What do you want to see?

[Jay Burgess]

I wouldnt mind seeing some tips for travelling with tackle, there should be a fair bit of experience amongst us .

Agree there Earl, that's a good idea 

[Luke Wyrsta]

Luke, same idea with using a single FC leader for visability reasons.  Would a few meters of twisted leader for protection and then a uni connection and 60cm of FC shock leader to lure be long enough? I still want the knot just outside the rod tip.
I will be using this same theory for Sydney kingies on lighter tackle aswell as trips to the reef for GT's.

Cheers Dave

That will work Dave, you'll find a lot of guys using that setup. I tend to use around a metre (as much as i can to the point that i can cast comfortably but the knot is outside the tip).

[David Noble]

I've just had a thought regarding getting the braid to bite into Flourocarbon using an FG knot etc....

Basically just roughing up the hard smooth outer surface with sandpaper!??  This is the same technique used by game fisherman using dacron sleeves for wind ons and is standard practice for any line class (I think?)
They sandpaper 20cm of the leader to be inserted into the dacron, and finish it off so everything stays in place.

Could be worth a test?  I'll try it on light gear and see how it goes...

Dave

[Luke Wyrsta]

Hi Dave,

Good idea - look forward to your results.

Upon Neil's advice, i was trying this for a midknot in 200lb braid. The problem was, i had to sandpaper a really big area of the leader material because when the knot is tightened, the braid will slip. It slipped way past the sandpapered area to the point where i have to create an insurance knot.

Anyways, i would be interested on thoughts regarding sanding FC. Will it retain it's effectiveness or will it be rendered the same as normal mono- ie. when you get a knick in FC i was under the impression that this will make the FC loose it's low visibility properties by letting light in?

Cheers,
Luke

[Cam Foley]

Yes definitely the twisted leaders i have tried with little success ,cant seem to stop the end that you would loop on to the braided double from unwinding.

Cam,

Have you been able to make one that doesn't unwind yet?

After the initial twists you put in the single strand, when you double, you twist in the opposite direction (reverse to orignial twists).

Hope that makes sense.

Cheers,
Luke
Yip i made my first one today after wasting a few meters of mono,tricky little suckers but i will practise and practise till I'm confident to use more expensive leader material the one i made was out of Penn 10x

[Brandon Khoo]

Cam - the Penn 10X may be cheap, hard, stiff and loud through the runners but with the exception of being loud through the runners, that's exactly what you want. I tested it extensively at Bugatti and now I'm not planning on using anything else. It took being rubbed against the coral and rocky bottom better than any other leader material I've ever used. I'm going to stick with it until something better comes along.

I will make the comment that making twisted leaders with it is considerably harder than any other leaders I've used because it so stiff!!

I've been making twisties all afternoon

[Greg Burt]

Brandon, in a earlier topic you did have a question mark on the 100 lb 10X [me too], glad to see it tested OK as I've been building my stockpile of twisted leaders with it as well,
 I had reservations over the opaque colour but after putting it up next to some Jinkai 120 and 150 lb it's nowhere near as reflective.

[Brandon Khoo]

Greg - you're right. I did not like the material at all when I was making the twisted leaders for the reasons stated above. It was stiff, hard etc and on top of all of that, it was really hard making them. It is also louder through the runners than any other leader material I have used. All of that said, I found it did not compromise my casting distance (or if it did, it was not noticeable) and most important of all, I found that it could really take the hits. I landed some fish and recovered some lures in situations where Jinkai would have been demolished. Of course, the twisted leader is damaged to the point where it needs to be replaced but being able to land the fish is what is important.

The other consideration is that it is cheap! A 50m spool of any other sutff is enough for me to make about 6 twisties. I get a dozen from a spool of 10x for the same price (it comes in 100m spools).

[Cam Foley]

Can one wax up the twisted leader to make it run over the guides smoother or is this not needed.

[Brandon Khoo]

Cam - I wouldn't bother. Also, the wax would leave a residue on the guides.

[Ben Keller]

If its smooth and hard, isnt it going to go through the guides easier/smoother?

Isnt cast distance going to be more affected by leader size/wind resistance more than anything? Therefore using a thinner diameter, but harder leader will increase casting distance. Am I miles off here or what? 

[Brandon Khoo]

you actually may have a point, Ben. The only thing is Penn 10X is of a thicker diameter than most other leaders

[Ben Keller]

Hi Luke,
Would you be able to sort out some reel breakdown pictures/information. I reckon they would get more than their fair share of views.

A rod building feature maybe (i know there loads already on the internet, but i havnt found much on specific jigging/popping rods.

Good work on keeping this forum/site the best reference site on the subject I have found.

Cheers
Ben

[Stephen Polzin]

Yeah a rod building section would be handy.  Maybe including a list of proven recipes for popping/jigging rods.  Hal from Bluewater gave me a recipe for my Calstar that I'm very happy with.  Definately something to do while the wind is too strong to go fishing.

steve