much my way of thinking, too !! I've caught Crappie on clear/blu mono, hi-vis mono in 3 different colors, red mono, green mono, black nylon, multicolored nylon, white braid w/green stripes, grey braid, & hi-vis braid, and don't remember using a leader on any of them except the white braid w/green stripes (Cortland 17# test) and grey braid (Spiderwire 20# test). My point being .... fish ain't always "line shy" or spooked by colored line.Quote:
Originally Posted by silverside
I fish braid sometimes for crappie cast and retrieve......2# test braid. I fish waters that are very clear and rocky, and I use 2# test FC leader. But the leader is serving 3 purposes. One is for the invisibility factor.....abrasion resistance, and the last is for a shock leader. Using true 2# test braid with no stretch and you hook into a bigger fish or even a 2 pound crappie something has to give.....and a slight rub on a rock with 2# test braid and it is goodbye fish. This has worked very well for me for a lot of years. I’m been by your home lake many times when trout fishing the White River. Looks like a lake that needs FC leader to me.
Regards
Sent from my iPad using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app
I am the same way. The fewer knots between me and the fish the better.Quote:
Originally Posted by silverside
I go back and forth. I'm convinced I get a few more bites with a floro leader. On the other hand, I break off a lot and a good portion of the time I lose the leader and have to retie the whole thing. Depending on where I'm fishing I think the extra time I spend re-tying the leader cancels out the extra bites I might get.
Main reason I use braid. You stay hung up shooting docks. With braid I can bend out the hook and pull free. Beand the hook back and I am fishing again. Took a coworker with me last weekend. He broke off and retied 10 to 15 times. It seemed like he spent more time trying on new jig heads than he did fishing. Added bonus is a big catfish or bass can be wrestled away from the dock and fought in open water. With mono they would wrap you on a piling and break you off .
most of the religious braid folks use leaders best I can tell , but I aint a good barometer since I rarely use it myself .
I don't like fishing line that's stronger than me :Rofl
I use braid, I have never used a leader with it. I have caught wild trout without needing a leader so have never seen a need for using it with other fresh water fish. Saltwater fishing is a different matter, I did use leaders when I was fishing the ocean but those were steel leaders. :)