Steel Leader, or no steel leader?

[OneWay]

I have read a few posts in which some people claim that they have a lot more hits when they are not using steel leaders as opposed to when they do. I have never not used a steel leader always being fearful that the "big one" would bite off the line and I would be sick. I guess my question is would it be an advantage to have more pike hit if the probability of losing the fish by being bitten off was greater than using a steel leader and having fewer hits that would not be bitten off. I am making the assumption that you would get more hits if a steel leader were not used. I use braided line which is very difficult to cut with scissors. I would greatly appreciate any input from anyone who has fished with and without steel leaders.

[Nick Kuhn]

Some steel leaders take away from the lures motion or it's floating/suspendibility characteristics. I think this is why more people are going to the fluorocarbon leaders. Plus some steel leaders get kinks in them and snap very easily.

[b1gf1sh1]

 Quote:

I use braided line which is very difficult to cut with scissors.

try a knife on it. a pikes(any esox) teeth are concaved like a knife blade is, as opposed to a wallyes teeth being cone shaped. you should see the difference immediately. if not, tell us what line it is, i know i want it. as far as leaders go IMHO pike don't give a rat's pa'tootie about them, except in ''mabe'' very clear water. even then i question it. and in an open water environment they might get a little picky. but in structure related fish they don't have time, in those environments they are strictly ambushing prey,and in that split second theres no time to be picky. unlike muskie who will not only ambush but hunt around structure to root out prey, and follow them(obviously)and even come from some distance away to attack which gives them time to see any abnormalities. pike IMO are eat first ask questions later. it's rare around structure in my experience to have a pike come from a long way off to take prey. so in answer to your qestion... i don't believe so. vahn's take on lures is IMO is correct. i crimp my leaders to any suspending lures i use because of that. lighter the better. i use 60# fluoro, some call me crazy but with a looser drag those knives don't stand a chance. just a thought

good luck

[Steve Foss]

Wire leader. Period.

Leaders can force a nose-down attitude for baits because of the leaders' weights, but b1gf1sh1 (dude, what you darn NAME anyway?) is right.

And if you believe a leader takes away from lure motion (since there's a snap on the end of the leader, which accentuates the lure's ability to dart and wobble, I don't agree that it retards lure motion), you can always add it back in by twitching the lure.

And my belief is that, even though leaders can get kinks that weaken their total strength, you'll have much better break-off/bite-off protection with a kinked wire leader than with any type of line.

[b1gf1sh1]

steel braid, or steel wire (titanium also) retard a long skinny lure in a minor way, at least what i see on a constant retrieve. on a jerking retrieve they will add to it, sometime greatly. a straight tied cable leader does things so weird i can't explain it. but by the by on 99% of lures using a standard retrieve your assessment is true. IMO... also... names Don.

[fishcast]

I'd definately recomend steel of some sort, I've had braid bit off no problem.

There is a post down a bit about cortland toothy critter, its tyable wire with a thin diameter and good flexibility, not used cortland yet, but I will be trying it out soon. I have tied knots with tyger leader which is the same sort of product, but never caught a fish with it yet, and that stuff is pretty similiar.

[cjac]

I found that I've been using flouro leaders more and more, with the WTD topwaters and spinnerbaits being an exception. Sounds cheap, but I use the Berkley 3 pack wire leaders in 6" or 8" for bass/pike sized spinnerbaits, never an issue. Less than $2 for a pack, but as I said, never a problem. Heavier WTD topwaters, it's wire for me.

For smaller baits, I'm looking more to flouro leaders, in the home-made type.

Interesting side-note, talking about lure action being impaired, I saw Storm lures is starting to use a "carebeener" mountain climbing shaped split-ring. Point being to prevent the lure riding on the spot where the edges of the split-ring meet. So, the lure eyelet rides on the smooth bottom edge of the snap, make sense?

I kinda like the concept.....

[traveler]

I LOVE the concept:) I'm pretty anal about making sure my knot is tied in the right spot on a split ring, and then checking it often to make sure it hasn't spun around. When I can, I buy welded ring swivels to avoid the problem altogether. I'll be trying the new style for sure.

[polarsusd81]

I saw them too, and I like the idea. Looks like it would work very well. Have to give them a shot.

[Newcastle]

No doubt pike like any other fish will get spooked by a leader in certain situations. I know at least one case last year where I was fishing bass and was getting slaughtered by 3-5lb pike- Everything I through into this section of grass- jig n pig, frog, senco, spinners, topwater- would get crushed by pike. Managed to loose two frogs and a spinner bait in 5 minutes. Finally took out the heavy gear with a 8" leader-nothing. Casted both sides of the grass island without a hit. So went back to the bass rod with a top water-again, first cast Pike ON!!!. Weird? I don't know but I know they acted very aggressive without the leader but nothing when I had it on. If I am fishing specifically for pike, I have to use one for the same reason as you mentioned=I would hate to see that hog next to the boat roll and cut my line.

[solbes]

I often use no leader because I'm fishing for both pike and walleye. They are often both in the same deep water structure where I fish. In most cases, pike could care less if there's a steel leader or not.

The walleyes on a clear lake are entirely different though. I've never caught one in the same areas while using a leader. So I usually do not use a leader. The benefit is I pick up walleyes in about 20% of the fish caught. The downside is I've lost one, maybe two really big pike to a break off using braid only.

I'm going to try fluoro more this year to split the difference and get the best of both worlds.

[andrew chadwick]

never- On some of the lakes I fish in the winter I notice a nearly 7-1 ratio to fish caught on a heavy (40lb) mono leader vs steel ones.

I just use a snap or a ball bearing snap swivel. the only time I would use a leader is if I was using 8lb test or less.