I have been fishing for two years and do ok. When the fish are on, it doesn't seem that leader type matters. But lately, the weather has been hot, the water clear, the water is low and ther eare no clouds. A buddy and I have similar rigs (shimano/loomis/etc.). We fish with braid (not going to change) and use 20lb pline fluro leader. He recently decided to starting using a frog hair leader. Today, side by side, he caught 5 nice fish, and I caught squat.

I am beginning to think leader type matters.

Does leader length, color matter? What length and leader type do you recommend for braid?
thanks

Length really doesn't matter, Using Floro you can get away with a little heavier leader and be OK.

Weight has more of a factor than most, just make sure you can maintain contact to the bottome. Next time watch how your friend is working the bait. Maybe he's going slower,faster,or hopping it while your dragging it, any or all of these could factor in.

I use 17lb main and 14lb leader.

Dude, make a change.. YES it matters!!

Do y'all use leaders for everything or is this a carolina rig thing only?

What's the difference in 1 foot,2 foot or a 3 foot leader?

Doesn't change anything really, it all about confidence.

I used about a 2.5 foot leader yesterday and my bud was using a 3-4 foot leader and we both still caught fish and about the same numbers.

I think the biggest diff, might be speed really now I look back over my notes. And working it.

I use 20 lb main,15 lb leader(both InvisX)...I dont think leader length matters,MAYBE if the water is super duper west coast clear..but for the most part,I like the shorter leaders because if I break off I dont lose as much InvisX!!!lol

Ok, I have been using 5 foot leader tied to 20lb power pro braid. Looks like it is not that big of a deal so maybe I have just been skunked. Lake Georgetown has fairly clear water which is why I started thinking about visibility.

Watch Honey Hole towards the end of the month, Bill does a Show on C-Rigging and how we over think sometimes.

honey hole?

At the Voting Booth

it normaly depends on what type of line you are useing i use braid and i just use a mono shock leader for the stretch!!!

i think that length plays an important role, i prefer short, but i have been out c riggin where they wont bite unless it was 5, 6, sometimes 7 ft leaders...let the fish dictate what they want...same with the line, start out thick and then work ur way smaller if they arent bitin, just my 2 cents, but i spend alot of time c riggin, and learned some tricks from some pretty good fisherman

when the fishing is tough and u guys can't catch anything on a c rig i will ajust the leader lenght and start catching fish stop and think about it the longer the leader the longer the bait has to fail in the water collum just remember let the fish tell u what to adjust

I just read an article in BASS Times where Tommy Biffle discussed leader length extensivly. He bases his length entirely off of water clarity. Dirty = short = easy for the fish to find after hearing the weight and beads on the bottom. Clear water and around grass = long. Also, Dirty = bait draging on the bottom. Clear = Floating the bait off the bottom. Said he never throws more the about 3.5-4 feet so that you can still cast accuretly. One last cool tip. To make the bait float really high he uses a small piece of foam from those noodle swimming pool floats and either insert it into the cavity of the bait if available and if not simply run the line through it in front of the bait as though it was a t-rigged bullet weight. Then add a small dab of super glue to keep it at the nose of the bait.
I'm not much of a c-rigger but the info was intriguing.

Everything about a Carolina rig can make a difference. Example: fishing buddy and I were fishing Amistad 3 years ago in a tournament and the only difference between our fishing rigs was where we were putting the rattle in the bait. I switched and immediately started catching fish. I have seen the leader length, leader line weight, leader line color and hook size make all the difference in the world.