I fish a small lake with fairly clear water and a LOT of 20-30" muskies. Because of the water clarity, what do you guys think is the lightest leader I can get away with. I have caught a few on 20lb fluorocarbon, but I don't want to risk being cut off. Also, I want to go a little bit lighter because there are also some nice smallies, largemouth and walleyes there. It seems that if I am using a fluorocarbon leader, I will catch quite a few of them, but as soon as I switch to wire, they won't hit. I will be mainly using crankbaits and 1oz lipless baits, but might get into some topwater action as well.

Thanks

I can't talk about muskie, but I've never had a problem catching pike and pickerel while using a wire leader. What I've frequently seen is a hammer handle toothy fish slice through all kinds of line like a hot knife through butter. I would not trust any filament with a member of the pike family. If you have no confidence in a wire leader, then use what you're comfortable with and expect to have some biteoffs.

I use and sell these fluorocarbon leaders with great success and have had no complaints. I have had others report musky up to 50" on them, 100# and 130#. My biggest pike to date on them is 36", on my light ones built with 100# Fluorocarbon, but I have been debating a leader built with 60#  Fluorocarbon, and for your purpose I doubt anything up to 30" would be a problem with this lighter lure. You always risk being hit by a big boy and then the 100 and 130, are about your only choice to withstand the punishment with Fluorocarbon. It's that or wire, bout all you can do in these circumstances.     

It would depend on how heavy the lures I'm using.  Haven't fished for them in over 10 years, but caught lots of them when I lived on lake St Clair.  Presently I fish for barracuda almost everyday, size wise my average fish is some where around 38- 40", many of them go more 50".  When I'm tube fishing I use 14# copoly with a 30# leader, lure weighs about 2 oz.  When I'm lure fishing, mainly 1 oz spoons, 20# braid with 20" surflon leader, I generally forgo the wire not wanting to limit myself, many species won't hit a lure with wire.

I have been going to Lake Champlain, and started to fish for Northern Pike. I use AFW Surflon Micro Supreme Wire for my leader material, in either 13lb or 20lb sizes depending on lure size, in camo color. They can be found here.

 

 

My PB Pike on this wire is 31" 8.5lbs. This is knotable wire as in you can tie on swivels and snaps. I have caught smallmouth on this wire and we all know how finiky, and line shy they can be.

 

I use it with Spro Power Swivels size 10 (35lb) which can be found here. I use Berkley Cross-Lok Snaps in size 1 (30lb) for the snaps which can be found here. My leaders generally run from 12-18". The main line I use is PowerPro Braid 15lb in black. I hope this helps. Tight lines.

Let me make sure I'm reading the correct. You want to catch bass, but also save your lures for when a musky hits. Correct? You're only choice is to go for a dark coated wire leader if the water has any sort of color, otherwise go for the 80-100# fluorocarbon leader. I know guys who fly fish for musky and they use 100# fluoro leaders.