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Posts: 127
| Ripping rubbers has become my go-to confidence presentation. I am attempting to refine things even further and am now looking at my leaders. Currently, I've been using 12 inch multi strand wire with the coastlock snaps. I am losing confidence in the snaps and slowly coming around to the anglers who swear by leaders using split rings instead. So, my questions:
1) What leader do you like to use if you are planning on using split rings as your connector?
2) What length leader do you recommend when ripping rubbers like tubes, pounders, and restless riders?
3) I really like multi strand, but if you think single strand is a decent plan for rubbers, I'd love to hear about it.
Thank you ahead of time for your advice. |
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Posts: 1465
Location: Brighton CO. | I make my own leaders out of AFW Stainless Steel in 240# and 174# or I use Doug Wagner 90# cripped cable leader with a steel solid O ring (in the 70's we avoided cripped cable) but with the amount of giant fish Doug catches I trust them. I would really like the Bucher cable leaders if they a solid O ring in stead of a snap. I made my leaders in different lengths and with swivels or plain but with a O ring on the end by the lure. What works best? Not sure from my 1/2 week or full week fishing trips we are dealing with a small sample size. I've been messing around building Bucktails and lure modifications all winter and will start making different leaders this spring. For years I've been wanting to make a home made Bucher leader cable leader but have not figured out how to do it. I have a few old beat up ones to reverse engineer. |
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Posts: 390
Location: Selkirk, Manitoba | Yes, coast locks not good enough for muskies, replace with staylocks if you are going to use those leaders.
Everyone should listen to Hans the Carver here - will save some fish, and as he says, some heartache:
https://youtu.be/-OaN6Ko0Xx0?si=46QkSmuOv_i4ElZT&t=18
I get the stay-lock with the swivel and you can take the snap off if you want and then use the snap on one end and swivel on the other. With a bucktail application you may want swivels on both ends depending on how it performs.
If you are going to go split ring, the same principle of getting the strongest rings you can get. I don't recall who makes them, someone else can pipe up, but they are in the 100s of pounds and triple rings - not going to come apart.
As for lengths, I prefer shorter for bucktails (for better figure 8 performance) and longer for rubber, especially if you get a wonky cast you don't want the treble on a monster tube to catch your line if you are not yet proficient with dropping rubber well, or get tired or sloppy.
As Hans says, if they kink, single strand is DONE. Fortunately I've only lost a nice lure, not a fish when one snapped on me after having had a fish or two on it that had a kink in it -- lesson learned. |
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Posts: 1465
Location: Brighton CO. | Good video above, I use the same brown AFW and as far as swivels the mighty mini are 1/0 size are 511# or if you use a ball bearing swivel it is 150# for size 5, the Stealth welded rings are 200# for size 5 and 150# for size 4. If I'm fishing at a place full small fish or I'm changing lures to find a pattern I'll use a Stringease snap size 5 300lb test. Once I know what I'm going to use lure wise I spit ring my lure to the solid ring on my lure. Never use a spit ring on a bare leader without the O ring. I make my leaders with a Hagens wire bender. |
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Posts: 2290
Location: SE, WI. | chuckski - 2/23/2025 9:51 AM I make my own leaders out of AFW Stainless Steel in 240# and 174# or I use Doug Wagner 90# cripped cable leader with a steel solid O ring (in the 70's we avoided cripped cable) but with the amount of giant fish Doug catches I trust them. I would really like the Bucher cable leaders if they a solid O ring in stead of a snap. I made my leaders in different lengths and with swivels or plain but with a O ring on the end by the lure. What works best? Not sure from my 1/2 week or full week fishing trips we are dealing with a small sample size. I've been messing around building Bucktails and lure modifications all winter and will start making different leaders this spring. For years I've been wanting to make a home made Bucher leader cable leader but have not figured out how to do it. I have a few old beat up ones to reverse engineer. Just make a jig loop knot, same as buchers leaders. Use super glue to seal knot. Been tying these for years! Snap, swivel, or O rings… JD |
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Posts: 225
Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota | I have used the 12 and 18” leaders and lures 49 strand leaders with a solid ring for rubber and had issues with them coiling up. Great right out of the pack but once you get a fouled cast that it will kink/start to coil up like a spring and can’t get it back straight. I have also used straight 174lbs wire leaders I make myself that work great as long as you remake them once Rheem kink. The leaders I started using for everything besides bucktails is the pandemonium Roswell titanium leaders, split ring to solid ring. They are significantly more flexible than 174lbs, can’t kink them, but still have that single strand strength. They aren’t cheap but they are indestructible. Only other leaders I will use are the 6” Doug wegner spring steel bucktail leaders which are also almost indestructible |
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Posts: 784
Location: Ames, Iowa | Make my own outta #90 Sevenstrand with either Stringease Staylokt #4s or Crosslock snaps, 150 lb. I use Spro power swivels for these leaders. Mine are double crimped at each end, and I have been using heat shrink tubing at the front end. They are no longer that 9"-12". My solid wire leaders use #174 AFW wire and the Staylokt snaps with a solid rings Spro Ball Bearing swivel up front. I round my wire with rounding pliers, about 3 wraps, and like those leaders no longer than the bait. I fish Leech and generally do not throw giant baits- the biggest being 8" Hellhounds, 9" Weighted Suicks, Reef Hawgs, and 7" Jackpots- all thrown with the solid wire leaders. Never had a failure of either kind. I check my snaps all the time and if they look snapworn, I cannibalize the whole thing usually saving just the swivels. The boys and I have caught big fish on these, the biggest being 53, 52, 47, 46. |
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