I have braid on most my reels. I always tie my braid directly to swivels for a carolina rig. Do you guys typically tie the braid directly to jig heads, chatterbaits, ect… or do you tip the braid with floro or mono?
I am going to teh Keys in April so i was a little worried with the clear water if the braid would be an issue for any rigs i cast & retrieve versus ones i might let soak on the bottom.
I almost always add a flouro leader on my braid, but only for fishing artificials. Usually 15 pound test, but I will go lighter, just depends.
Anything that pulls drag, right?
I always use a leader. In the keys you wont catch much compared to if you use a leader if your dont use one. Modified Uni to uni for light leader and a fg knot with 30 wraps or more. Once you wrap a fg more than 30 times its breaking strength gets close to 100 percent.
Here I tie direct to the jig, but in the keys you better use a leader due to the crystal clear water.
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I always add a leader, no matter where I’m fishing. For someplace like they Keys it matters for visibility, but here I like to do it to prevent the line from fouling on the hook.
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Sounds good guys, I appreciate all the help.
I use the FG knot for braid to fluorocarbon. No expert here but especially for fish like yellowtail snapper (best tasting Keys fish in my opinion) that are so easily spooked the leader helps.
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X2 on the FG knot! It’s a little tricky at first and there are a few ways to tie it, but once you get it, it is the way to go!
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I checked out some videos on it & will give it a try this weekend. Maybe I can perfect it before the trip.
I have always done a double uni which is fairly simple, I think I will like the FG better since it makes for a lot thinner knot.
Thanks guys…
FG is great for braid to fluro and after a little practice, pretty easy to tie. You can also find a tool on amazon that will make it even easier. Type in FG knot tool in amazon search bar.
Well I tried it last night, did not go so well. The videos use a large braid & even larger leader so you can see them well in the video but that also seems to make it easier. I am working with 15# braid & 25# leader so smaller lines seems to be harder. I found another video that uses a different technique that may be easier, I give it a try as well. If I can’t get it manually I might just give one of those tools a try.
This video uses the size line you are working with. Good luck.
Look up strongest easiest braid to leader knot. This guy breaks it down very well, speaks clear and goes slow.
I tie a uni to uni for my braid to fluorocarbon or mono. Works well for leader material 20lbs and less. Slides through the guides well enough. FG is good as well, but imo uni to uni is a strong enough knot for any inshore species and much, much quicker to tie, not to mention easier.
Uni to Uni, most folks can tie them in there sleep! best and easyest I have found!
Double uni is my typ one i use. I may stick with that for my smaller stuff & practice FG with my bigger lines.
Thanks guys for all the help.
Success, I tried it with 60# braid & 80# leader line & it was way easier. A little time consuming but I am sure it will get faster with practice.