Do you have it just above your lure say 12"-18"? Or do you have a few feet which causes the leader knot to be reeled into the rod eyelets each cast?

4' to 5'

14" to 6ft all depends on the fish, what lake in fishing and what structure im fishing. If it's really thick trees shorter leader, more rock or open then longer.

20-25'

if im pitching shallow cover like trees and bushes then 2-4ft if im casting to cover then i use 10ft or so just so i dont have to retie the leader knot. reason why i like the shorter leader when pitching shallow heavy cover is that you dont have to have the knot go thorough the guides. makes it easier for me to pitch the bait into small holes and places back up in the cover. I also like having that extra abrasion resistance with the braid because when pitching bushes your like tends to get caught on allot of limbs

That was my next question, do you guys that use longer leaders feel that you need to retie more often due to the guides hitting the knot while casting?

Nope dont really think it hurts the knot. I will retie the knot after catching a couple good fish though. I can't remember the name of the knot i use. But you basically make a loop in your floro then feed the braid though the bottom of the loop and wrap the braid down the floro 6-8 times then come back up the line wrapping the braid in between the other loops. Then put your tag end back through the top of the loop in your floro and you are set.

I like 20'. I feel like it gives me a little more shock absorption and when I'm getting the fish close to the boat, my leader knot is already in the reel, not stressing on the rod guides.

About 8' for most of the time unless I'm fishing heavy cover then I will shorten it up. I use a double uni knot, but the are several good knots to try.

Jake, that is called an Improved Albright knot.

I prefer my junction knot to sit right off of my spinning reel, get the invisibility that way, the other benefits of fluorocarbon, so about 6 or 7' for me. On spinning tackle, I have never noticed a thing casting out. I occasionally feel the tiniest of ticks reeling in when the knot passes by the rod tip.

Too, 6 or 7 ft. gives you the opportunity to re-tie a few times.

I always tie on a fresh leader before each time out.

With really good fluorocarbon, don't be afraid to reel up a full casting distance plus some extra distance with a braid main line backing it up. Aaron Martens does this for certain fishing applications.

Brad

It depends on the application, but the leader usually starts out somewhere between the first and second guide. I'll change out the leader once it gets down to 2-3 feet in length.

Last year, I tried really long leaders (into the spool), but there is nothing worse than line snagging on the line to line knot during a cast.

i just buy red label... Cheap enough i don't find the need to do the backing and have a leader. Use a little line spray every once in a while.