I'm in the market for a Megabass Orochi XX spinning (Whip snake) rod and was wondering if i can get away with braid to floro leader? I sometimes run up to 14 lbs floro leader to help pull fish out of cover. I noticed that my 1st gen Orochi XX Flat Side Special has really small guides.
2004 Stratos 295 Pro XL
2004 Mercury 3.0 L EFI 200 HP SN: 0T908560
Standard/Servicemaster Lower 859399T13
XX g2 models do not have microguides. The Whipsnake was a g2 addition and was not made in g1 models.
With a thicker leader like 14 or 12, I would use a shorter leader so that it is not on the reel when you cast. I found that if the leader is on the reel, right as the leader transitions to the braid it "springs" out on the cast and loops around the outside of the stripper guide. It drove me crazy trying to figure out what was going on until I read about this on a online article from an elite pro.
This helps a lot. I had the same problem because I was putting 15-20 foot of leader on so I didnt have to tie one all the time. The longer leader was a pain in the ass to cast.Originally Posted by johnnybass
I still use a long leader with 6 or even 8 lb because it stays down better and the knot is on the reel when I have the fish by the boat. With the heavier line, it would scare the heck out of me when that knot looped around the outside of the stripper. I lost a few lures that way and I usually retied because of the shock and that was a pain.
I just bought an XX Enforcer the guides are micro guides. I was going to go braid/flouro (12lbs / 6 or 8 leader) but it doesn't look possible.
They are not true micro guides. They are more of an mid size type. They are Fuji SiC guides.
I have a XX Whipsnake and run 10# braid to 6-10# fc leader with no issues
What knot are you using to join the two? I normally tie a blood knot, that may be my problem. It's not the most compact, knot.
I generally use a surgeon's knot. It can be a little tricky with long leaders but is otherwise easy to tie and plenty strong
FG will be the thinnest, but I prefer Shin Fukae's knot I've heard called the "Lazy Alberto" as it's very, very close to as thin as the FG (and thinner than the Albright and (crazy) Alberto since the braid doesn't wrap over itself), much easier and quicker to tie especially than the FG, about 1/4 the length of an FG, and super strong.
Admittedly a bit off topic, but the reason for quoting both is that I did a ton of testing at one point...I used both of these (as well as a J-knot which I've heard called an "improved Surgeon's") for some time having picked them up fly fishing and while they were fine, I was breaking my leader knot almost half as often as I broke my lure knot. When I tested, I found that even though they do a lot better connecting mono to mono or fluoro, both tested very poorly when connecting mono or fluoro to braid. May be something to consider moving forward. As Bassakwards mentions, the blood knot has the added disadvantage that it's not all that thin, and the tags sticking out perpendicularly cause even more problems with blank and guide "slap."
Making a loop with one knot Albright, Alberto, "lazy" Alberto, or FG and the other knot surgeon, blood, or J-knot resulted in the surgeon, blood, or J breaking every single time. I did 5 trials with each combination (well, most combinations...I stopped eventually when it became clear) with a chain link fence and golf cart. The first 4 test a lot closer to each other with none of them breaking against any of the others at a 100% rate....just my testing, but there it is for whatever it's worth.
Here's Shin's knot:
2011 Skeeter ZX225
225 Yamaha HPDI Series 2
Minn Kota Ultrex 112 52"
Console: HDS 16 Carbon
Bow: HDS 12 Carbon, Solix 12 G2, Mega 360, Garmin 106 SV, LVS 34
I will try Shin's knot but I have a feeling I'm not going to stop using the FG knot, its strong, thin and only has one tag end....love it
If you're having success with the FG and like it, I say keep after it! I have used it in the past and still use it occasionally. The two things that drove me away from it are its length and difficulty/time to tie. Regarding the former, I often felt that even though it's really thin, that relatively long "stiff" section of line interferes with casting in a similar fashion to a thicker knot. And for the latter, even though I got to the point where I could tie it pretty quickly, the thing that always sticks in the back of my mind is that it's just about the only knot out there that you can make a mistake when tying it and not know it until you've made a couple hundred casts with it. Now admittedly that only happens when you don't get it seated properly, but it cost me a few times when I was in a hurry. Tying leaders the night before is always a good idea, but even doing that I still occasionally find myself needing to do it on the water.
Don't get me wrong, it's a GREAT knot. It's just got its pitfalls, and I think day-in and day-out Shin's knot is a better choice for me. Different strokes for different folks, just wanted to mention another option!
2011 Skeeter ZX225
225 Yamaha HPDI Series 2
Minn Kota Ultrex 112 52"
Console: HDS 16 Carbon
Bow: HDS 12 Carbon, Solix 12 G2, Mega 360, Garmin 106 SV, LVS 34
Thanks Drew. That Shin Fukae knot is the bomb. Finally found a knot that I feel can replace the double uni in terms of practically being able to tie it on the water. It took a few minutes of practice but it just feels really solid for a small, simple kknot.
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