Making Own Leaders

[HEUY]

Wondering what diameter or # test that others use to make solid wire leaders. Also what are thoughts on length? I have made my own for years and recently went to solid wire because of the confidence factor. Have also made some 18# wire braid I use on walleye lures that have a good chance of being hit by a Nothern or Muskie.

[Random guy]

I make solid wire leaders for my walk the dog baits and big jerk baits out of bronze 85-90lb single strand. I think its .020 diameter. It considered on the light side for normal musky applications, but I only fish with 50-65lb test line so I don't need a big ol leader. Most guys use the 175lb .029 bronze wire for all around use.

[RK]

Hiya -

I usually use 140# or so for my single strand wire leaders. Other than jigs, all my wire leaders are single-strand.

For walleyes in pike-infested waters, I've really gotten to like Cortland Toothy Critter wire - it's a thin, knotable stranded wire you can tie to your main line with a small (#18) swivel, then tie direct to your lure with any know you'd use on mono. Great stuff...

Cheers,

Rob Kimm

[saintmark]

Good Day. I make, sell and use my own. I don't know if it's the best or what ever you wish to call it. But I use 70lb single strand titanium by terminator. Use the sevenstrand brass sleeve (a2) from cabelas. The leaders that you make will be the best you ever used. some will say it to light but I've caught all sizes of toothy critter. I've sold them to salt water angulars for cuda and other saltwater fish. It's the swivels on either end of the leader that generally cause the problem. Cheap ones bend and eventually break. the final secret is sleeve enhancement. Buy some 5 minute epoxy from wallymart $2.00. And put just a tiny,tiny amount on both sides of the sleeve. This will make sure it NEVER, and I do mean NEVER comes apart. I usually fix 3 or 4 each year for my family in canada. They are stuck on multi-strand terminator leaders. Why? who knows. I think and know they blow! Good luck StM

[Derf]

Anybody using flourocarbon? I would like to try it in clear water but am worried about getting bitten off. Also, do you tie it or crimp it?

[MuskieMojoTackle]

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Anybody using flourocarbon? I would like to try it in clear water but am worried about getting bitten off. Also, do you tie it or crimp it?

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I like floro. I use it for everything but walk-the-dog topwaters and jerkbaits.

I use floro from 80-250 lb and crimp everything. I hav enever had a failure on crimps

[mtreno]

ok a few more questions for another newbie at leader making.

single strand wire - been using wire thats .24 dia. and just wrapping the ends about 8-9 times after making my loop with a neet little tool i found - is that how most guys do that or are you crimping them? if so does this affect your loop?

floro - so many brands now - any better than others? i have not started working with it yet but was thinking about starting with some 90lb of the cabelas stuff. any thoughts? just crimp it and trim the ends?

thanks

[CaptainMusky]

I think most people crimp them because they do not have a tool to tie them like you have done for yours.

Either way the end result is a solid connection with little or no chance of failure, but it is really about personal preference and whether or not you have a tool to form the wire.

I crimp mine, but I also do not have a wire former. I bought one this weekend, but it busted before I could figure out how to use it. So, I resorted to crimping my new leaders I created. Now I am out of crimps so I will have to buy more or get a new forming tool.

[mtreno]

i am having issues finding a round crimper that is not $50. am i looking in the right places and need to suck it up and just pay - seems like something i could find in any hardware store and i just have had bad luck with the few i have looked at.

[MuskieMojoTackle]

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i am having issues finding a round crimper that is not $50. am i looking in the right places and need to suck it up and just pay - seems like something i could find in any hardware store and i just have had bad luck with the few i have looked at.

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You do not want to go cheap on your crimper. I think $50 is right around what I paid for mine. A goo dcrimper is a necessity.

[mtreno]

thanks Luke -

[CaptainMusky]

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i am having issues finding a round crimper that is not $50. am i looking in the right places and need to suck it up and just pay - seems like something i could find in any hardware store and i just have had bad luck with the few i have looked at.

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I never purchased a crimper and I still make my own leaders. I just use a "lineman's" pliers. I have yet to have a failure, I suppose I could regret it when/if I do, but so far no issues. The one thing I try to do is have the wire overlap when I crimp it down versus running parallel to each other. It may mean absolutely nothing, but it means something to me.

