Casting and Leader Length

[Lung Weng]

I used to get wind knots occasionally but enough to lose me some lures till a friend of mine suggested to shorten the leader length such that it no longer sits in the spool. It did the trick and I haven't gotten any wind knots till date. Only problem I see in this setup is the braid gets worn off quickly due to the abrasion with the glove during a cast as I will be holding on the braid rather than the leader on a cast. . Just like to get some opinions and advice here on this. Many thanks in advance!

[Antonino Augugliaro]

I prefer long leaders, but gave me the same problems you mentioned.
I followed the advice of a friend of mine, creating a leader long enough to enter the spool for about 1/2-3/4 turn. In this way I have drastically reduced the problem. During casting the finger is on the nylon and not on the PE. I stopped using PR too long, because they assume the curved shape of the spool, preferring to them a shorter FJ knot. This trick allowed me to further limit the wind knot.
Hope this can help :-)

[Lung Weng]

Thanks for sharing Antonio! Think its certainly one way of reducing the abrasion on the braid!

[Mark Armistead]

I see this problem quite a bit, and yep by just shortening the leader it overcomes it quickly.
The other issue can sometimes be an overfilled spool, this is another one i see a bit on my boat.

[Alex Jordan]

I am following Nick Bowles's example and fishing with a short 1.5/2m leader so all knots are completely outside of the tip ring - worked a treat in Hallaniyat!

[Mark Harris]

There are definitely pros and cons to short and long leaders and this has been widely discussed before here.

One snippet - since I re-modeled my casting action to being a virtually vertical, overhead style, I get less wind-knots than I used to.  No idea why, but it might be something to do with the plane of the rod/line.

[Wan Izhan]

There are definitely pros and cons to short and long leaders and this has been widely discussed before here.

One snippet - since I re-modeled my casting action to being a virtually vertical, overhead style, I get less wind-knots than I used to.  No idea why, but it might be something to do with the plane of the rod/line.

Agree with Mark. For me, vertical overhead cast reduced a lot of windknot,especially casting againts wind.

izhan

[Steve Li]

I am following Nick Bowles's example and fishing with a short 1.5/2m leader so all knots are completely outside of the tip ring - worked a treat in Hallaniyat!

This way of rigging will certainly benefit casting distance and minimize issues with wind knots. However, with only 2m of leader, don't think it offers much protection in terms of abrasion resistance if the fish heads for the reef or structure. Or is that not even in consideration? But if Nick uses this system, I believe theres a very good reason behind it.

I personally prefer shorter leaders and usually not more than 10ft (3m or shorter). But the issue about long leaders helping to overcome abrasions is always playing in my mind. Some argue that if the fish manages to reach the rocks, even 200lb leaders won't stand a chance and as such, the length of the leaders is irrelevant. Wonder if that's Nick's rational of using such a short leader???

Hope to get some qualified oppinions here before deciding which way to go for my South Oman trip in Dec. Short leaders or long leaders.... Thats the question....
    

[Mark Harris]

It's a trade off Steve.

Shorter leader = less windknots and a bit more casting distance.
Longer leader = less likelihood of abrasion driven bust offs.

Like most things in our extreme method of fishing, there is no perfect solution.

[Ben Furness]

If you are worried about your braid wearing cut the finger off a rubber or latex (thick ones) dish washing glove and slide it over the top of you glove on the fingers you hold your braid with.

[Steve Li]

If you are worried about your braid wearing cut the finger off a rubber or latex (thick ones) dish washing glove and slide it over the top of you glove on the fingers you hold your braid with.

I have a better suggestion for you Ben. I use those that some bank tellers use when counting money. Its rubber and looks like a condom which you can slip on over your glove finger! I got them from those 2 dollar shops and you get about ten of them for the price!

[Nathan Tsao]

Over here in Hawaii we are also only running 2m long leaders from the boats. We have extra sharp lava rocks that will cut right through leader of any size. A longer leader from the boat doesnt seem to matter at all for us, once they touch reef you loose anyways (shoreline is a different story).
We prefer to run PE10 or PE12 tied direct to 2m of 250lb leader to simplify everything. Short and Deadly!
I have also noticed that an FG knot tied direct to 250lb leader never stretches at all, making for awesome longevity of the rig.

[Lung Weng]

If you are worried about your braid wearing cut the finger off a rubber or latex (thick ones) dish washing glove and slide it over the top of you glove on the fingers you hold your braid with.

Sounds like a plan Ben. Haf u tried it out before? Will give it a try during my practice sessions.

Great suggestions from everyone. Will give the following options a go and see which works out best;
1) 1/2 or 3/4 wrap on the spool
2) cut off a rubber tip to be slipped on the casting finger
3) vertical overhead cast

[Ben Yeo]

Try all the above plus a coat of Varivas PE line spray.
Smoother and improved casting.

[Graham Scott]

I am definitely a fan of the shorter leader. I try to have the knot about second or third runner and that seems to be the best compromise for me between wipeouts and casting distance.
Mark,
I also notice full vertical casts don't wind knot as much, I suspect it's a flatter trajectory.
With regard gloves wearing out braid, my solution is don't wear gloves (then braid wears out fingers instead). But if I go for a pop every 2 or 3 weeks its OK. Not sure how I would go 5 days straight???