Question about fluoro leader length for spinning reels in clear water? 2024
Fishin' Fool reply :
I've heard 6-7 feet. I've heard 25 feet. I'm sure it's mostly preference but is there a distinct advantage of the long leader length? I'm my mind the disadvantage is your knot slapping through the guides when you cast.
dsqui reply :
I run about 9' I guess in my mind the only advantage of a longer leader would be to not have to retire it as often. But 25' seems awfully extreme kinda seems it would defeat the purpose of braid depending on what you are doing. I find myself running a drop shot vertically in 15-20' of water often so the braid would rarely see the light of day
Fishin' Fool reply :
On 6/11/2017 at 8:30 AM, dsqui said:I run about 9' I guess in my mind the only advantage of a longer leader would be to not have to retire it as often. But 25' seems awfully extreme kinda seems it would defeat the purpose of braid depending on what you are doing. I find myself running a drop shot vertically in 15-20' of water often so the braid would rarely see the light of day
Good point. Maybe the person recommending 25' drop shots in 60 fow.
dsqui reply :
Ya but even at 60 It still seems like allot of leader and defeats the purpose of the braid which is to add sensitivity.9 Is probably over kill but I use the same rod for drop shot as I do shaky heads and neds so I lose allot of line real quick if I switch from drop shot to the others and as the day progresses I might want to go back to drop shot. I settled on 9' because that usually leaves me with 2-3' left at the end of a trip
They probably spooled up on one rod then transferred it to another and there back g was exposed lol and u know how fiaherman r u see one guy do it so u try it next thing I know something on accident becomes the new hot thing in sport fishing
Further North reply :
I set mine up so the knot can't quite make it onto the reel's spool.
As cut them back to tie in new hooks/jigs/whatever, or when the end gets beat up in rocks...I'll trim it down until it's about three feet long, then replace it.
25' feels excessive. I can't think of any good reasons to go that long...even trout fishermen fishing gin-clear trout streams only typically go to 9 ft. They might go 12' or 15' with a really long nymph rig, but that's pretty special circumstances.
Jon G reply :
I typically use any where from 10-15 feet.
I really like this channel and I think this is a great video to get an idea of how long a leader should be.
fishnkamp reply :
i fish most of my spinning gear with braid and a leader. I also use the same on some of my baitcasters. I never use a leader longer than 5 feet even while fishing on Dale Hollow Lake ( a very very gin clear lake). For me it defeats the purpose of the braid, less coiling and line issues,, better castability and better sensitivity.
Big Bait Fishing reply :
i use a 12-15 ft. flouro leader for the line to sink keeping a staighter path to my bait , taking the bow out of the line making hook sets quicker and bites to be detected a lot better . using the longer leader with braid eliminates all the headaches out of using flouro as a mainline ...
RoLo reply :
To maximize the life of a leader, it should equal your average lure overhang (distance between tiptop & lure)
plus the distance between the tiptop and your reel. That'll give you a leader about 6 feet long.
Roger
bigturtle reply :
I always run 15-20ft leader on all my rods
WRB reply :
The reason most anglers use leaders 20' up to 30' is it elinimates connecting knot issue when landing bass, the leader knot is wound onto to spool.
Tom
MassYak85 reply :
On 6/11/2017 at 11:43 AM, Jon G said:I typically use any where from 10-15 feet.
I really like this channel and I think this is a great video to get an idea of how long a leader should be.
I was going to link this exact video.
I personally usually run a 10ft leader, it's probably longer than I need in most cases it but I can go a little while of switching baits before needing a new one. I have never had an issue with the knot getting caught in my guides, I generally use an Albright or an FG knot to connect the braid to the leader. If you buy into line visibility being a crucial factor and want to go for the really long leader, like Matt says in the video you still get the benefit of the braid acting as a backing. Now if you need to change your leader from 6 to 12 lb you are only stripping off 20/30 yds of line, not an entire spool. At that point it's costing savings being the benefit of braid.
portiabrat reply :
Fluoro In the spool reduces casting distance, especially with any kind of leader knot, so I almost always avoid it.
The one exception is drop shooting. With a long, stretchy leader, fish seem to stay on better. Plus line comes off the spool easier when you're dropping vertically.
