what am i doing wrong?

[lowrider]

i just started tying a leader to my braid setup. i'm using 30 lb sufix and a 17 lb flouro leader. yesterday i got a jig (thunderstruck da**it) hung up and BARELY pulled on it once i got to the backside of the stump that got me. my line snapped at the knot. i would say that the braid actually cut the flouro cause my knot was still at the end of the braid mainline.

btw...tying the uni to uni

[MIbasser]

I'm not 100% sure, but I think you need a larger braid. Dependig on knot you need same dia lines (17 should be much larger than the 30 braid). I use straight 20 Lb BPS Flouro or 50 Lb braid. No knots except the one tied to the jig.

[MississippiBoy]

+1 for the braid cutting the flouro. Or maybe there was a kink in the flouro?

[Bender]

Be sure to wet the know completely before cinching down the loops and also before pulling them together. I've had pretty good luck with them not breaking and use about 6-7 loops on each.

[Rodman_Rob]

jigs are typically for heavy cover while fluro is more for open water. I personally wouldn't worry about a leader while fishing a jig.

[woody]

Like Bender said make sure to wet the knot completely before cinch'n down.
After cinch'n down the knot I give it the hardy pull test, if its gonna break, nows the time to find out.
FYI make sure you protect your hands before pulling on the knot.

[Basscrazie]

Originally Posted by Rodman_Rob

jigs are typically for heavy cover while fluro is more for open water. I personally wouldn't worry about a leader while fishing a jig.

Me either.I want to pull the stump in and not worried about my knot.

[Rebbasser]

Originally Posted by Rodman_Rob

jigs are typically for heavy cover while fluro is more for open water. I personally wouldn't worry about a leader while fishing a jig.

I'm with RR on that one-I just tie to the braid. If you want to use a leader I'd downsize the lb test to match the diameter of the braid. I use 50 lb and when I use a leader I go with 12 lb, which is the same diameter.

[Fishing Fanatic]

RB and Reb are right. No need for a leader with a jig.

[zooker]

your problem stems from the use of floro.. floro has it place, umm the trash can is a great place imo..

if your chunking a jig tie straight up to braid..lets face it ,the arkie-in-slaw waters you fish are not excatly your pristine gin clear lakes of the left coast..i fish a mudhole with 8 feet of vizability i use braid-40 pound-on a jig and catch alot of fish using braid in other forms on it..

zooker

[Fishnngolfn]

Originally Posted by lowrider

i just started tying a leader to my braid setup. i'm using 30 lb sufix and a 17 lb flouro leader. yesterday i got a jig (thunderstruck da**it) hung up and BARELY pulled on it once i got to the backside of the stump that got me. my line snapped at the knot. i would say that the braid actually cut the flouro cause my knot was still at the end of the braid mainline.

btw...tying the uni to uni

I use 15# P-line fluoro as a leader tied to 30# braid (suffix or power pro). As Lancer suggested to me, USE THE J-KNOT. It is not fun to tie but with practice it gets easier. Practice using old line since you will mess up the first few times. I have never had a line break at the knot where I tied the fluoro to braid using the J-knot. Make sure the line is very wet and pull tight very slowly. You have to tighten the knot slowly anyway when tying the J-knot. I spray the loose knot with KVD when tightening it down.

[lowrider]

Originally Posted by zooker

if your chunking a jig tie straight up to braid..lets face it ,the arkie-in-slaw waters you fish are not excatly your pristine gin clear lakes
zooker

this happens to be the one lake in my area that is suprisingly clear...

yea guys i know usually straight braid to jig is the way to go, like i said, i'm just getting into this whole leader thing and thought i had the knot figured out.

[BigBassin144]

Originally Posted by zooker

your problem stems from the use of floro.. floro has it place, umm the trash can is a great place imo..

if your chunking a jig tie straight up to braid..lets face it ,the arkie-in-slaw waters you fish are not excatly your pristine gin clear lakes of the left coast..i fish a mudhole with 8 feet of vizability i use braid-40 pound-on a jig and catch alot of fish using braid in other forms on it..

zooker

Zook, 8ft of vis is not exactly a Mudhole. The only place Iuse straight braid is Lake Hudson (a real mudhole) w/ normally 8-15" of vis. Altohugh I've used straight braid while pitching weeds in some clear Michigan lakes. I only got two bites, but it beat everyones else no bites that day.

Honestly, While flipping cover, if I'm in really clear water, I'll fish all fluoro, but other than that, I just use braid.