I have VERY heavy gauge wire too. It is 275#. I just keep using it until it is gone. I will be going with lighter stuff when it is used up. Should be about 2010. LOL

[mtreno]

ok so i started messin around with the floro last night. is there a way to tie it that would work out. i tested crimps pretty darn well last night but i am just not sure about them. also i had to up size my little crimp things cause i could not find the right size - is that a issue - anyone know a good knott - like a super inverted snell knot.....

thanks for all the help -

[mtreno]

super inverted snell knot? brands of floro? been messin around with some berkly vanish 80lb floro i found on clearance - any thoughts? crimps - does it matter if a go larger in size then the line dia.? just never seem to find anything matching or even close

[MuskieMojoTackle]

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super inverted snell knot? brands of floro? been messin around with some berkly vanish 80lb floro i found on clearance - any thoughts? crimps - does it matter if a go larger in size then the line dia.? just never seem to find anything matching or even close

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your best bet for crimps if to go somewhere (thornes) that had a good selection of sleeves. They will tell you right on the package what pound test they are made for..

I've never found a knot that I liked. NEver felt strength was an issue, I just prefer crimps.

[Cooter]

I know a guy that tied flouro with a nail knot and they looked nice with plenty of wraps and were tight and snug, which is tough with most knots and heavy mono/flouro. And if I'm not mistaken, the tag end lies nice and close to the main line(pointed away from the swivel/snap) which is great for fishing weeds. Later.

[markkstanley]

Do a search for Jon P method of tying heavy fluoro knots. Called it an upside Trilene knot. It works. He wrote it up last fall check a 8/11/05 post and he explains it.I have used it and had no issues so far.

[RK]

Hiya -

Tying knots in anything over about 75# fluoro is kind of tough. For the most part now I'm not using anything less than #130, so I'm crimping. Getting the right size crimps around here can be tough so I just order mine from a saltwater catalog like Offshore Angler. Getting the right crimp can be sort of confusing though. For 130# fluoro a 3mm sleeve is what you want.

I far and away prefer oval aluminum sleeves to round brass ones. Either single barrel or double barrel will work fine. I think the ones I have now are single barrel. For these you do need a compound pressure crimping pliers. There are two types of crimping pliers - point to cup, which is what the cheaper non-compound pliers you can get at any tackle store are, and cup to cup, which are generally compound pressure pliers. After having used a cup to cup pliers, there's no way I'd use a point to cup pliers anymore, especially with fluorocarbon. Point to cup pliers crimp by crushing the sleeve down onto the leader material...squeeze too hard with them and you can cut the material, or kink it badly enough to really weaken it - or worse, crack the sleeve. Cup to cup pliers squeeze the sleeve around the material. When you do it right, the ends of the sleeve should be flared out like the bell on a trumpet.

Part of the reason I've been messing with fluoro, especially for trolling leaders, has less to do with visibility than with fish friendliness. I've used solid wire leaders for trolling for years, especially around rocks like on Lake of the Woods. Love the durability, but they can really slice up fish when fish roll like they tend to do in cold water. Fluoro's great for not cutting up fish, but it's not durable enough to take grinding on rocks. Uncoated seven strand wire is even worse on fish than solid wire, and the coated stuff gets chewed up badly on rocks... So I've been searching for a good alternative and I think I finally found it - 49 strand uncoated wire. The stuff is amazingly soft. It's a little heavier in diameter than the #140 stranded I'd used before but I don't think the fish care. As far as I can tell so far it's very easy on fish, but I'll know more later this fall. Right now I have most of my trolling rods rigged up with 5' leaders of 175# 49-strand, and we'll see how it goes...

Oh - forgot to mention: you can get a decent pair of cup to cup crimping pliers from a saltwater catalog for about 28 bucks...

cheers,

Rob Kimm

[mtreno]

thanks everyone - good info here - i will check out Jons old post - and i needed a good reason to run to fridley - and i had been thinking about saltwater but had not looked into it.

RK - interested in how your 49 strand works out - not sure where you found something like that but keep me updated on how you like it.

thanks again