Fishin' Fool reply :
For the guys using the longer leaders 15 ft+ what are the advantages that you think it gives you?
bigturtle reply :
less retie of the leader, more stretch, more bites from line shy fish when fishing shallow
Fishin' Fool reply :
On 6/12/2017 at 4:32 AM, bigturtle said:less retie of the leader, more stretch, more bites from line shy fish when fishing shallow
How does more stretch benefit you?
bigturtle reply :
keep the hooks on
WRB reply :
If you are drop shotting with 6 to 8 lb leader and 20 lb braid with the drag set at 2 lbs the braid and FC/mono leader strecth is the same with or without a leader....set and trust the drag you paid for.
Tom
RoLo reply :
My initial response addressed anglers who use a leader, but don't want the connection knot
to cranked onto the line spool after every retrieve.
If we open the floodgates to include the entire range of leader length,
the range is from ZERO LEADER to ALL LEADER. As a case in point,
my fluoro leader is 'zero' feet long, because I tie braid directly to my lure (knot-free setup).
This is the case in murky, dingy or gin-clear water. Yet, in spite of this atrocious, antisocial practice,
I manage to catch a bass now & then 
Roger
Further North reply :
On 6/12/2017 at 5:17 AM, RoLo said:Yet in spite of my atrocious, antisocial practice, we do manage to catch a few bass
Made me laugh...
I'm with you, often...and about half the time my leader is 12" - 18" of tieable wire.
The reason I use leaders isn't because I believe fish are line shy, it's because braid takes a beating in the rocky lakes I fish and I wound up losing a lot of fish - and lures - when I didn't use it.
The lightest leader I use for gear fishing is 10# FluoroHybrid.
NHBull reply :
On the rigs I use leader it is typically 6 feet.
I typically re-tie the leaders weekly.
I suspect I will be all braid with the exception of shallow crankbaits soon!.
On my lake a huge fish is a 5 lb'er and don't need the main/leader connection on the spool
S Hovanec reply :
I start out with an 18' leader. I rarely have to re-tie a leader during a days fishing. The line ticking through the guides doesn't bother me and I never noticed any adverse effects on the knot.
Bluebasser86 reply :
The braid I use on spinning reels is so thin that I've gone to where I rarely use a leader, even in clear water, and still catch plenty of fish. Only exception is if I need the abrasion resistance, then I'll tie a 2-3 foot leader.
ww2farmer reply :
Just my personal pref:
I like the knot to be between the first (stripper) guide and the reel, with the bait a couple inches from the rod tip. Gives me enough leader to retie multiple time during the day if I need to, while also maintaining a long enough leader to keep the braid out of the face of any potentially line shy fish, even after a few of said retie's.
KDW96 reply :
On 6/12/2017 at 4:59 AM, WRB said:If you are drop shotting with 6 to 8 lb leader and 20 lb braid with the drag set at 2 lbs the braid and FC/mono leader strecth is the same with or without a leader....set and trust the drag you paid for.
Tom
THIS^^^^^^^^^^ the last part is many fail to do.
Boomstick reply :
On 6/12/2017 at 1:33 AM, RoLo said:To maximize the life of a leader, it should equal your average lure overhang (distance between tiptop & lure)
plus the distance between the tiptop and your reel. That'll give you a leader about 6 feet long.
Roger
I try to largely follow what he said as a general rule, and if I end up cutting a little off to change my rig around a little, I don't generally worry about it. For some techniques like a Carolina rig, as little as 2' may be adequate, but if you are drop shotting in deep water, it's possible you'd want a whole lot more.
On 6/12/2017 at 4:59 AM, WRB said:If you are drop shotting with 6 to 8 lb leader and 20 lb braid with the drag set at 2 lbs the braid and FC/mono leader strecth is the same with or without a leader....set and trust the drag you paid for.
Tom
The one thing I will throw out there is certain types of mono, Trilene XL for example tend to break before they stretch. Now if that was original Stren, Berkley Big Game or XT, this is 100% true.
fishindad reply :
On 6/12/2017 at 1:42 AM, WRB said:The reason most anglers use leaders 20' up to 30' is it elinimates connecting knot issue when landing bass, the leader knot is wound onto to spool.
