Stupid Line Question - SORRY

[keeferfish]

I’ve been fishing braid exclusively for more than 4 years and bright yellow at that, Spring,Summer,Fall and Winter. I see many people attach mono or fluorocarbon to braid I assume for Stealth? I have never noticed someone out catching another due to line alone. I have taken a black marker and colored my line near the jig but have noticed no difference.

I guess my question is if you attach some other line to braid wouldn’t you be giving up the only advantages it provides, like strength, feel and no stretch?

[skeetbum]

Fluoro is less seen and still doesn't have much stretch. I use hi vis braid and a 12lb fluoro leader, attached with a double uni knot.With the jig in the loop at the bottom of the rod the fluoro is dead straight and I lose no feel. Most folks use a smaller diameter leader but this is what I had and at $15 or more a spool I'm gonna use it til I can find a reason not to.

[Turtlebait]

Like you I have been useing braid for several years,its on all my rods and jig poles.I have used all different colored lines several different line sizes.I fish,clear,off color to stained water and haven't noticed any differents in line color or size.Really I think if a fish is going to eat or snack it doesn't make it no differents it the jig or minner is tied to a hair line or log chain its going eat or snack.

[CrappiePappy]

I’ve been fishing braid exclusively for more than 4 years and bright yellow at that, Spring,Summer,Fall and Winter. I see many people attach mono or fluorocarbon to braid I assume for Stealth? I have never noticed someone out catching another due to line alone. I have taken a black marker and colored my line near the jig but have noticed no difference.

I guess my question is if you attach some other line to braid wouldn’t you be giving up the only advantages it provides, like strength, feel and no stretch?

Keefer ... the only time I've ever put a leader on braid, was back in the mid 1970's !! I was fishing Button Bushes on Lake Barkley, using a 10' collapsible rod & 15lb test dacron braid. I pre-rigged my 6lb test leaders with hook & sinker. I used the leaders for the simple reason that, should I get hung in the roots or branches of the bushes ... there was no way I was going to be able to reach the line to pull the hook free/open with just braid alone. The 6lb leader would break faster than the braid or rod ... and I'd just tie on another leader setup, rather than having to re-string the whole rod.

More recently (1980-90's) I've used the grey 20/6 Spiderwire, tied directly to the hook ... and successfully caught Crappie out of standing cedar trees, in the clearer waters of Nov., at a local lake.

Currently I use hi-vis 10/2 PowerPro, tied directly to Roadrunners & other bladed baits ... and catch Crappie from most any lake I fish, whether they're relatively clear or moderately stained. I'm using it on a 7' IM7 Bionic Blade spinning rod ... and rarely even set the hook, when I get a hit. Actually, what I do is continue to reel & just sweep the rod back about a foot. It's more of a "pull" than a "jerk". Since I'm using braid in order to be able to pull a snagged bait free, I don't use a leader line. The fish don't seem to care about the line, or its color, as I've had numerous occasions where the fish followed the bait ... nearly the length of the boat ... and shallow enough that I watched the fish come after the bait.

If our fathers & grandfathers could catch fish using black, white, or multicolored nylon lines, without the use of a leader ... I see no reason why we can't do the same.

... cp

[deathb4disco]

... if you attach some other line to braid wouldn’t you be giving up the only advantages it provides, like strength, feel and no stretch?

Not necessarily, especially if the leader is short.

Some people swear by leaders, and others ignore them. They're used a lot in saltwater (redfishing, for example) because braid frays easily on oyster bars, etc., and the mono/fluoro leader takes that abuse better.

[HLLeonard]

It does seem some of the fellas that have been at it longer don't use leaders... I am new enough to crappie fishing to not have a lot of experience with these kinda of things but one fishing trip convinced me that a leader is beneficial, to me anyway, was fishing with an uncle of mine on my pontoon and we were sitting side by side on the front of the thing.. I had two identical rod and reel setups with the exception of braid on one and mono on the other, he is 85 and and not in the best of health and what we were doing was straight lining in 12 or 15 feet of water, when he hung up I was trading poles with him and pulling it loose or whatever i had to do and I got to noticing, sometimes I was catching more fish that him and other times he was catching more fish than me, I started paying attn. to what was going on and the mono was getting more hits than the braid so that was enough to convince me of the benefit of the leader although it is a pain as far as tying it on and such... If you don't believe it makes a difference then you probably don't need it but for me it is a necessity.... That old uncle told everybody I cheated him by giving him a pole that wouldn't catch fish...lol.

[Cray]

Don't use leader any more if jigging. Tried it and didn't see any difference. Didn't feel I lost any of the sensitivity because the leader was so short ie: no stretch to speak of. Like mono beter than floro.

[CatFan]

I prefer fluorescent yellow line all the way to the hook. I've never seen the fish care what the line looks like.

[wilbur]

Me and the son in law were fishing shallow bluegill beds in super clear water. you could see the fish go for the bait 20 ft. away. we both had 6# vicious Hi-Viz yellow, but I tied a 6# mono leader ,Trilene I think it was. I was catchin one after another and he couldnt get a bite. Finally he put on a leader also and begin to catch fish, That was the only time that happened,but this water was super clear.

[skeetbum]

Just to clarify, I use a leader to make retying easier. I use 12lb fluoro and the piece is about 6 to 7 feet and gets nibbled away as I retie. Don't think crappie care one way or the other, other fish can be line shy.