Hello,

Was wondering if you experts think it is necessary, or a good idea, to have a clear mono leader
between the end of the line and the lure (perhaps 8" or so), or just tie the line to the lure/worm ?

Make any difference ? Ever ? Why ?

Fish for Largemouth and Smallmouth, mainly, in a small Pond.

I use Power Pro (green) line.

 

And, in general, is a bright Red color for, e.g., a small Rapala crankbait lure, a good color for largemouth and smallmouth ?

What colors do you find (most) effective ?

Thanks,
Bob

I'm not one of the experts you are looking for, but I believe that a fluoro leader on braid can be helpful. I've fished without it and caught fish anyways, but fluoro is more abrasive resistant and it's virtually invisible in the water. So if I am fishing slow finesse type presentations, like say a wacky rig, I like to have a leader. I susually do longer than 8" though since I don't want to have to tie a connecting knot many times so I'll usually give it a couple of feet at least.

 

And red is a good color crankbait to imitate crawfish, especially if there's some good grass around. They eat micro organisms off of the grass that give them vitamin A. If they have a lot of vitamin A their craws get red, if they are deficient, they turn blue.

 

 

At the last classic I saw a lot of red crankbaits being thrown.

Putting a leader on the end of your braid is a good idea for a couple of reasons. One being that braid is not a very abrasion resistant line. Monofilament is better than a direct tie to braid, as it does afford some degree of abrasion protection. And, if you are using topwaters, it is the only leader material that does float, hence helping with that presentation. And mono does stretch, so it also acts like a shock absorber, whereas a direct tie with braid doesn't give you that at all.

 

However, if you are fishing beneath the surface of the water, I'd recommend fluorocarbon for your leader instead of mono. Fluoro has a tendency to sink better than mono, it has some stretch to it like mono, is much more invisible under water and is very abrasion resistant. Whether you use mono or fluoro though, use at least a 4' - 6' length. And join the two lines with the Alberto knot.

 

Can't help you with the red cranks though!

From OP:  Dor DocNsan et al:

 

Hi,

 

Interesting regarding the color of a Crawdad and Vitamin A.

 

Question:  with "lots" of Vitamin A, is it the whole Crawdad that become reddish, or just the 2 claws ?

 

Thanks,

Bob

From OP:  Dor DocNsan et al:

 

Hi,

 

Interesting regarding the color of a Crawdad and Vitamin A.

 

Question:  with "lots" of Vitamin A, is it the whole Crawdad that become reddish, or just the 2 claws ?

 

Thanks,

Bob

Hey!

 

I wish I knew hahaha, from the video sounds like it's mostly the craws but that video was my only source of info on that topic so I can't say for sure.