BB

[airskank]

I would think 8 feet would be pretty clear. The reservoir I fish is really clear 8-10 I'm guessing. I use flouro for everything... but I don't catch much either

[BassAddict]

If it's a clear lake then I would use straight Fluoro and forget the braid. Use XPS Fluoro and be done with it. Tie a Jam knot and your good to go. I use nothing but fluorocarbon line in real clear water. Never have a problem! Actually the only thing I use braid for is Frogs in heavy vegitation or maybe flipping thick grass. That's about it. XPS fluoro and P-line fluoroclear is about all I use anymore!

[mont_lunker_hunter]

lowrider, i agree with bigbassin. And if you're talking about Monticello i'd definitely use fluoro. Lots of pressure and relatively clear(er) water. I use BPS 20 or 17 fluoro 100% of the time for jigging. I know alot of guys don't like the brand or the fluoro, but it holds up for me and if it can take the wood and lunkers in Monticello, then it's gotta be good stuff. From what i have found in Monticello, there is so much wood that if you get hung, your HUNG. I'm not saying that braid won't help you land a fish that you wouldn't have other wise landed, but for me anyways that's only about 1 fish out of 20, the rest of the time you're gonna be wrapped about 100 times around a limb, not even a barge rope would do you any good. To me the 1 out of 20 that you land using braid is not worth the ones that won't even bite without the fluoro.

[Fishnngolfn]

To answer your original question - If you losing your entire leader because your braid is digging into your leader line and the knot is breaking, then use a J-knot to tie your leader onto the braid. I only use the uni to unit knot to tie the mono backing to the braid.

Here is the J-KNOT

[Bender]

Originally Posted by Bender

I've had pretty good luck with them not breaking and use about 6-7 loops on each.

I jinxed myself! I lost a leader on a light hookset and lost a big Limited Rogue on Sunday. Luckily it didn't break on Saturday since we only had 2 fish in a tournament and still got second place.
On that J-Knot do you run the other line through the little loop at the end and tie the same knot in the other line?

[lowrider]

FnG, are you holding the lines together like you would a surgeons knot?

[Fishnngolfn]

Originally Posted by lowrider

FnG, are you holding the lines together like you would a surgeons knot?

YES. That is how you hold the lines before starting the J-knot. The surgeons knot is similar but the J-knot goes through the loop differently.

Originally Posted by bender

On that J-Knot do you run the other line through the little loop at the end and tie the same knot in the other line?

In the picture both lines are together. See the you keep the lines together but the tag ends are not together. It is a little difficult since you have to pull the whole leader through the loop several times. I use a 3 to 4' leader so it is not that bad. Like the small visual below. Overlap the lines about 4 to 6 inches. I have become very good at the knot and only overlap the lines around 3 to 4 inches to save on line waste when tightening.

The green would be the braid and the white would be the leader.

[Fishnngolfn]

Here is where I got the final picture of the knot. This website shows the step by step.

J-knot

[Fishnngolfn]

Courtesy of www.worldseafishing.com.


1. Lay the line and leader alongside each other but overlapping by about 15 inches.


2. Keeping the two lines together tie in an overhand knot and pull the full length of the mono leader through the loop.


3. Leaving the loop of the overhand knot still open, pull the ends of both line and leader round and through the bottom of the over-hanging loop, over and back inside the top of the loop, and once more pull the tag ends through the bottom of the loop.


4. Holding both ends of the lines begin to draw the knot slowly together making sure the knot closes evenly with no loose coils. Keeping even tension on both ends helps achieve this.


5. Finally trim the tag ends off tight to the knot.

[lowrider]

got it now, i'll try that one. thanks

[Fishnngolfn]

Originally Posted by lowrider

got it now, i'll try that one. thanks

Just make sure when you are pulling the knot tight, you do it very slowly. At times, you may have to alternate pulling the leader and the main braid line until it gets close to finishing. If you pull to quickly or unevenly (you will see what I mean), you will get a loop in the middle of the knot and have to start over (thereby wasting expensive braid and fluoro leader line). The difficulty with this knot is that the leader (fluoro) is much more stiff than the braid (even Suffix) and when you pull the knot tight, the braid seems to tighten faster than the fluoro leader.

[jig fisherman]

Originally Posted by lowrider

i just started tying a leader to my braid setup. i'm using 30 lb sufix and a 17 lb flouro leader. yesterday i got a jig (thunderstruck da**it) hung up and BARELY pulled on it once i got to the backside of the stump that got me. my line snapped at the knot. i would say that the braid actually cut the flouro cause my knot was still at the end of the braid mainline.

btw...tying the uni to uni

I've had that happen when using the hooks with leaders on, the braided line cits right through it. Also if you don't wet the line before you pull the knot tight the friction will cause the line to break.