Same place I caught the 36lb blue the other day. A different steel leader but from the same batch. AAARRRGGGHHH!

Oh that hurts me. I hate losing fish because of my equipment. If you are into big fish those snaps are unacceptable. Many of my offshore angler friends will not use a snap, but I still use ones like this. My big Aussie snap swivels are good to 600 lbs, but you could pick a size that is better for your line test. The non-ball bearing swivels are cheaper and will also work. Remember, there are 100 lb plus catfish out there.

https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/offshore-angler-ball-bearing-swivel-with-coastlock-snap

Must have been a monster!

Those snaps you are currently using are junk

Yeah, I’m learning that the hard way. I’ve bought the stuff to make my own leaders using heavy, dependable components. I won’t get bit like that again.

You don't need steel leaders for big cats, do ya?

Some do. Some don’t.

OUCH!!

Hate that, but yeah that little link aint gunna cut it! Heavy duty links/swivels are the way to go.

Worse still, is when the hook you've tied comes undone. It's happened to me a couple of times, badly tied snell knots. There is nothing worse than losing a big fish due to your own incompetence. I have since learned how to tie them correctly and I practice, practice, practice.

As for steel leaders you are correct you don't need them, although heavy duty 50 pound breaking strain mono line is needed. Mono? Yes, as it's far superior to braid for surviving knocks and abrasions at the end of your line.

Steel leaders are useful though if you hook a big 'ole Gar.

Live and learn is a big part of fishing..

Yeah, I hate it when it’s my fault. I still use the old improved clinch knot with a couple of extra wraps on braid. I bought those leaders online and didn’t realize how light they were. I went and bought the components to make my own using stuff strong enough to tow my boat 😁. I lost 2 big fish within a couple of days of each other when their teeth cut the 50lb braid line right above the 10/0 offset circle hooks I use. Now that’s just one less thing to go wrong. Some say it’s overkill but you can’t really overkill something. Either it’s killed or it’s not. It’s a threat/possibility or it’s not.

All my leaders are tied with 80 lbs mono to the hook and snap swivels for the weights.

Sounds like a good plan too. When I finally landed the 36lb blue in an earlier post, when I got his head up so I could grab him. He had wrapped the steel leader around one of his pectoral fins. You know how they roll all the time. Obviously I don’t know when it happened but it was a long fight on a spinning rod that included him going around the end of the boathouse and then under it with my rod bent double. I don’t know if mono or braid would have survived a fight that hard wrapped around a fin but I know the steel leader did. Possibly the other lines would have as well.

I came up with this knot over the decades. It has allowed me to document lots of world records.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xz0RfLMgcs&list=PLGioeJM4hW79Iaywmo5b56TKjaJ2TY-Cw&index=1

Nice! I’ll give that a shot. I do have one question (not a critique!), would there be any difference in the knot performance if you did a series of opposing half hitches at the end?

Thanks for the comment. I am always interested in improving. It wouldn’t hurt to add more half hitches, but in this case it is unnecessary. The knot is already getting 100% strength out of the line. I have tested it repeatedly and the bad part about the knot is that it will find the weakest spot in the line, either during the fight or if you hang up. Therefore, if that spot is at the tip of the rod, you will break off there and leave all of your line and rig in the water. Most of the time a simple polymer knot will do just fine (it is about 95% of the line strength). But if I am after really big fish this is the best knot I have found.