Terminal Tackle Leaders

I am getting ready to do a fly in trip to Canada. I have used 6″ steel leaders in the past so I wouldn’t get bit off all day long catching walleyes and northern. I have Used 6″ black leaders with a snap on one end and swivel on the other end. It Didn’t seem to matter to the fish…always caught lots of them. I was wondering….Is there anything better to use for a leader ? I see some fluorocarbon leaders for muskies around. Could I get some snaps, swivels and line and tie my own ?
Or should I just stick with something cheap and use the cheap black leaders ?

Thanks for any suggestions

I use single strand stainless wire with a swivel on one end only. The line gets tied to the swivel. The lure or jig get attached directly to the wire, no snap or snap swivel on that end.

This way I am adding no bulk to the jig or lure. If you need to change lures just snip the wire and re-twist. You only lose about 1 1/2 inches each time you change so start with just a bit longer piece of wire and you are good to go all day. (shouldn’t have to change too often)

A pair of “round nose” pliers will give you a nice round eye in the wire but an adequate job can be done with ordinary needle nose pliers.

Thanks Dave
What lb test wire do you use ?

Mike Burke wrote:

Thanks Dave
What lb test wire do you use ?

Good question that I can’t answer. I bought several coils of it many years ago at the (then) Berkley factory outlet. No tags on the coils now but the wire measures .018 inch. With a bit of research, you should be able to find a chart which would give you the lb. test. I’m using 12 to 17 lb braid for line and never have broken the wire.

Main reason I use the swivel on the line end is knot tying. The wire of the swivel is a larger diameter than the single strand leader wire. I tried just twisting an eye in the leader wire and tying to that but the small diameter wire would cut thru the line. Don’t have that issue when tying to a swivel.

I hate metal wire leaders with a passion. I’ve used 20# mono leaders with good success. Tied direct to the main line and tie on a snap.

I’ve also used 30, 40 and 60# floro with even better success. You can attach a snap to the end of a floro using wire crimps for a cleaner connection and tie the other end direct to your main line. You’ll need to buy a crimping tool though.

If you are fishing Walleyes and trying to protect against the occasional Pike then most anything will work. If fishing for Big Pike stop into Thorne Brothers or any shop with Muskie gear. Buy a 18″- 24″ wire leader but no need to go crazy on the pound test. A 30# will be good for 99% of the Pike or Muskie you catch. The quality of reel and the drag is far more important then the leader IMO. If you do catch a big Pike keep him in the net in the water as long as possible. Get your pliers ready, camera ready, tape measure ready. Unhook in the water in the net, pop ’em out measure Photo and release. Get BOTH of your hands wet before pulling them out of the water. That slime protects the fish after release.

Have fun!!

Some of our group used this AFW wire for leaders this year and had great success dodging bite offs and it didn’t inhibit walleye bites.
https://www.cabelas.com/product/fishing/fishing-line/leader-material/pc/104793480/c/104719680/sc/104130180/afw-surflon-micro-supreme-wire/1317773.uts?slotId=2