I have a simple spinning setup that I plan to throw texas rigs, spinnerbaits, cranks and jerks, chatterbaits, jigs, and some lighter topwater lures on. I put 20 lbs braided mainline on it. I decided beforehand that braid to a fluoro leader would be great but now I'm having second thoughts. I wanted braid for it's castability and I knew I could switch around mono and fluoro leaders with ease due to its strength. But now I'm about whether or not this was a good idea due to the braids visibility. I don't fish in the clearest water ever but it's not really dirty. If I tie a 1-2 foot leader I am afraid I will lose potential strikes. and I am afraid that if I go to about 6 foot (to keep the knot out of the reel) fish will still see the braid and avoid my lures. Any tips or knowledgable points backed by experience would be much appreciated. 

 

I run a 7-8 ft leader to braid. It is still much more sensitive than running straight mono or fluorocarbon. I DO NOT use it because of visibility. I use it because I fish an extremely rocky area and need it due to its abrasion resistance. If I would use straight braid I would lose fish and lures due to line failures.  

Giant pressured Florida largemouth bass hit frogs on 65 lb braid in 1 foot of gin clear water in calm conditions.

 

I don't think it's that big of a deal - for me personally - I'd just go with braid for backing and tie a cast + a little extra on and not constantly worry about leader knot failure or knot getting caught in my guides!

@Pat Brown I gave up on the whole line thing. I’d much rather run straight braid again where I fish dictates I can’t. If hooks weights and rattles don’t bother them I highly doubt line will be the reason they do not eat. 

I’m with everyone else. I’ve used leaders. I don’t find it to be necessary. I’ve caught them in clear water. Muddy water. Vegetation. Open water. I’ve even colored the braid with black markers for the first 6-8 feet. I just don’t think the fish care. They are generally reacting. It’s a reaction 

strike. They aren’t generally examining the bait with a microscope. 

The jury is still out (and probably will always be) on line shyness of bass. It’s a variable I can control, but it isn’t the main reason I run a leader. Braid is very limp, and if you tie directly to treble hook baits, you will inevitably run into the issue of the limp braid wrapping itself on the treble hooks during casts, which will prevent you from making a true retrieve with the lure. This is a major major headache, and why I highly recommend never tying braid directly to treble hook baits. Spinnerbaits also have a propensity to do this. If you tie a leader on of material other than braid, the little bit of stiffness will prevent line wrapping. 
 

I use leaders for several reasons, and line visibility is pretty far down the list. 

I have had a couple occurrences using straight braid for smallmouth and walleyes, where the guys using braid only got terribly out-fished by the guys using fluorocarbon leaders. Same boat, same casts, same lures. So I think it can make a difference there at times, so I still tie leaders on.

 

For largemouth though, I really don’t think it makes much of a difference… 

 

 

A couple feet isn't enough leader. I start with 10 feet or so. My thinking is I want the leader knot on the reel when the fish is at the side of the boat. 

Of course after having to retie or break off a bait that hung up that changes but it's a good starting point.

I use braid to fluorocarbon leader on spinning setups only because fluorocarbon is unmanageable on spinning reels.  I agree with Rangerjocky use a longer leader like he said.  

I would avoid using a flouro leader if you plan on using top water. 

The decision to use a leader or not shouldn’t be made because of visibility. In my opinion, whether your line is visible or not is irrelevant. Fish do not have the ability to reason that line makes a lure inedible. If they were that smart, they probably wouldn’t strike lures with metal blades and  thick wires like a spinner bait has not to mention all the other things we throw at them. If line abrasions are an issue a leader may reduce some break offs, or like has been mentioned if you end a cast abruptly with braid, the lure may snap back and catch on your line. Myself, I’ve never used a leader because I hate having the knot pass through the guides and don’t want to mess with having to carry extra line and tie it to my light line. I’ve learned to cast and let the lure land lightly so few of my casts get fouled. Personally, I’ve never been out fished by someone because they used leaders and I didn’t. If someone beats me, it’s because they are a better fisherman than I am. If you believe visibility will hurt your fishing, just that lack of confidence will affect how you fish.  In the end, you’ll have to decide which you like better. 

For the setup you now have, I don't think you should have any problems with braid to FC. Just make sure you use a small knot. 

 

 

Think about this. Virtually every pro bass angler is using some kind of fluorocarbon leader.

 

Some of these guys fish with their livelihood on the line. That alone is enough of a reason to at least make me consider using it in certain situations.

48 minutes ago, gim said:

Think about this. Virtually every pro bass angler is using some kind of fluorocarbon leader.

 

Some of these guys fish with their livelihood on the line. That alone is enough of a reason to at least make me consider using it in certain situations.

True, but if they were sponsored by a braid-only line manufacturer they’d probably stop tying leaders.. lol.

After reading AJay’s logic which is the same as ranger jockey’s, I tie long leaders, normally about 15’.  That puts the knot on the reel when the fish is boat side.  I trust my knots, but it’s one more variable.  Also, if the fish makes a run and the knot is in the guides, there is a tiny chance that the knot catches in the guide just when it makes a run.  If it is on the reel then the first 2’ of the run (the shock part) has the line coming off smooth.

 

I don’t think line visibility really matters for most people and places.  Super clear water maybe.  Heavily pressured fish maybe.  I use it for the abrasion resistance mostly.  I’m not throwing topwaters with it, mostly plastics around cover or on the bottom.  

I typically fish in clear water, so I use straight fluorocarbon on all my spinning outfits without any issues in any way whatsoever.  Starting off with quality line makes a huge difference (I use Seaguar Tatsu), and then using solid mechanics and rigging - which you should be doing anyway - prevents any issues. 

