Braid With Leader Vs Braid Without And Why 2025

HookdUP reply :

I've alwayse used braid with leaders in saltwater for the obvious reasons ... But as far as bass fishing im curious as to how many are using leaders and why or how many are not and why ... I use leaders currently on my spinners with braid and my swimbait applications ... WHAT SAY YOU ?

ABW reply :

Straight braid for frogging

Braid with leader for everything else

**If I had a boat and I were flipping or pitching I would also use straight braid.

Chief 2 reply :

I use a floro leader anytime I am using braid. Fishing clear water I need to.

QUAKEnSHAKE reply :

Straight braid, ease of use

Master Bait'r reply :

Straight braid unless I'm putting a smaller swimbait on my heavy braid setup in which case I use a FC leader.

roadwarrior reply :

Visibility, abrassion resistance and the ability to break-off when needed.

Situations come up in heavy current when it is virtually impossible to retrieve

a hung-up lure or bait. I learned that the hard way.

Darren. reply :

Braid + leader for everything.

Braid is pricey, and I cut a lot less of it

off when changing out leaders as opposed

to changing out hooks through the day.

And what RW said is so true. I've found lures

out there with attached braid so thick I could

have used it as climbing rope, LOL.

SirSnookalot reply :

A very typical set up for me at the inlet is 20# braid with a 30 or 40# leader, breaking off is very difficult and it usually occurs at the knot to the lure. I can't imagine breaking off straight 50# braid.

buzzed bait reply :

On 2/27/2015 at 10:03 PM, roadwarrior said:

Visibility, abrassion resistance and the ability to break-off when needed.

Situations come up in heavy current when it is virtually impossible to retrieve

a hung-up lure or bait. I learned that the hard way.

probably the best reason i've heard for using the leader..... this is a very good point. you will bend or pull the hook out before you can break some 50lb braid.

i had this happen once on the little tennessee river.... it basically ended up spooling one of the two reels i had with me which really bummed me out for the rest of the day fishing!

Smokinal reply :

I fish pretty green water so I don't need a leader for visibility issues but braid has no abrasion resistance on rock and all of my water is rocky, so...

Mike L reply :

I use a leader on braid for finesse type presentations and them only on a spinning outfit.

Mike

Josh Smith reply :

I generally run a fluoro leader for slow applications and lures which stand a high chance of getting hung up, just in case I have to break off.

If I'm fishing fast looking for a reaction strike, I generally tie direct.

Josh

Catt reply :

Braid only, cause bass can not see it in grass

Scott F reply :

On 2/27/2015 at 8:51 PM, HookdUP said:
I've alwayse used braid with leaders in saltwater for the obvious reasons ... But as far as bass fishing im curious as to how many are using leaders and why or how many are not and why ... I use leaders currently on my spinners with braid and my swimbait applications ... WHAT SAY YOU ?

I fish mostly for smallmouth in clear, rocky, rivers and lakes. I have never had a need to use a leader in any of the waters I fish. The bass have never shown me they are line shy, and I haver never had any problems with losing baits or fish due to break offs from abrasion. Obviously, my experience is quite different from others who fish in waters that are probably more heavily pressured than those I fish where they find bass that are line shy. Adding leaders to braid is not the easiest way to fish so it's really up to you to determine whether or not you need to take the extra steps needed to add leaders to your line. If I were making the decision, I would start with no leaders and add them when and if you feel the need.

Preytorien reply :

I've used braid + leaders before, but never saw a difference in how many fish bit. I can't imagine the whirling and twirling of a spinnerbait, buzzbait or underspin, or the rattling of a crank puts off a bass because they see a line.

I wouldn't recommend a braid + leader combo on rods with micro-guides.....it just don't work Billy Boy

nascar2428 reply :

Braid with leader for everything.

HookdUP reply :

On 2/28/2015 at 3:44 AM, Preytorien said:

I've used braid + leaders before, but never saw a difference in how many fish bit. I can't imagine the whirling and twirling of a spinnerbait, buzzbait or underspin, or the rattling of a crank puts off a bass because they see a line.

I wouldn't recommend a braid + leader combo on rods with micro-guides.....it just don't work Billy Boy

Precisely why I made this post since I prefer braid over anything else ... And use Duckett rods

riverat reply :

On 2/28/2015 at 3:27 AM, Catt said:
Braid only, cause bass can not see it in grass

Or in heavily stained or muddy water either.

RoLo reply :

Straight Braid - No Leader

I don't doubt they see it, I doubt they give a darn (they have more important things to worry about).

Freshwater shrimp are transparent morsels with a refractive index similar to water.

Nevertheless, tiny transparent shrimp are highly visible to fish which snap them up like gumdrops.

