Leaders for Pike Fishing?

[manitoubass2]

(03-20-2012 12:56 AM)prime89 Wrote:  Cool.

Yeah cus Ive been thinking of going leader less..or jus use fluoro as leader material and braid for my main line.

There are situations where I do use a leader. If I do, it's generally about 16-18".

That being said, there are alot of factors that come into play.

Over the past few years that I got serious about pike fishing, hands down my favorite approach is to tie direct with 15-20lb braid. It has great abrasion resistance and easily handles the biggest of fish.

Sometimes, I do use a leader of the same as my mainline though, just so I have a barrel swivel attached to keep my presentation from spinning in the current. I do this mainly when I'm fishing the bottom of the water column in 10 FOW or more.

And I'm not a fan of Southbend products. I bought some 8lb mono for my kids rods, and when I was spooling it up, you can feel some stresses in the line. Fresh mono should be very smooth, and you shouldn't feel any nicks or stress on the line. I know the pricepoint is nice, but I'd pony up and spend a few more bucks on quality line, Like Trilene XT (for mono), or Powerpro braid, or Suffix 832 braid, or even duracast braid.

Hope this helps!