I have heard some people say the fish don't go after the lure because they see the braid, and others have said the fish don't seem to care about the braid being possibly visible. What are your thoughts or experiences with this? Would you use a mono or fluorocarbon leader, or is this not always necessary? I typically fish with fluorocarbon myself 

Line visibility is the least of my concerns. when I do use a leader it is for the ease of breaking off and abrasion resistance. In my experience, I have caught just as many fish on straight braid as I have with braid to leader. When I do use a leader it is always mono. Better abrasion resistance and higher knot strength than fluorocarbon. One of my largest fish ever came on straight 30lb braid

1 minute ago, li_bass_hunter said:

Line visibility is the least of my concerns. when I do use a leader it is for the ease of breaking off and abrasion resistance. In my experience, I have caught just as many fish on straight braid as I have with braid to leader. One of my largest fish ever came on straight 30lb braid

Yeah I get the feeling braid does not scare the fish off to the point some people say. Thanks for the input

I fish a lot of clear water quarries.  I use a lot of braid without a leader. I do all right with that. 

2 minutes ago, Dens228 said:

I fish a lot of clear water quarries.  I use a lot of braid without a leader. I do all right with that. 

It's official now, I will just use the braid in clear water and not just murky water. Thanks for your input?

I use braid exclusively and have never used a leader except steel to prevent bite offs. My belief is that a bass does not have the ability to reason. His brain is just not capable. Just because he can see the line, doesn’t mean he can figure out that it must be bad. If they were that smart, how come they can’t figure out that the hunks of plastic, wood or metal swimming by with the treble hooks hanging from it is also not real food?  There are other reasons you might use a leader, but in my opinion, it shouldn’t be because bass are line shy.

6 minutes ago, Scott F said:

I use braid exclusively and have never used a leader except steel to prevent bite offs. My belief is that a bass does not have the ability to reason. His brain is just not capable. Just because he can see the line, doesn’t mean he can figure out that it must be bad. If they were that smart, how come they can’t figure out that the hunks of plastic, wood or metal swimming by with the treble hooks hanging from it is also not real food?  There are other reasons you might use a leader, but in my opinion, it shouldn’t be because bass are line shy.

good point scott

If you think it makes a difference...it does. 
if you think it doesn’t..it won’t.

 

Literally that simple. 

This is a tough one. Because overall I caught more fish with a fluorocarbon leader. Even in water where they shouldn’t be able to tell the difference. An old timer, who is a great fisherman, told me it’s not that they see it, it’s that it creates a vibration that they hear or feel that they don’t always like. He claimed it didn’t matter if you use nylon, mono or fluoro, because when they can’t see it it’s only the vibration that’s the problem. I probably didn’t listen and still use a fluoro leader. His son said it was not true for LMB because he still caught them and he only used straight braid that was 65lbs or more, because he didn’t want to risk losing a lure that cost $25-$35 each.

Too me, it depends on your waters.

My local lake is highly pressured, so i have noticed that fluro gets more bites than straight braid.  Its almost like a five to one difference with fluro. 

Even in stained water, I'll just stick with fluro or mono. Why change a good system.