Hi all,

over the Black Friday sales, I pulled the trigger on a Conquest 401! :)))) Still admiring this piece of art and I am honestly a bit afraid to get it out there and dirty  They day will come though and I want to be prepared.

Yesterday I went out and lost a nice Hudleston 68 after a brake up (I have 50 pound braid with a 1 foot 25# fluro leader - the fluro line broke). 
 

Now I am wondering as well what line to put on the new reel and how. I was planning to put on 65# braid with a 25 # fluro leader. What I am wondering now though is: how long should the leader be and what knot should to use.  I am worried that the connection knot between the two lines gonna be very big and either damage the guides or reduces my casting distance.

The biggest lure I throw would be an 10 inch Huddleston. 

ideas?
Thanks!

Not a fan of FC leaders for that very reason, 2 knots to fail. With a 400 series reel you don't small diameter super braid for increase line capacity when fishing fresh water bass. My personal choice for 350/300 reels  is Sunline Armillo Diefer Nylon line 25 lb test for clear deep rocky structure lakes.  I  use 30 lb BAWO Toray premium Polyimide Plus for 400 Series reels.

Tom

edit, Sunline Armillo Defier nylon 25 lb = .016D, Toray BAWO Polyimide (Nylon) 30 lb = .018D, P-Line CXX 20 lb = .018D.

I personally would spool it with 20 or 25# P-Line CXX. No leader necessary and more than enough strength to handle any bass.

If you want to use braid stick with 65lb or 80lb & skip the leader. If you feel the need to use a leader just stick with straight 20 to 25lb mono or fluoro, no braid. 

30 lb. Izorline XXX or 30 lb. Gamma co-poly , braid should not be used unless you are fishing top water rats

I would opt for 20 to 25lb McCoy Mean Green. Fluoro is nice but mono is more forgiving when you have a casting "incident" with a big swimbait.

Most people are going to tell you it's a very bad idea to use braid for swimbaits (non-topwaters) for the same reason you lost that Hudd 68. It has very low shock resistance due to having no stretch. I assume that is why you had the 1 foot leader? A 10 inch hudd getting launched and backlashing your reel is going to snap that short leader whether you have 50, 65, 80, 100...or 200 lb braid. That short of a leader is providing minimal, arguably negligible shock resistance. If you are dead set on a braid to fluoro leader set up, I suggest you tie a longer leader, and use a slim knot like an FG or Alberto knot. Matt Allen has a pretty good video on leaders, I think he mentions what he uses for swimbaits but I forget. 

If you are not dead set on braid for swimbaits as big as a 10inch hudd....25 or 30lb copoly will suit you well. P-Line CXX is tough as nails. Big game is also popular. 

Thanks all!
I have spooled up 25pound big game on it for now. Will see how it goes. I have 25# abrax as a back up. Since I use the reel in saltwater as well (from shore) the mono is just getting damaged too quickly...