Topwater Caranx Ignobilis: Giant Trevally (GT) > Tackle & Techniques

Twisted Leaders or Single Strand ?

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Earl Hamilton:
Hi guys,
Its been a while since I posted, but you guys do cover things pretty well as I see when I visit the forum most days to catch up.I just finished a stint preparing a bunch of twisted leaders for an exploratory trip to a completely unknown and unquantified area to us at least, in the northern Islands of Sulawesi, Indonesia, in the Celebes sea. The trip unfortunately was postponed, and left me time to consider the needs. However, I do now have a question. What are the criteria for choosing a twisted leader over a single strand leader or visa versa ? What are the benefits and disadvantages of each ?

Brandon Khoo:
Earl, much of this is determined by personal choice. You will find there are strong proponents of each who will argue the merits of why one attachment is better than another. I use both so I'm in the middle ground. I persoally beleive there are benefits to both.

Single strand leaders are normally attached by way of a PR, FG or mid knot. All of these are time consuming to tie but result in a very fine connection. The mid and FG knot can be tied without a tool but the PR knot requires a bobbin to tie. The advantage of the single strand leader is that it casts beautifully and may be a better attachment where fish are shy and/or visibility is very good so fish may be able to see the twisted leader. Some people argue that the attachment of a long bite leader to the end of a twisted leader nullifies this advantage.

These knots are fussy to tie and require a lot of practice to develop the necessary expertise. That said, a well tied knot this way is as strong as any attachment I've used. I use PR and FG knots myself and while I have had a failure on a FG knot, I have noone but myself to blame as it wasn't well-tied. I have never had a failure with a PR knot nor have I ever had one that even looks like slipping. This disadvantage of these are that they are very time consuming to tie. These would be hell to tie in a rocking boat so if you want to use these attachments, you will need a number of spools with the leader pre-tied.

Twisted leaders are very convenient and can be very easy to attach quickly if you know how. If you can tie a bimimi competently in a boat, you can attach a twistie very quickly and you're back fishing straight away. The disadvantage of twisties is they don't cast quite as well a single strand leader. You also need to learn to attach them properly to the braid otherwise the bimimi loop will cut through the twisted leader loop.

For me, I now nearly always use a single strand leader with a stickbait and for a poppper, I use either. I am pretty convinced that I am better off using a single strand leader for a stickbait.

A question I have been asked in the past is whether a single strand 200lb leader would be as abrasion resistant as a twisted 100lb leader. I don't really know! What I can say though is that you need a softer leader material to tie a single strand leader whereas you can use just about anything for a twisted leader. I tend to use Penn 10X which is the toughest leader material I have found. I have no doubt whatsoever that the 10X is a tougher leader material than what I am currently using for my single strand leaders.

To me, there's a place for both in my tackle box.

Kasey Leong:
Thanks Brandon,
I never really thought about the 'stealth' aspect of single strand. Most people that I do know use 170lb. May I enquire more, as to how you finish it off? Is there a bite leader?

I guess I better remember and practice how to tie my FG-knot!

Brandon Khoo:
for a stickbait, I tend to just tie it to a swivel whereas for a popper, I sometimes create a bite segment.
I generally use 200lb.

FG knots are not difficult. You just have to make sure it bites into the leader and then ensure your half hitches are very tight.

Earl Hamilton:
Hi Brandon,
Its appears that you reiterate my own thoughts . The camps are devided and the choice is a personal preference for the merits of one over the other. The twisted leaders are certainly an advantage in covenience for attachment, and they have superior shock absorbing properties-however I think there could be some hook penetration issues if the twisty is too long and elastic, especially if the twisty is made out of a soft mono. Against twisted leaders is that the casting ability is affected and there are stealth issues with visibility especially in clear water.
For me the dilema is that I believe the twisty is more reliable in holding bolting fish once they are hooked, but the issue of visibility with twisties dents my confidence in getting the fish to take the hook in the first place!
The debate will continue !

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