So I'm completely new to using braid with a leader. Pretty much all of my setups are now braid with leaders. I have a few tied with a double uni, one with the fg and one Alberto. Does anyone know of a way to protect the knot from the rod guides. My leaders are all between 18" and 2 feet. I know that the easy answer is to just not reel into the knot, but I'm an idiot, and it will happen more than it doesn't happen. Any ideas will be welcomed.
I was worried about "throwing" my knot when I switched and to be honest I haven't had any problems. I used to use the double uni knot but switched to the Alberto knot the past few years. I usually put my knot to where it is right at the reel and I can hook my bait on my rod by the reel. I'd say my leader is close to 12-14 feet. That way if I do break off I can re tie without having to replace my whole leader.
Recommend you try small dab of super glue on the knot and wipe it with paper towel to keep it small (vs built up like a bobber stopper shape) and thereby letting it go thru guides on your rod easier. For knots at the hook end, I use a bobber stopper on top of the knot when around rocks sometines.
My leaders are around 10’ long when new. If you tied a good knot to begin with you have nothing to worry about.
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Using a modified Albright knot for years with no issues. If you want to try superglue, check to see if it's water resistant or water proof. The stuff I had was resistant and completely disappeared after a few casts
If you want to protect knots, Super glue works but it's a little stiff. I use a product from Loon called UV Knot Sense. It stays flexible.
I have used all 3 knots mentioned and do not use any sort of glue protection. Mostly use 15 or 20# braid with 8 or 10# fluorocarbon. I usually start with 10-14 feet of leader. I check the knot from time to time, but failures are very rare and never on a fish, only when breaking off a snag.
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The loon product doesn't make the knot stronger, just smoother. I use a Uni to Uni when I want to go fast and the Albright if I want a really small knot with micro guides. In this last case, the Knot sense helps.
I tie FG and modified Alberto/Albright knots on 6lb braid to 5-7lb fluoro leaders, leaving the knot between the reel and stripper guide to cast.
It's never the actual knot itself that fails, but the 1-2" section of braid before the knot that frays when it hits the guides wrong and tumbles.
Happens once or twice a day without fail, esp if I'm bombing casts with a spybait/jerkbait. It's frustrating to the point I'm mostly straight fluoro on spinning gear these days despite the headaches associated with that, and also experimenting with BFS-ish casting setups, which handle braid to leader knots just fine.
I've tried Loon's UV Knotsense - how are you applying the glue? I've found it just made the knot bulkier and doesn't alleviate the problem I described above.Originally Posted by Real L
Like others have said, I wouldn’t worry about it. I have messed around with the UV glue to try and smooth them out, but quit that pretty soon after realizing it wasn’t worth the effort to have my knot make a little less noise going through the guides. I actually used the stuff from Loon that fly tyers use for making epoxy bodies on flies, in the highest viscosity. I could almost mold it around the knot then to smooth it out. But again, it wasn’t worth it in my opinion.
That said, I think you’ll have a more enjoyable time if you make your leaders longer. Having the knot near the tip of the rod is pretty much worst-case-scenario for braid to a leader. I reel 16-18 lb (Sunline diameters) onto my reels all the time without the first issue, and these are Daiwa T-wings which are supposedly the most temperamental in that regard. It’s not until I get to the 25 lb leader on my pitching/flipping setup that I have issues, so I make the leader the right length to land between my reel and first guide when setting up for a pitch. It has plenty of momentum to get through the guides without incident there, and I have several reties before it starts to become an issue. For everything else, I go with a longer leader, usually 15-18 feet or so, partially for reties, and partially to avoid the problem reason162 mentions.
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I use just a bit of Knot Sense only on the fluoro tag side. And both of you are right, I sometimes wonder if it's worth the trouble but I do it at home when I set up my rods.
One of the reasons I switched from FG knots back to the Alberto is exactly due to protecting the knot. Fluorocarbon fractures and gets weaker over time banging through the guides all day. With the Alberto knot, you are wrapping braid around the fluorocarbon thus protecting it. Still have to check it for wear, but I can usually go 2-3 days with most Alberto Knots before needing to re-tie and usually 1 day with the FG.
Tie a good knot and trust it. No need to get fancy. I run 2 to 20 foot leaders depending on each setup, and I don't worry about the knot, ever, nor have I had one fail.
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Thinner braids to small diameter leaders, Shin Fukae: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=KGp4zpCzizA
Thicker braids to bigger diameter leaders, force yourself to learn and tie the FG knot:
I just tie a double uni & have never had it to fail. I have broke my leader off in some very rocky stuff after hanging, but it's super easy to tie a new one on doing the double uni knot.
Okay. So I tried putting a bobber stop on my relatively short leaders, on the flouro side. I feel like it protects the knot, but gets hung on grass, moss, and even cover. If it were a smaller outside diameter it might work better. Or fit like a sleeve, that might help. I'm going to hold off on the superglue and bobber stop, and tie on a 15ft leader on them, and see how that goes. I like the uni knot best. I've used it for a while, it seems pretty small and I haven't had problems yet... It also ties pretty fist in a windy, rocking boat.
I have a hard time tying a leader knot on the boat but the Alberto is the easiest for me. Never have any issues with the knot going thru the guides.
What diameter braid and leader are you using?
15/20/30lb braid 8/12/16 fluoro...
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