Tom
On 6/12/2017 at 1:02 AM, Big Bait Fishing said:i use a 12-15 ft. flouro leader for the line to sink keeping a staighter path to my bait , taking the bow out of the line making hook sets quicker and bites to be detected a lot better . using the longer leader with braid eliminates all the headaches out of using flouro as a mainline ...
These two responses are what I agree are valid reasons for using an extra long leader (greater than 6-8 feet). I am no dropshot expert nor an expert with braid-to-fluoro but in my experiences catching and landing some 3-5lb smallmouths, there's a lot more added stress and friction on the knot running in the guides when you get a smallie boatside and he does the usual surges and digs. Best to have the leader knot on the spool or short enough so it doesn't get past the tiptop. To Big Bait's point I've heard Seth Feider say that is the reason for him using a 25 ft+ leader on Mille Lacs dropshotting for smallies. Drops quicker and more sensitive/direct. I use 2 identical dropshot setups, one spooled with straight 8lb Sniper for video game dropshotting and another identical setup for casting with braid + FC leader. In the latter case my leader is roughly 6-8 feet so the knot is rarely ever past the tip top as I never reel the fish in that close. I also have gone to 8lb leader (used to use 6 and 7lb) and find I almost never break off and need to retie. I absolutely believe straight FC is the way to go when dropping directly on top the fish. I feel braid doesn't give me any added sensitivity with only 30-40 feet (about 1.5-2 boat lengths) of line out compared to straight FC. Braid is the best handling line for spinning reels but is not very good casting in crosswinds (huge bow in line) or a slack line presentation.
Big Bait Fishing reply :
On 6/13/2017 at 3:53 AM, fishindad said:
These two responses are what I agree are valid reasons for using an extra long leader (greater than 6-8 feet). I am no dropshot expert nor an expert with braid-to-fluoro but in my experiences catching and landing some 3-5lb smallmouths, there's a lot more added stress and friction on the knot running in the guides when you get a smallie boatside and he does the usual surges and digs. Best to have the leader knot on the spool or short enough so it doesn't get past the tiptop. To Big Bait's point I've heard Seth Feider say that is the reason for him using a 25 ft+ leader on Mille Lacs dropshotting for smallies. Drops quicker and more sensitive/direct. I use 2 identical dropshot setups, one spooled with straight 8lb Sniper for video game dropshotting and another identical setup for casting with braid + FC leader. In the latter case my leader is roughly 6-8 feet so the knot is rarely ever past the tip top as I never reel the fish in that close. I also have gone to 8lb leader (used to use 6 and 7lb) and find I almost never break off and need to retie. I absolutely believe straight FC is the way to go when dropping directly on top the fish. I feel braid doesn't give me any added sensitivity with only 30-40 feet (about 1.5-2 boat lengths) of line out compared to straight FC. Braid is the best handling line for spinning reels but is not very good casting in crosswinds (huge bow in line) or a slack line presentation.
i never have a problem with my connection knot on any of my braid to leader set ups , and i have micro guides on ALL of my rods . right now on my spinning set up i have 6 lb.Neon Lime 832 to 6 lb. Sniper running through 3.5 Fuji's /
fishindad reply :
On 6/13/2017 at 8:58 AM, Big Bait Fishing said:i never have a problem with my connection knot on any of my braid to leader set ups , and i have micro guides on ALL of my rods . right now on my spinning set up i have 6 lb.Neon Lime 832 to 6 lb. Sniper running through 3.5 Fuji's /
Yeah but I don't believe you have big, mean brownies down in San Diego, do you? 
I think you guys might have meanmouths though. Tussle with a couple dozen 3-5 lb smallies and see what they can do to your knots, lol. As an aside, I have upsized my lines when fishing the Great Lakes mostly because of the zebra mussels and the toothy critters. I rarely use 6lb leader any more. I honestly don't think bass can discern between 4lb and 20lb fluoro underwater. I admit that using heavier lb line does impede the lure's (jig, plastic, etc) action. I do still keep a rod rigged with 6lb for Ned rigs though.
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