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Posts: 103
| I'm having a hard time finding leaders that match what I'm looking for, so I'm going to make my own and was wondering what fluorocarbon you guys trust. I'm using this fluorocarbon to troll liplocks and mattlocks, so I was going to shoot for 150-200 pound fluorocarbon leader. I was thinking of using seaguar big game blue label, but wanted other people input on good brands for leader material. |
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Location: Athens, Ohio | I use the 130# and 150# premade by stealth and NEVER had an 'issue'. m
https://www.stealthtackle.net/product-category/leaders/fluorocarbon-... |
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Posts: 103
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Posts: 1236
Location: Walker, MN | Sufix Invisaline Leader Material 100# for open water trolling, and 150# for everything else. I can easily tie the 100# using a uni knot or figure 8 tarpon loop, 5' leaders that I check for nicks constantly. I crimp the 150# with double barrel sleeves and a good swaging tool. I also use Stealth leaders in 150# and 180# for some casting applications. |
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| I think a 150# 5' leader (without damage) could tow a 24' Tritoon around the lake.
I made some trolling leaders last year with 150# flouro, used barrel sleeves as ninja mentioned, but put a kind of loose knot by the swivel and snap. Saw it in a you tube vid. Idea was that the knot would act as bit of shock absorber if you snagged something, where the initial shock did not get transferred directly to the swaged sleeves. |
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Posts: 2003
| Yes Seaguar blue - great stuff - can you find cheaper sure but why? Bought in bulk you can make a bunch of leaders for a fairly small investment, and like anything you get good at it, the more you do it, I make enough to last me five years in an hour. |
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Posts: 8771
| I've been using Seaguar 130# for about 10 years now. It takes a while to learn how to crimp and tie them but I've never had a failure. Your snaps will wear out first unless your fishing a ton of rocks and reefs and you have a habit of getting fouled up in them. I don't do that.  |
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Posts: 103
| Ok, I think I'll get the 200 lb test 60" leaders from stealth tackle. Do you guys think I can get away with my Dobyns Fury Swimbait rod for smaller lures (like a swimming dawg or small bucktails) and my XH assault stick for larger lures like a 10" headlock? Chaos tackle customer service says that my XH assault stick will break while trolling, but I don't know if I believe that considering they are a business. |
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Posts: 8771
| Rods have changed, so it's not a hard and fast rule that you NEED trolling rods. But graphite certainly will break if you forget to loosen your drag. And you'll lose your next fish if you forget to tighten it back up when you go back to casting. Another thing to consider is that over time your cork will take a beating from the rod holders. |
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Posts: 103
| esoxaddict - 7/18/2024 7:58 PM
Rods have changed, so it's not a hard and fast rule that you NEED trolling rods. But graphite certainly will break if you forget to loosen your drag. And you'll lose your next fish if you forget to tighten it back up when you go back to casting. Another thing to consider is that over time your cork will take a beating from the rod holders.
Ok, I have a dedicated trolling reel for line counting so the drag isn't much of a concern. I'll get trolling rods eventually, I just have to prioritize other stuff first. |
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| Maybe the rationale of Chaos is that you are not just dealing with a fish hook up when trolling. dickP mentioned hooking an island, I have hooked a boulder the size of a car. No give and your boat keeps moving. Lot of stress on the rod. I was using a Chaos Assault Stick Trolling rod when I hooked said boulder, going about 4 miles an hour in an 18' boat. Lot of stress on the rod and it took it no problem. It was recommended by someone on here and I think it is a real value. |
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Posts: 103
| North of 8 - 7/18/2024 9:05 PM
Maybe the rationale of Chaos is that you are not just dealing with a fish hook up when trolling. dickP mentioned hooking an island, I have hooked a boulder the size of a car. No give and your boat keeps moving. Lot of stress on the rod. I was using a Chaos Assault Stick Trolling rod when I hooked said boulder, going about 4 miles an hour in an 18' boat. Lot of stress on the rod and it took it no problem. It was recommended by someone on here and I think it is a real value.
I'm primarily doing open water trolling in deep water right now. Where I am we don't have a lot of huge boulders, it's mostly weeds and rocks. |
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Posts: 1709
Location: Mt. Zion, IL | I use high seas 175 fluoro for casting. IIRC it is 0.001” thicker than 130 so not much. 200 was 0.002” thicker than 175 last time I checked. |
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Posts: 549
Location: deephaven mn | i use 130lb seagur . its easy to tie. i use a nail knot with a nail knot tool. 150can be done but its trickier because of the line width. i dont trust crimps most work but ive seen some fail and on big fish ouch. |
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| I use 125# Triplefish fluorocarbon; quite supple, and ties easily. I tie a reverse nail knot, using a Tie-Fast Magnum Knot Tyer. |
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Posts: 2003
| kap - 7/20/2024 6:47 AM
i use 130lb seagur . its easy to tie. i use a nail knot with a nail knot tool. 150can be done but its trickier because of the line width. i dont trust crimps most work but ive seen some fail and on big fish ouch.
The only crimp that’s ever going to fall is one done wrong, with the correct tool and 2 minutes of learning, doing a crimp wrong becomes almost impossible, I promise you a knot done wrong will fail faster. Crimp and tie leaders? Never got that either.
I trust my crimps more than the palomar knot I’m using to tie the braid to the leader, I’m 110% sure the palomar won’t fail. |
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