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Posts: 42
| Caveat: fishing in clear water, under 500 acres, lots of fishing pressure. Mostly casting but some trolling.
Questions:
1) is a 12" 80lb flourocarbon leader really stealthy afterall ?
2) would a 3' to 4' piece of fluorocarbon tied via albright knot to my main line be a better option ?
Judging by my results (lots of follows but no commitments) I'm starting to think going to a 12" fluoro leader was not a good idea. Since the leader is so short, the hardware (swivel tied to braid) is clearly visible, as is the braid itself.
Thoughts ?
Also, upped my braid to 50lb and 65lb (from 30lb).
Clearly I need to go back to Bass gear (only half serious).
Edited by BassMiesterNJ 8/17/2010 1:20 PM
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Posts: 618
Location: Michigan | I wouldn't worry about your leader length at all as 12" is fine. I fish a lake that sounds very similar to the one you described (20' visibility at times, lots of pressure, and lots of follows most of the time) and use 12-18" fluoro and wire leaders. I would try fishing at dark times during the day (early morning, sunset, night fishing, cloudy days) as the low light will definitely work in your favor. I don't know what baits you are using, but I like fishing the deepest weeds or rocks with Bulldawgs/SuperDs and deep crankbaits. |
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Posts: 1663
Location: Kodiak, AK | Yeah, I wouldn't worry about 12" leaders. I use 14" Stealth and the fish don't mind, and I doubt the 2" extra makes a difference. If the fish is going to spook due to the hardware on the leader, they'd spook due to the hooks and split rings hanging off the bait. Follows are part of it and when I'm getting alot of follows, I take that a que to change my bait to something slower, or more erratic, or smaller, or a different color, whatever. I'm not saying a muskie has never spooked from hardware, and I'm not saying it's not your problem. But these are fish that will hit a bait in the figure 8 with 4' of fishing rod swirling around in the water over their heads, not to mention the trolling motor hanging off the front of a 20' boat. Hardware is the least of their concerns, IMO. Jason gives good advice though, and if you feel you need to go more stealthy, fish darker, lower sun periods. Guys have been catching fish on steel leaders for years and years. 12" FC shouldn't be an issue. |
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