I'm thinking about changing from fluoro to braided line for my baitcasters. For the braid to fluoro leader connection, does anyone use a swivel instead of a knot? Haven't heard or seen of anything other than a knot.  Thanks for your feedback.

 

Welcome aboard! I do not use a swivel between

braid and leader. I always use a knot. I would think

a swivel would interfere with going through the

guides and cause damage to the guides, and in 

turn to your line. Not worth losing a fish over, IMO.

^ I've got no swivel between them - despite what Hank says - just a knot. Find one that's reliable and that you can tie...and stick with it. There's several good knots out there for joining braid to FC.

I’d honestly be surprised if there was a swivel out there small enough to even FIT through the guides. And even if there was, I can’t imagine trying to cast with that, much less the damage to the guides.

 

Maybe the OP isn’t talking about one that goes through the guides. Maybe he just wants one to attach 12 inches at the end, like a muskie leader?

Sounds like a Carolina rig where the swivel never enters a guide.

But as far as braid to flouro leader, I've only used an Alberto knot, never tried anything else.

My flouro leaders are almost always 6-7ft long and pass through the guides very well.

 

I have tried the small barrel swivels made for this and it was not a good experience.  I would rather use a good knot.

Don't go the swivel route. FG is the best braid to leader knot. I also use a double uni from time to time if I need a quick retie and my guides are large enough to allow it to pass through (pretty much any non micro guide)

I’ve tried a lot of braid to leader knots.  The only one to never fail is the fg.  It also seems to be the smallest in diameter.

I started to use the Red Phillips knot for all my rods with micro guides and the Crazy Alberto for rods without micro guides.

If you have a reason for it, you can certainly do it.  Like Bird said, a Carolina rig where you want the swivel to act as a stop for the weight is a good reason.  

 

Using a swivel has a few downsides.  One, you have something you can't really reel through your line guides, which could make casting harder.  Two, you're replacing one knot with two (one on each side of the swivel).  So you're twice as likely to have a knot failure versus just using a regular leader knot.  Thirdly, you've got a swivel which can get caught up in stuff.  So it has some disadvantages.

 

But it's not like it can't work.  If you want to give it a try, then go for it!  Like in the case of a Caroling rig, people do use it from time to time.  

Braid to leader on a bait caster is a great way to fish. I’d use an FG knot. Practice it a few times and it will be super easy once you get used to it. IMO you should not be reeling any swivel through your guides.

Spro  Micro swivels are very small, size #14 is .28 long and 20# test strength. 

Using a swivel requires 3 knots, using braid with a leader knot require 2 knotes, using straight FC, mono, copoly requires 1 knot.

Uni to uni knot,  Alberto knot  are easy to tie correctly to join Braid to leader.

Tom

If it's a spinning setup, a swivel could alleviate the line twist problem in theory, so Mr. Parker has a point there. But in reality, I have never tried it, because I figure one less knot is always better/safer, unless it's a FG knot.

I've used a swivel, braid to leader because I didn't have the confidence of having a knot connection. I did this for 5 or 6 years on my spinning reels.  This year I finally sat down and learned how to tie several braid to FC knots. I've been practicing tying these knots all winter to develop some muscle memory but my old beat up hands struggle. Using a knot tool (Diaichi) helps me tremendously and I have confidence in my knots now.

 

The short answer to your question is yes, it will work but you'll be limited to a short leader. It might not be the optimum setup but it will work.

I rigged my young son with a Spro swivel about 18” above his slip shot rig to reduce line twist. It was a finesse C-rig as a small bead was needed to stop the weight sliding over the small swivel. When Tommy learned to rig the soft plastic so it didn’t spin then the swivel was no longer needed.

Tom

On 2/28/2024 at 11:00 AM, newapti5 said:

If it's a spinning setup, a swivel could alleviate the line twist problem in theory, so Mr. Parker has a point there. But in reality, I have never tried it, because I figure one less knot is always better/safer, unless it's a FG knot.

True.  Though with braided line as your mainline, line twist probably won't be a problem.  That's why I've switched to braided line for all of my spinning setups.  I was tired of dealing with twisted line.