I have a question concerning leaders on a Carolina rig. I have been using 20 pound test with a 20 pound Flouro leader. After reading articles and so forth I found that it is best to use a smaller weight leader for bait presentation. My question is, why do some use like a 20 pound main line and then a 12 or so pound leader. What is the benefit of using the 20 pound line??? Wouldn’t the leader break at the swivel?
I use 12# for both, but if I am pulling planers I like to use 10# leaders. The idea is if you snag the line, the leader will break and you wont have to circle back to retrieve your lost planer board. Never fun if you have a bunch of planers and freelines out. I don’t see much of a reason for 20# down to 12#, other than if you want to go fish Hartwell you wouldn’t have to respool your line to go heavier.
Wellcraft V-20 sportfish with a 200 Evinrude
Thanks Tom, I could see where that would be helpful. I fish for shark and red’s in Charleston and just started for striper. I live within an hour of 5 of the best lakes so there’s no telling where i will fish. I’ve been wanting to make it over to Russell but I always find myself on Murray on my days off. I like it on Murray, only been there a handful of times but its an awesome lake.
I use 20# on all my reels except for 2 which are 7000’s and they have 30# on them. I fish too many different lakes to go smaller than 20# mainline. That being said I run 14# floro on DR, FL, and PB. On murray. Occasionally I will put on 20# floro if I am up in the rivers pulling bigger baits…
when I go else where: clarks hill, hartwell, Russell, linear. 20# floro leaders are standard.
same with what Tom said retrieving your planer w/o turning around is essential. Running the smallest leader possible will allow your bait to swim as natural as possible. But no sense of running a light leader if your going to use a heavy hook. The heavy hook will weigh the bait down. I use a owner mutu light wire hook. The herring can swim this hook anywhere they want.
“Sea~N~Stripes”
21’ Hewes Craft Custom
115 Evinrude
quote:
Originally posted by Murrymaker… Running the smallest leader possible will allow your bait to swim as natural as possible. … The heavy hook will weigh the bait down. … The herring can swim this hook anywhere they want.
“Sea~N~Stripes”
21’ Hewes Craft Custom
115 Evinrude
On your planer boards are you using a splitshot above the swivel or a bead? Are there any advantages to using splitshot on the planer board baits (getting them lower in the water when pulling and/or when stopped to get them out of the way if fighting a hooked fish)?
We’re using splitshot right now cause I don’t feel like retying for topwater (we’re pulling with spinning gear because the drag is easier to adjust) … just wondering if that’s interfering with the board system - this past weekend everything hooked up on the freelines - no takers on the boards
it’s my Wife’s fault we HAVE to fish now!!!
2005 Sea Pro 2100cc / Yamaha 150hp 4-Stroke
quote:
Originally posted by Lawcrusherquote:
Originally posted by Murrymaker… Running the smallest leader possible will allow your bait to swim as natural as possible. … The heavy hook will weigh the bait down. … The herring can swim this hook anywhere they want.
“Sea~N~Stripes”
21’ Hewes Craft Custom
115 Evinrude
On your planer boards are you using a splitshot above the swivel or a bead? Are there any advantages to using splitshot on the planer board baits (getting them lower in the water when pulling and/or when stopped to get them out of the way if fighting a hooked fish)?
We’re using splitshot right now cause I don’t feel like retying for topwater (we’re pulling with spinning gear because the drag is easier to adjust) … just wondering if that’s interfering with the board system - this past weekend everything hooked up on the freelines - no takers on the boards
it’s my Wife’s fault we HAVE to fish now!!!
2005 Sea Pro 2100cc / Yamaha 150hp 4-Stroke
I use a hook leader swivel bead. On 4 of the 6-8boards I am pulling. I run a splitshot above the bead on two of the boards just a bead on the rest. It will bring the herring down some in the column. Sometimes all they want is freelines. The bait acts different on FL versus PB. Some days they want only boards and some days just floats…find what they want ant and fish that way. But to answer your question I dont care for running split shot behind boards but still do it. I also run a split shot on 1 of the 2 freelines I run.
“Sea~N~Stripes”
21’ H
I mainly just fish drop lines and use an 1/0 Octopus. I did have 4/0 circle hooks but after reading material on here and so forth changed over to the octopus. Haven’t gotten into the board pulling but I plan on getting me about 3 per side - seems like thats the way to go.
I still fish 2 downrods when pulling boards, but when fish are sitting/cruising in 2-5’ of water it just hard not to to pull boards…haha I have caught alot of fish on downrods in less than 5’ of water
“Sea~N~Stripes”
21’ Hewes Craft Custom
115 Evinrude
I like the bead, I often pull my planers very shallow right along the shore or up on a shallow point. If you put split shots on they will hang up.
Pirate, You should probably start with two boards and work your way up. it is also good to run a “transom line”, which is a freeline just a few feet back along with a freeline farther back.
Wellcraft V-20 sportfish with a 200 Evinrude
OK, I do not believe in using a lighter line for your leader. Here is why. As a retired DuPont engineer, I spent a lot of time working in “Fibers”, and also did a lot of presentations on fishing line while sponsored by Stren. The thing most people do not think about is “elongation”, this is essentially how much “stretch” is in the line. If you have a 3 foot leader, it has much less “stretch” than the 50 plus feet of line between the reel and the swivel. I use 17 lb main line with a 17 lb leader. My main line has a lot more stretch than my 3 foot leader, and I rarely break the main line. It just does not make sense to use a heavier main line than your leader. 99% of the time, the leader will break before the main line.
I only use a split shot, if the fish are still deep. Most of my 20 - 30 lb fish have come in less than 5 feet of water on Planer Boards.