This would suggest that bass have no trouble seeing fluorocarbon, which is fat line

that probably looks like an icicle to bass. All the same, bass live in a world strewn with wire grass, plant stems,

fish feces, shoestring snakes, vegetable debris, flotsam, jetsam and umbrella rigs with 3/32" spreader frames.

Throwing caution to the wind, I target only courageous bass that dare to take on a 0.009” diameter braided filament

Roger

EvanT123 reply :

I'm in the braid with leader camp. My skinny rob Lowe arms can't break the stuff and my butter finger hands can't tie knots with it in the wind. Also spending half my evening untangling treble is not nearly enjoyable as fishing.

ww2farmer reply :

Braid as mainline on all my reels. It's cheaper in the long run because it last's seemingly forever. Fluoro leaders as needed.

matuka reply :

Braid is cut pretty easily by rocks, particularly lava rock where I fish. I learned the hard way, two LC LV500's on consecutive casts. But still, topwaters and punching need straight braid. I use braid/mono for lots of big baits, even bigger swim baits and swim jigs. The little bit of stretch from the mono is a little insurance when fish fighting. Fluoro leaders up to fifteen ft get the nod for the fussy stuff. I tried drop shotting with straight braid before too. It was a nightmare. Fish tangle that thing up beyond belief.

shanksmare reply :

A trick I learned from an angler fishing jigs for snook below a local spillway for dealing with snagged jigs (which happens frequently here due to the rock rubble on the bottom). He simply carried a 6" length of 1" dowel. When he hung up he simply wrapped the braid around the dowel and pulled until the line broke. I used 50# braid with a 2' - 40# mono leader (for abrasion resitance to the snooks raspy mouth not for strength). I secured the jig with an Improved Homer Rhode Loop Knot(probably only a 50% strength knot). When I hung up the rig always broke off at the jig. The dowel makes it easier to break the leader and you don't get line digin from pulling the line into the spooled line.

SirSnookalot reply :

The dowel is good, some other options. When I'm land I'll hold my rod perfectly straight and walk backwards or may wrap the line around my shoulder then walk backwards, I make sure to open my bail to prevent breaking a tip.

When I'm offshore hung up on a reef I'll wrap the line around the reel a few times and let the engine pull it, either breaks loose or the leader breaks.

RoLo reply :

Thanks to braided line, I’ve saved hundreds of dollars in lures that would’ve fallen victim to monofilament line.

If I deliberately want to break-off my braided line (very rare!), I'll begin by pointing the tiptop guide

'directly' at the snag, which takes the rod blank out-of-harms-way, making it impossible to break the rod-tip.

In addition, positioning the rod blank parallel to the line gives the angler maximum power (think hand-lining).

In stark contrast, holding the rod perpendicular to the line gives the angler max sensitivity but minimal power.

Next I'll grasp the rod blank forward of the reel firmly with my reel hand, Since I'm right-handed,

my casting reels are all left-handed, so I'll be pulling with my strong arm (right arm)

Finally, I'll draw my right elbow straight backwards on a line parallel to the rod and line

(The rod, line & forearm are all parallel to one another), which usually generates enough power to snap 30-lb braid.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When frogging or punching with 60-lb braid, I use a different method.

In Florida, the mean catch depth is around 4 feet, rarely exceeding 8 ft.

When hopelessly fouled on a snag that I cannot reach by hand (very rare),

I'll bring the boat directly above or alongside the snag, then reach deep in the water and cut the line.

The line lost will generally amount to about 4 feet of braid (again, very rare).

Roger

OkobojiEagle reply :

I carry a wooden sewing thread spool tied to my lanyard...

1201vilbig reply :

Straight braid for me. The major tournaments outlawed the A-Rig because it is too effective, yet it looks like a wad of coat hangers coming through the water.

To me bait selection and presentation are the most important.

RSM789 reply :

The lake I fish has water clarity in the 3-4 ft range and not a lot of snags, so I only have one casting rod with braid spooled on it (fluorocarbon on the rest). I have always used a fluorocarbon or monofilament leader depending on the lure I was using because I believed it made a difference. As I read this thread, I began to doubt that the leader makes a difference for moving baits, so I tried an experiment yesterday.

I tied a KVD Series 3 crankbait directly to the braid. This is a lure that I typically always have tied on, even though I use it sparingly compared to the other slower moving baits that catch a majority of the bass for me. On an average day this time of the year, there are only a few locations where I fish a crankbait. I may make anywhere from 30 to 50 casts with it throughout the day, usually catching 1 or 2 fish, at the most 3 or 4.

So yesterday, I used it in the same manner as above and caught 4 bass & 1 irritated catfish. By no means does this prove anything, for those fish were part of a 50 fish day, meaning the fish were willing to bite. However, it does make me realize I can catch them on moving baits with braid with no leader. Tougher days or slower moving baits may be a different deal, but I am now comfortable on my lake with no leader under at least these conditions.

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Braid With Leader Vs Braid Without And Why 2025

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