Hard v's soft mono for leaders

[Chris Dennis]

Both have different attributes, the harder mono being more abrasion resistant, lower stretch and stiffer whereas the softer monos are more supple and easier to knot.

Which mono is the most suitable for leader material for GT popping and what are the most widely used brands amongst the GT Popping community ?

Chris

[Mark Harris]

Hi Chris

It's a personal thing and  I suspect you will get contradictory answers, but for GT casting it is always soft and supple for me for castability and less memory.

Until recently the one I used most often was YGK Galis Shock Leader which I found marginally better than my other favourite - Varivas Shock Leader.

But, excellent as they are, those are eclipsed I think by Prosele Nanodax Shock Leader. Absolutely love this stuff and so pleased I found it. Stocked by Kaiser in Singapore and a few other places.

It all cases I use 170lb in normal conditions but might go up to 200lbs if need be.

In my view, extra abrasion resistance (if you really need it) can be dealt with by a short section of fluorocarbon (outside the guides) or by fitting a kevlar sleeve over the first 80 cm of so of your shock leader.  Don't sacrifice the excellent properties of a soft supple leader.

[Trevor Skinner]

Chris,

I follow the bimini/yucatan/short leader outside the guides route and tend to use 180lb fluorocarbon since I don't use a friction knot and I, rightly or wrongly, think the fluoro gives a little more abrasion resistance, however, it may be more imagined than real. I could just as easily use heavier mono.

If I were using a friction knot such as the FG or the PR I would exclusively use softer mono. My leader doesn't pass through the guides either so I haven't got that whole braid/leader/friction/line speed dynamic going on.

I use Double x fluoro because it's easy for me to get and has never let me down but from what I've seen Fisherman and Seagur mono is popular.

Hope this helps.


Trevor

PS Edit: I've just realised that Seaguar is fluoro (they have a new mono product) but, all the same, have never used it

[Chris Dennis]

Mark - I usually use the 170lb Varivas for my general GT fishing. In S Oman i used 300lb Pro Rigger from Leadertec in the UK, 1.6mm dia (not much thicker than Fisherman 200lb) and reasonably soft and supple. What breaking strain did you use last time you were in S Oman ?

Trevor - after speaking to Nick I've also adopted the shorter, outside the guides leader (1.2m or so long). I'm happy with my FG knots so I haven't spent too much time practicing the Yucatan / Bimini. I can't even tie a decent knot (uni or clinch) in 70lb fluoro let alone 180lb so tend to avoid it and stick with mono.

Amr - interesting how something that one person loves doesn't work for others. Confidence plays a major part in any type of fishing I guess.

[Mahmoud Salem]

In my view, extra abrasion resistance (if you really need it) can be dealt with by a short section of fluorocarbon (outside the guides) or by fitting a kevlar sleeve over the first 80 cm of so of your shock leader.  Don't sacrifice the excellent properties of a soft supple leader.

Dear Mark
Would you kindly clarify more each of the two methods mentioned

Thanks in advance

[Sam Colvin]

I've fished with 170/200lb YGK N820 Shock Leader for sometime and only have recently moved to Varivas in the same strengths.

I found the YGK a beautiful leader to tie, but when fishing waters infested with Long Tom, i found the YGK nicked alot easier than the Varivas.

[Nick Bowles]

Hi Chris! A good question and is one of those ones that a lot of people will answer with various answers as it is personal thing and also what gives you confidence when fishing. We have chatted about the shorter leaders and for me this is my preference for various reasons. But for leaders I tend to use heavier straight softer mono leader. I think that a softer leader is better if you using 200lbs+ leader as a thick 250 or 300lbs leader no matter how soft will give you a lot of abrasion resistance just because of the shear diameter of the leader.

For me my preference is Fisherman 220 or 240lbs for medium to heavy popping. This is soft and I find ties very well and gives me a bit of a shock absorber for the short leader system I use. Then on the heavier stuff I use 300lbs or 400lbs Momoi Hi Catch. This is cheap and most probably the best heavy leader I've used and caught a lot of big fish on it. The Momoi is harder than the Fisherman leader but still soft enough to tie the Yucatan Knot in 400lbs and gives plenty of abrasion resistance and I have not had it break in over 8 years of using it in Oman.

For the hard vs soft leader I think if you use a short leader you need to consider using a softer leader to give you a bit of shock absorption and if you use a longer wind on or twisted leader you can use a harder leader as you already have more shock absorption from the leader length and also you are using a smaller diameter leader to cast through the guides so will need a harder leader to give you a bit more abrasion resistance.

Cheers,
Nick

[Luke Wyrsta]

Prosele is one of my favourites but has a limited life. As it is so soft and pliable it can wear and stretch to capacity. Therefore, good practice is to change it often. I have requested a prototype of 300lb+ but haven't heard anything new on that front.

The old faithful and economical option that has excellent performance is Fisherman Super Stealth. Supple with a little extra stretch.

For heavy bite-leaders I use Varivas Game in 300 - 400lb.