Is a leader recommended with Fireline?

[wild_instigator]

Last Summer was my first season using 14lb (6lb diameter) Fireline. Needless to say, I didn't have as many hits at my cabin or BWCA as I did with my P-Line XXX the previous year. The lakes I fish regularly are fairly clear, but I love the strength, memory, feel and zero stretch of Fireline. Would you recommend that I start using a fluorocarbon leader? If so, what knot works best for attaching Fireline to fluorocarbon (uni to uni or blood)? Also, does the diameter of the leader make a difference (i.e. 6 lb diameter Fireline, should I use 6 lb fluorocarbon or would 17lb fluorocarbon work)?

Any help/insight is greatly appreciated. And yes, this may be early in the year to discuss, but I switched all my Winter tackle over to my Summer tackle today and the itch just won't go away.

[Northlander]

I dont know what your fishing for. If its walleyes get that 14# stuff off and go to the 8# Power Pro. If your jigging no leader is needed but if your Lindy rigging etc. tie on a 3-6' mono leader. Use a back to back uni knot. Stick with the same pound test as you have for Power Pro. Set the drag to slip on hookset or you will be breaking off leaders.

[Jim Hudson]

Northlander pretty much summed it up for you...

Another thing you can do, as most spinning reels now come with two spools, spool one up with your fireline/power pro and the other with your P-line, where I spool my other spools I use on my jigging set-ups with anywhere from 4lb to 8lb Berkley Sensation... This will allow you to experiment a bit and changing out only takes a minute...

[Deitz Dittrich]

Wild.. good advise above... I'll add my worthless .02¢ to the pile..

I dont know about you, but if I thought I got less bites using fireline than I did using mono... I dont care if it gave me a backrub and filled my beverage glass while I trolled... It would come off! Yes it has good strength, yes it has less memory, yes you can feel more bites... But, if you arent getting as many bites to feel what have you gained?

You can go to a floro leader. I have found that tieing a floro leader to braid does work.. but you have to be carefull, you are then putting the entire shock of your hookset on 1 small tippet of line. I have also found that tieing the 2 togeather can be a trick!, I often use a swivel to tie each line to, however, that can makecasting difficult.

I myself would go back to mono...I have quite a few rods.. and I do have quite a few rigged with braid. Yet those rods are often rods that get used in a lot of cover, IE weeds, wood.. where line invisibility isn't as important!

[The Yeti]

I use Spiderwire Fusion, which is similar in characteristics to Fireline. The only rod I have it on is one of my 7 foot spinning rods that I use for lindy rigging. Generally I will have a 4-5 foot mono leader on. Works like a charm. And even with the leader, it's still a very sensitive combo because of the low stretch.

[witter1631]

i was watchin tv and saw someoen talkin bout a leader i dotn remember what he said but i never used a leader with it

matt

[Ed Carlson]

I have been testing some new product from Gamma Tech that has proven to be a great leader material for use with super braids. The ESP Fluorocarbon and 100% Fluorocarbon knots well and is very strong stuff. The ESP is more flexible and is a Fluorocarbon co-filament hybrid that is very user friendly stuff. For leaders where I may encounter toothy critters, I go with #20 to #25 100% Gamma Tech Fluorocarbon with a small Sampo swivel on the top of the leader, and a loop knot or Berkley Cross Lock snap on the bottom. I have caught many pike on them this winter and spring and they have yet to shear off on me. The do not mess up the lure action when you use a loop knot at the bottom snap and an Albright of swivel on the top. I am very impressed at how well the Gamma Tech 100% Fluorocarbon leaders knot to an eyelet and holds a loop knot open.

A proven Shock Leader knot.

[wild_instigator]

Thanks for all the info guys. This setup I use solely for bass and gators. I had a high lb P-Line on the rod before, but wasn't impressed with the casting distance. With the Fireline, I can hit 40+ yard cast easy and cover a lot of water. My other rods are setup with P-Line and are solely used for jigging and float fishing.

You could say my expertise with the walleye is lacking, but I know I wouldn't need the 14 lb Fireline for those beauties.

[zelek]

Well, I didn't hear you mention anything about trolling or casting cranks for walleyes, but IMO that is where fireline really shines. I use 10/4 on my trolling rod and 14/6 on my casting cranks rod and both have mono leaders and work great!!

For tying the two together, back to back uni-knots are the ticket. Once you practice a little it's really not that hard.

[wild_instigator]

Zelek, what lb/diameter mono do you use for a leader on the 14/6 Fireline?

[zelek]

I'd go with either 6 or 8 lbs test mono. You could probably go a little heavier if you wanted, but I've never felt the need. I often replace the snell though whenever it gets nicked up from pike.

I also try and use stuff that isn't real visible in the water--think I used some version of green in the Berkley Sensation last year. Late last fall I started experimenting with fluorocarbon 'cause the guys over on the Mille Lacs forum spoke so highly of it. I'm looking forward to experimenting with it a little more this spring.