 

 

my take.  for your situation, I would run a section of flouro leader.   a short section.  12"-18" maybe.  here's why.

 

you have treble hook baits in your list above.   I ALWAYS put a section of braid on to simply stiffen up the line running right to the bait.  on some casts, the lure will spin around mid flight like a drunken sparrow.  the stiffer flouro will add some line "backbone" (cant think of a better word) so your bait will land un-troubled by the line.  there is nothing fun about working back a bait and it is spiraling, coming in sideways, etc because the braid got tangled in the treble hooks.  do that a few time and you will have line twist. 

 

the short section also will not add too much weight and pull your topwater bait underwater.    the short section can also stay outside your line guides on the cast and be of zero influence.  

 

when I fish OK, it is 95% topwater.  I tie on a 1" section of 16lb flouro and virtually eliminate the trebles getting into the braid.  I broke this rule last Saturday and I had trebles going into the braid and I had to cut it all off and re-tie my lure.  

23 minutes ago, Darth-Baiter said:

on some casts, the lure will spin around mid flight like a drunken sparrow.  the stiffer flouro will add some line "backbone" (cant think of a better word) so your bait will land un-troubled by the line.  there is nothing fun about working back a bait and it is spiraling, coming in sideways, etc because the braid got tangled in the treble hooks.  do that a few time and you will have line twist. 

.  

 

 

I have been having this same issue and had no clue how to fix it. This comment and @Jar11591's thoughts have really got me considering using a leader. Not sure if I'll use a long or short one, but there were certain crankbaits I've recently started ignoring with braid because more often than not they would tangle with my line up on impact with the water. 

 

Thanks, you guys! 

4 hours ago, Scott F said:

I’ve learned to cast and let the lure land lightly so few of my casts get fouled.

 

I've also been figuring this technique out. But I'm not very good at it. 😅

Using a spinning outfit for a wide variety of lures/presentations will create line twist because the spinning reel wraps line onto a stationary spool, can’t avoid it without adding a swivel. With a boat it’s easy to manage line twist by untwisting the line after each use by running the line behind the boat at slow speed without anything tied on.

Fluorocarbon line has more memory then mono and braid has very little memory so line twist doesn’t affect braid like it does FC and mono.

The down side of using braid with a leader is 2 knots; braid to leader and leader to the lure or hook.

Bass are not necessarily line shy fish compared to trout for example, line diameter is more important to lure action and casting performance. The issue with straight braid on spinning outfits is line strength is very high compared to equal diameter FC or mono line. Snag the lure with straight braid very difficult to break the line!

A leader becomes the weak link and easier to break off if needed. 
IMO mono line is a better leader line then FC due to higher knot strength and abrasion resistance. How long you make the leader is up to the user, most anglers keep the leader knot between the reel bail and 1st rod guide.

Tom

PS, a little line control when casting lures prevents helicoptering in mid flight tangling treble hooks in the loose line.

 

This is another one of those personal preference topics. What you have confidence in should be what influences your decision. I use straight braid for bottom presentations (no shell beds or zebra mussels to worry about), straight fluorocarbon for most treble hook lures and straight mono for the majority of topwaters. 

I think bass can see any line, and I also think that seeing that line doesn't affect them. What I do think should be a consideration is the way they hear the line through their lateral line. I think they hear braid better, as it's louder.

 

Braid is okay for some applications, but for heavy pressured fish, they hear it and avoid it. Especially if you're snagging up, or ripping fish out of a brush pile.

 

Fluoro would have an advantage over mono only because most people use mono so most bass have had a bad encounter with it. Second is braid. Most weekend bass anglers around here, at least the ones I know/have seen, use straight braid.

 

I'm wanting to try straight fluoro on a backer at the city lake I fish but I haven't taken the plunge yet.

Braid to leader is great. And 3-4 feet of leader length is plenty. Don't worry about it. Fire it up and go catch fish. 

I use braid to leader for most things. Usually about 6' of leader. I don't think line visibility is that big of an issue but it saves me money not constantly eating into my mainline every retie and the abrasion resistance is far better than braid. 

On 6/15/2025 at 8:24 AM, gim said:

Think about this. Virtually every pro bass angler is using some kind of fluorocarbon leader.

 

Some of these guys fish with their livelihood on the line. That alone is enough of a reason to at least make me consider using it in certain situations.

 

I agree with this.

 

Do they get paid to say "I only use ZXY crankbait"? You bet.

 

But they aren't making much if any to use braid to fluoro.

Lots of good posts to this so far. I have braid on every reel I own. Some have fluoro leaders. Right or wrong, here is what goes into what I’m doing (much of which has already been mentioned):

 

*Hi Vis braid- used for line visibility. Not for the fish- for me! I’m a line watcher, and my eyes seem to get worse every day. 
 

*Fluoro leaders- I use these ahead of braid on my spinning gear. Mostly for finesse techniques such as senkos & neds. Braid floats, so I prefer fluoro to help the bait sink. Fluoro’s abrasion resistance is another reason. Another is that if I get snagged- on a dock or on rocks- it’s much easier to break off fluoro, which I would prefer to do than to risk snapping my rod or cutting braid and leaving several feet of my line in the water. 
 

*I also like fluoro leaders on my jig rods, chatters, and jerk baits. 
 

*Straight braid- used on all topwaters. Sink rate is a non-factor, and I want the strength of straight braid when winching fish through pads or reeds or other slop.

 

I think of my gear as the tools needed to get the job done. Some are better suited for some techniques than others. Others may not be the best tool for the job, but you can still get by. But it always comes back to confidence for me. To quote the immortal Crash Davis: “If you believe you're playing well because your getting laid or because you're not getting laid or because you're wearing women's underwear, then you are!”