snell length???

I know we went over this a little last year but a refresher never hurts. How important is leader length?? There has been nights when a little change in lenght has payed of big. I played around with different lengths and the results I got was the shorter the better in most cases. Whats you thoughts???
I have about running the weight direct to the hook. Especially in the boat where you naturally will be giving some space back to the bait. Just another one of the things you think about while at work.

I like to use a 4-6 inch leader made of the same line as my main line. I’ve never tried without a leader. When I tried using longer leaders, I got snagged more, the sinker had a better chance of tangling, and it made casting a bit more difficult.

I go with the very short snell also for flatheads.. longer for channels earlier in the year. Early in the year when there is a lot of debris in the water(leaves mainly), a loger leader seems to help let the bait rest on top of the sediment rather than dig in.

Fishing flatheads, 6″ or less all the time. If I want a longer leader I can pay out line. I will not fish with no leader because I have issues with the weight smacking the hook often causing me to lose my bait. I dont know if the extra impact tends to stretch out the hook hole or what, but the end result is having to put on another bait.

My bite and hookup ratio is excellent with a very short leader. Far more bites than a long leader. My theory is I think they love a lively bait(we all know this), but that doesnt mean they want to chase it*. If its working good, why change if I havent used, or witnessed something that works better?

Dont be afraid to try different things, but make sure you use what works best in the end.

I like to use shorten ones when fishing the snags, say 6 to 12″. Then when I’m fishing holes or flats I like using snells over 24″ up to 36″.

Leader lenght changes for me for each species and every type of situation.
For Flatheads, I prefer a shorter leader,6 to 9″.
A couple reasons for that is one, its so much easier to cast. You bait is usually large and the sinker heavy. When pitched through the air, the centrifugal force usually ends up tossing that bait a bit further than your hook.
Tangles also seem to be a problem with heavier sinkers and baits twirling through the air.

I have also taken a liking to the “Dark 30 rig”. No leader at all. That really makes casting much easier.

Even though I prefer shorter leaders on flathead rigs, I still pay out a bit of line to let the bait swim freely depending on the area that I am fishing. If its snaggy I will keep a tight leash on my little pet, but if the bottom is fairly clean, i’ll let him run around a play a bit.
On a long leash, if the tip stops thumping indicating that the bait has become less active a few pulls on the line will get him going again, or I’ll shorten up the leash.

Dave makes a great point on hook sets with long leaders. If you don’t make sure you have a tight line or direct contact with the fish before setting the hook, your going to wiff. I’ll take up all the slack and wait untill I am sure that there is no bow in the line, before setting the hook.
This is also a good argument for using the lightest sinker you can get away with. Its the sinker changing the angle of the line that prevents a good hookset.

If the fish start dropping the bait before I get a tight line, then I’ll think about shortening up the leash. However, I beleive dropped baits are typically smaller fish, channels and turtles. Hey, you have to blame somebody!

Channel cats are a different story. I typically use a longer leader, anywhere from 18 to 36″ depending on what I am fishing.
Snags get the shorter end and current edges and chutes the longer. WIth dead bait it will tend to end up on the bottom and not leave a good scent trail. Getting the bait up and waving around in the current is a more natural presentation and I belive the cats respond to it better. After all when cats are feeding in current they are looking for food to come downstream waving along in the current.

There is one time of year that I will use a long leader on snags and even “feed” line into them. THats the spawn. When those cats are holed up tight and deep in the snags, I have found that getting right in their face will often trigger a bite. Its often a very light bite, but if you paying attention you can detect it and hook up.

Thanks for the info guys! My best luck has been with 6-8 inch leaders but I am going to play with it a little more this year. A few areas I fish we do great with suckers but them little guys are good at is hiding and laying tight and still to the bottom. One thing that helped me if theres not too much to snag around is hooking the hook thru the top of the nose down thru the mouth and doing a little trimming. This keep the minnow fighting with the weight of the hook. Seems to keep him occupied and away from hiding so easy. Do you guys ever hook your bait differently depending on leader size or do you let the current/bait deturmine that?? . Like you said Dave if it aint broke why fix it but some days I thinks a little change can make a big difference. I have olny fished for flats for about 3 years now but hate to form a habit of doing things one way. Thanks agian for the info.. You guys have been a ton of help

Hey RatherBFishn – I thought i would add this technique that I saw on another forum. This is a technique used for drift fishing for blues – they are running leaders from 24″ to 36″ and they set a small crappie float about 6″ to 8″ in front of the hook to lift it off the bottom. They do this to prevent snags and to get the bait up a little so the fish can see it better. I plan on experimenting with this leader set up when fishing channels this spring. I plan on doing some drifting and will try it there but I am also going to try it in my normal channel spots too.