How to Choose Size of Braid and Leader

The number of choices available to today's anglers are endless. Not only are there thousands of lures on the market, but once you finally make that decision there arises a whole new set of options...what line do I choose? This article will address how we determine line and leader size along with why we make that decision. Let me first say that here at Treasure Coast Tackle, we are going to choose braid over monofilament every time. There may be some situations where mono may have a slight advantage, but in our experience when used properly braid will definitely put more fish in the boat.

Let's look at line size first. We use 15lb mono for backing (about 50 yards) then tie the braid to mono with a uni to uni knot and top off the spool stopping about an eighth of an inch from the edge of the spool. If we are fishing open flats with nothing for the fish to wrap you up in, we will choose 10 or 12lb braid. This will allow you to get the most distance possible out of your cast. If you choose this size, it is critical to check your line often for signs of fraying or damage. Make it a point to cut a few feet of line off when you tie on a new leader. While 10-12lb braid is strong, it is extremely succeptible to breakage if you have even slight damage to the line.

When we move to mangroves and docks, we use 20lb braid. We have found this size to be a good mix of strength and castability. The 20lb gives enough strength to put the extra drag on those fish hiding back under docks without sacrificing castability on a 3000 or 4000 size reel.

When we head to the bridges to toss jigs for big snook in 16-20 feet of water, we break out the 5000 series reels spooled with 50lb braid. The 50lb allows us to lock down the drag and winch up big snook before they can get around the rocks and concrete pilings. For our jig fishing around bridges, we will use 60lb mono leader due to the water being deep and we are fishing at night.

We use 40lb fluorocarbon leader almost exclusively on flats and around docks. If the water is gin clear and it's sunny out, we may back down to 25lb fluorocarbon leader but only if we feel the fish are being very skittish. Will a light leader leader get more bites? Maybe, but what good is that if you're just going to get broken off by a big fish? Our theory is if the fish are so in tune that a slightly heavier leader spooks them, then they are most likely not going to hit an artificial lure anyway! We use a triple surgeon's knot that we actually wrap four times instead of 3, to tie our leader to braid.

Hopefully this insight as to how and why we choose what braid and leader we use will help you on your next outing!

David Jouppi
Treasure Coast Tackle