When using braid for your swim jigs do you bother using a fluorocarbon leader even in clearer water ?
When using braid for your swim jigs do you bother using a fluorocarbon leader even in clearer water ?
If I'm in clean water I use straight fluorocarbon. If I'm in the grass or pads I use straight braid. I know it's not what you exactly asked but I use to rods. If I only had 1 rod I would just use the straight braid and wouldn't tie a leader I've caught a ton of fish on braid in clean water on a swim jig.
2023 Phoenix 819 pro
2023 200 Pro XS 4s 3B373365
pond boat
2020 pelican Bass raider 10E
Straight braid is all I use with a swim jig. But, I'm throwing it in some kind of vegetation most of the time.
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Whats clear water to you?
I run straight braid on bottom contact lures in 10'-15' visibility water. I dont bother with leaders period.
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Last edited by brushsjigs; 11-26-2018 at 04:23 AM.
Exactly, we can tend to over think sometimes. Just throw it. That flouro is a weak link with braid. The baits moving, their not going to have that much time to look at itOriginally Posted by QUAKEnSHAKE
I use green Suffix 832, 30lb on my swim jig rod...haven’t seen my hits fall off as the water has gotten more clear this fall.
2006 Triton SP-185, 2006 Evinrude Etec 90, PowerTech NRS3, Garmin Echomap Plus 73CV & 93SV
I do it, but it's more for protection against teeth and dock posts and for keeping the bait down better than it is for visibility. Metal dock posts and pike teeth will often cut braid like a pair of scissors, while fluoro gives you a fighting chance. Probably more importantly, I'm able to keep a swim jig in the water easier with fluoro. This is especially true when working through pads or thick vegetation (such as after a morning frog bite has died) where it tends to blow out or otherwise ride too high with straight braid. Moving baits I really don't think it matters much if at all for visibility.
I really didn't give much credence to the sinking of fluoro making a difference in this type of setting, but it really does. I don't think it's the line itself sinking the bait down, per se. Instead I think a "belly" develops in front of the bait that causes tension to pull the bait more downward instead of upward (as would happen with braid that floats on top), almost like putting a little weight on the line ahead of the bait. It's similar to what happens if you try to use fluoro on topwater popper or something where twitching it pulls it under water. Maybe that's the same thing as the line sinking the bait down, and I'm not sure if that makes sense or not...
As for the visibility point (and I realize this is quite different): I do run a fluoro leader on my grass pitching/flipping/punching setup. I've switched back and forth between straight braid and fluoro on practice days where I was on that type of bite and definitely got more bites on the leader. The day I specifically remember was on a lake with about 3-4 feet of visibility, so not terribly clear. It's possible it was just a coincidence and I was hitting bite windows when I tried the leader, or maybe there was something else going on like the noise of the braid sawing on the vegetation. I've used a leader ever since, for whatever that's worth.
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
Drew I can definitely see your point on the sawing noise the braid makes and how it lays on the pads causing you to have to hit every single pad because the line is so limp it lays down after you cast. I noticed it a lot today when I was pitching to areas that had grass & pads together.
I hadn’t thought about that, thanks. How long of a leader do you use and what lb? My concern is always the knot attaching the braid to leader as the braid cuts through everything!
2006 Triton SP-185, 2006 Evinrude Etec 90, PowerTech NRS3, Garmin Echomap Plus 73CV & 93SV
Leader on the swim jig or on the pitching and flipping setup? The pitching and flipping setup I use one short enough to stay out of the guides when I cast. A knot coming through the top guide on a pitch destroys accuracy and is a giant pain anyhow, so it's usually 3 feet or so of 25 lb test then. On a swim jig I usually do like 10 feet so the bait has enough inertia when the knot goes through the guides not to mess up a cast. 16 lb on those.
Realistically from a presentation standpoint it's probably quite similar to fishing straight fluoro on them, but without the expense or line management issues of doing so. The downside of course is having the extra knot and dealing with that inconvenience. Certainly not right for everyone, just what works for me.
I've gone to the Shin Fukae "lazy Alberto" on all my leader setups. I used to like the FG, but even though it's thinner I've found the length of the knot to be at least as intrusive as a slightly thicker knot. Shin's knot is also one that's hard to mess up and if you do it's obvious, while an FG that seems like it was tied properly can slip later on.
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
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