Braid and leaders.

So being almost solely a walleye fisherman, I come to a question involving braided line and leaders. Now I have 8 rods all spooled with braid varying from 8lb-20lb test, as well as 4 ice rods with hi vis ice braid that I’m trying out this year. I notice in a lot of videos I watch from IDO that you guys use colored, sometimes high vis braid that appears to be rigged straight to your bait. So getting to my question. Do you find colored line or braids in general to ever hinder a bite? Is there situations in which tying a leader of mono or fluoro going to benefit you? Would open water vs ice make a difference in opinion?

-brad

I can’t remember a shoot we did this open water season where we ran braid straight to the baits with the exception of maybe the Fox River and part of the oconto/Peshtigo show. The only reason we wouldn’t have that trip was the water was really fast and muddy. By the time the fish would have figured out the line color, it would already have a bait firmly planted in their mouth!

Bites on really clear water I will stay away from high vis lines or run a longer fluoro leader. For example, on Mille Lacs I would probably opt for a different color. I know James uses a 4 to 6 foot, 15lb sufix invisiline leader. I would say in 95 percent of situations he runs a leader, minus some really dirty water situations. The leader also provides a little shock absorption versus running braid right to your bait.

The Oconto/Peshtigo show we shot this year is a perfect example of a leader making a difference. They were fishing some really dirty water and both were catching fish in equal numbers. James had no leader Paul did. They got out of the dirty water and Paul mopped up on James until he put one on and proceeded to catch 10 pigs on one drift.

We hardly ever fish braid through the ice, especially with the cold weather this year. I did fish braid a little this year through a hard house and run a 2 or 3 foot leader.

James said it best, sometimes it doesn’t matter, but when it matters…it REALLY matters.

Thanks for the detailed reply Ben, this is exactly the response I’m looking for. I only have high vis line on my ice braid, which I have yet to try through ice. I keep an extra spool for every reel for switching line, So I’ll be sure to keep some Fluoro and mono on standby.

So being that a leader is the goto when fishing braid, this brings my next question. How are you tying your leaders to your braid? Uni knot, barrel swivel, snap swivel with a loop knot for a quick change on pre tied leaders?

Modified Albright has served me very well, and is very easy to tie.

Modified albright is the best knot for joining mono or flouro to braid. I used to use the uni to uni but converted about 5 years ago and all my knot problems went away. I fish a alot of very clear water and will use upto 10 foot leaders the modified albright does not bother my casting at all on spinning gear.

Mwal