4/0 circle hooks? Are you fishing 12"+ Gizzard Shad? I cannot imagine any herring I have ever seen, being able to survive or pull a 4/0 hook.
I totally agree with running downrods in less than 5 feet of water. I have caught nice stripers on 3 foot downrods.
Steely Tom is correct, put out a transom rod. They work quite well. A lot of people in the club have been using them for several years.
Rick K
The only other advantage that I know of when using lighter leaders than your main line is that if you hang up you might only lose the leader. That can save valuable time in getting the line rigged and fishable again. All you have to do is have another leader ready to tie to the main line. I do this a lot on Carolina rigs in largie tournaments. If you set your drag correctly for the leader the heavier main line doesn’t make any difference. I prefer using fluorocarbon only and don’t usually go less than 17 lbs. test for the main line with maybe a 12 lbs. leader. Same is usually true when I’m fishing the spoons below a barrel swivel.
4/0 circle hooks? Are you fishing 12"+ Gizzard Shad? I cannot imagine any herring I have ever seen, being able to survive or pull a 4/0 hook.
I know that hook is a little extreme but I was out to catch Jaws! 
I had some 4/0 circle hooks in my tackle box from salt water fishing. I later switched to 1/0 octopus but I have not started pulling boards or anything. I just got into striper fishing about 2 months ago and right now I’m just using down lines.
Upstate Pirate, that is a great question. When I was fishing down rods this summer I was using 20lb Fluorocarbon with the same as a leader. I was advised that a lighter test for a leader would enable the bait to swim better and be less detectable by the fish. The impact hasn’t really been noticeable since I never catch any fish…LOL as for the hooks, I use 4/0 and 3/0 circle hooks. They look too big to me as well, but I have to go with what the guys on here advise because their pictures are a lot bigger than mine!
~Rob
Rob,
that 4/0 hook is going to weigh your bait down and prevent it from swimming naturally. When the herring get small I will go with a size 2 gamagatsu octopus, I like 1/0 or 2/0 for the regular/bigger baits. I wouldn’t use a 4/0 unless I was pulling trout or big gizzards.
Wellcraft V-20 sportfish with a 200 Evinrude
I will agree that the 4/0 are overkill. I would nearly kill the herring when I went through the nostril with the hook because the diameter of the hook is so large. Works great for cut mullet for reds and bonnetts but a bit much for herring IMO.
We used to rig all rods with 12 pound test but moved to 14 pound since adding planer boards to our arsenal. Basically following the idea that a lighter leader leads to better bait activity. Aware of the concept of having lighter leader than main line (in event of snags/hangups) and I’ll probably switch back to 3 foot 12 pound leaders. Where we fish at Murray the poundage should be fine and we use large capacity reels so a really big one can make a long run against the drag.
We started off with 3/0 and 4/0 octopus circle hooks, and that will help to keep the little ones off, but we’ve been fishing mostly 1/0 octopus circle hooks lately, however, I’m inclined to go just a little smaller and return to the size 2 octopus circle hooks. The fish get hooked right where they belong in the side of the mouth. Of course, we just fish with regular size herring. Patti brought in her 10 pounder on a size 2.
Tom, have a question about split shots. My understanding is that on PB’s you are putting on 1 just above the bead. On a FL are you putting one on just above the swivel? How much deeper does that put the bait? I also assume that we are talking about regular standard split shot.
I usually just put it above the bead either way. If I am in deeper water I use them. I will run some lines with non, some with one and sometimes I will put a couple on to get a bait down deeper but out away from the boat. But if I am up in the river and pulling lines up onto flats, along the bank or down trees, I don’t use any split shots. I really have no idea how deep they go, but it depends on the speed. I like to vary my speed, sometimes stopping completely and sometime hitting it to top speed for a few seconds. But my catch rates are about the same as yours, so there are plenty of people on here that are better.
Wellcraft V-20 sportfish with a 200 Evinrude
I guess people did not understand my previous post, “The thing most people do not think about is “elongation”, this is essentially how much “stretch” is in the line. If you have a 3 foot leader, it has much less “stretch” than the 50 plus feet of line between the reel and the swivel. I use 17 lb main line with a 17 lb leader. My main line has a lot more stretch than my 3 foot leader, and I rarely break the main line. It just does not make sense to use a heavier main line than your leader. 99% of the time, the leader will break before the main line.”
If you don’t believe it, tie on a 4 foot leader and tie it to a fence post, and let out 50 feet of line. Pull it until it breaks, and report back where it broke.
Rick K
This is my reasoning behind 2 different sizes. Of course the idea of breaking it off easier. Yes i understand a shorter piece of 20# breaks easier than a longer piece, but why strain the main line or your arm more than you have to. Also I like the action the bait produces with a lighter leader.
More importantly:
When tangles occur, 95% of the time its in the main line (at least for me) the heavier main line will hold up a little better when this happens IMO. When a fish makes a run for the anchor rope or a dock or any other obstruction that heavier main line is going to be what makes contact with that obstacle. Rub a piece of 14/17# of line on the edge of a table and do it with a piece of 20#. The 20# is going to be more abrasive.
Just my .02 on using 2 different sizes.
“Sea~N~Stripes”
21’ Hewes Craft Custom
115 Evinrude
I always like to use the same for both leader and main line, usually 15 lb mono w/flouro.
I’ve just never liked the idea of having the leader be the weakest link between the fish and my reel. Of course, as long as you adjust your drag to the strenth of the leader you should be fine, but too often when a fish is taking line you will have someone start tightening down on the drag and it’s too easy to overtighten when you have a leader much lighter than your main line.
$.02
'07 198 DLX Carolina Skiff
FS90 Suzuki