If you use a leader, what influences which one you use? Trust or price or availability or whatever you have lying around?

The other day I went to buy some of those tiny little 50m spools of the Sufix Advance fluorocarbon leader I have been using for a good while now and which I really like and trust. But it was out of stock where I usually get it - Veals Mail Order - and when possible I try to buy from a few specific places I know and trust. Similar in my head to using fishing tackle we trust, and because it’s the way my brain works, it got me thinking…………..

If you use a leader of course, what does that length of usually clear fluorocarbon or monofilament line on the end of your braid mean to you? To me there are a few non-negotiables in my fishing world, with my mainline and leader plus the knot I use to connect them being some of them. As much as I keep an eye out for different leader knots that might be worth a try, nothing has persuaded me in what has to be ten plus years now that the FG knot is THE best connection between mainline and leader for the type of lure fishing I do. My only connection to any fish I might hook is my mainline and leader, plus that connection knot between them, plus the knot from leader to lure clip or lure. Non-negotiable to me.

If you have read this blog for a long time then you will know that I have tried a lot of different fluorocarbon leaders over the years. I can’t remember trying one that specifically let me down, but for various reasons I definitely prefer some specific types or brands of fluorocarbon leaders over others. I implicitly trust Sufix lines so I was interested to see what their Sufix Advance fluorocarbon was like - review here. I also like how the little 50m spools take up virtually no room in my rucksack, because I like to carry the 20lb, 17lb and 14lb with me. I wish there was a 25lb but there isn’t, and to be honest I tend to think about leader material as a combination of diameter and breaking strain rather than just one or the other.

Put a lot of lure and fly anglers in a room and I fancy the chances of the brilliant Seaguar Ace Hard fluoro leader coming out on top. I asked you in the title to this blog post what influences your choice of leader material, because this Seaguar Ace Hard is not cheap, and the breaking strain claims versus actual diameters can skew what you go for. It’s very much a generalisation, but I look for a fluoro leader around 0.40mm for my general bass lure fishing, then 0.35mm for the lighter estuary stuff and if I am fishing particularly clear or calmer conditions out on the coast, and perhaps 0.45mm for more hectic seas around rough ground especially. Take that with a pinch of salt I might add, but go looking at the breaking strains versus diameter with the Seaguar Ace Hard and you will better understand why I tend to buy by diameters.

I know it doesn’t mean much, but a leader material also has to feel right to me. There is nothing remotely scientific here I might add, but when I run my fingers up and down the leader, it just has to feel “right”. What that “right” is will be different for different anglers, but I know what it feels like to me. I know how good the Savage Gear Soft fluorocarbon is for example, but for some reason the stiffer Semi-Soft fluorocarbon from Savage Gear just feels better to me. I wish all leader spools used the design from these Savage Gear leaders I might add, and I particularly like the Savage Gear 0.45mm/23.58lb Super Hard fluorocarbon leader for my surf fishing. I can’t give you a specific reason other than it feels right and I completely trust it. I also like the spool design again, indeed a number of mono and fluoro spool designs really annoy me with how fiddly they are to trap the line after use and so on. Why are such big plastic spools required as well for what might be only 30m or 50m of line? As with those small 50m Sufix Advance (if you can find them), I really like the small 30m spools of the excellent Varivas SeaBass (fluoro) Shock Leader material.

One specific leader material which I saw some anglers yapping about online the other day is one that I had kinda forgotten about but which I used for a long time. It never, ever let me down in any way and it always just felt “right” to me. Upon checking online, it seems to be regularly in stock in a number of shops and online stores. I kinda forgot about this stuff, but with how well it used to do for me I have gone and ordered some to fish with again. Anybody else love that YGK Nitlon DFC Fluorocarbon leader? I probably change my leaders too often, but as you might guess I am often playing around with different rods and reels, and I regularly run my fingers up and down any leader I fish with to check for any weaknesses. Any doubt whatsoever and I tie a new leader on. Non-negotiable to me. You all have a good weekend. This run of recent weather has been incredible, but from the bass fishing point of view I am looking forward to the forecasted low pressure systems rolling back in. Guess who’s setting their alarm for 3am tomorrow morning?

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