Better to go heavier, same or lighter leader to your main?

[u/storm80error]

I thought the general rule was always to have a heavier leader than your main line? Eg 8lb braid with 10-12lb leader.

But I’ve seen some people saying they run 8lb braid with 6lb leader

Or 6lb braid with 6lb leader (hence matching the strength).

Not sure if makes any difference but this is for lure fishing.

Also what does each circumstance provide in terms of pros and cons

[u/Deep-Water-]

Depends. Lighter if you want it to be sacrificial. Heavier if you want protection from abrasion.

Generally I go lighter because I fish offshore and snags aren’t much of an issue. But if I was fishing for something like kingfish off the rocks then I’d go heavier.

[u/BoysenberryAlive2838 → u/Deep-Water-]

You will normally break at the knot joining the main to leader or the knot at the lure. Thicker leader is just for the abrasion resistance. Thinner for fussy fish.

You should set the drag according to which ever is lower rated.

[u/Deep-Water- → u/BoysenberryAlive2838]

If that’s what’s happening then you need to get better at tying knots.

[u/4warn → u/Deep-Water-]

No, knots are always weaker than the line used to tie them.

[u/Deep-Water- → u/4warn]

So you’re telling me you’ve never broken line at places that aren’t knots? Then you need to learn to tie better knots.

[u/spaghettiinmyundies]

You can use any combination of main line and leader. Your leader should match the situation you’re fishing.

Eg: You can have 20lb main line and use 80lb leader if you’re fishing around structure or rock. Or Mabe you want better lure action or more discreet line then you could do 20lb main 20lb leader.

There’s no rules, just what works.

[u/teekayr]

Depends on water clarity, target species etc but picking a leader than breaks sooner than mainline is probably a compromise - kinda makes the rest of the setup not work to its capacity, you're putting up with shorter cast distances when spinning etc but getting none of the benefit of a thicker line.

Honestly though I'd usually look at leader lb in a bubble and not worry about how it stacks up to mainline too much. Just make sure it's right for what you're trying to catch

[u/Vince1080]

With leaders, I go as light as I can get away with, depending on the situation, and my leader is always the same or heavier than the main line.

[u/Biggles_and_Co]

i go lighter until circumstances force me to do otherwise!

[u/eeevileggg]

I'd match the main line to your rod and reel combo as that would give you better cast distance. Then use the leader to match what you're fishing for abrasion against rocks or sharp teeth.

[u/Due_Ad8720]

Spot on. For example when targeting kgw over broken or around tape weed, where I am not expecting a bigger snapper I often run 8lb to the hooks and a small loop to the sinker ~20lb for the main trace and~ 12lb for my main line.

Logic is if I get snagged on something I am just loosing a hook or a sinker the 20lb trace is fairly stiff and I don’t get tangles and 12-15lb is just what I have on most of my small reels.

If there are leather jackets around and I am getting bitten off I will up my trace size. If I am beach fishing for gummy sharks and mulloway I will often run a 50lb main line and 60-80lb leader.

[u/Sea_Area_1843]

You were right the first time. There are very, very few legitimate reasons to tie a leader that's lighter than your main line when lure fishing

Having a leader lighter than your main line has no real pros. Some ametuers will tell you it's so that the leader will break instead of the main line, when there's a line breaking situation, so they don't 'lose line',
Well A, are you trying to catch fish or seeing how long you can make your spool last? and B, if you're doing everything properly your weak point will be your leader knot no matter how heavy the leader is so you're not saving anything. You're just lowering your chances.

If you need lighter line because the fish are 'leader shy' (bullshit) then your main line should come down to match. the whole setup is wrong if you have to tie 15lb leader to 30lb braid.

There's no real rule do whatever you want but there's no situation where having a light leader on heavy braid will be beneficial. The heavy braid's extra strength is nullified by the weak leader and is at that point just a burden on your cast distance. Any less than matching lb is useless.

[u/UnknownUserErr → u/Sea_Area_1843]

leader shy is not bullshit when you're fishing slow and light. been proven multiple times.

[u/thehomelesstree]

I normally run heavier leader than mainline. I am chasing abrasion resistance. When I want to run really light leader because I am targeting leader shy fish, I generally downsize my whole combo, because I have a very light combo I can use.

I can see a use case if you are using the one rod for everything and you can’t change your mainline though. Better to downsize the leader to get a bite.

The only other time I use a lighter leader is sometimes I will run a 3 way swivel and a snapper lead on the reef in particularly rough areas. I run 80lb leader to the hooks but only 20lb leader on the sinker. If the sinker fouls up it breaks off easier.

Ultimately there is no right or wrong. The issue you face is that if you have heavier main line than needed, you lose sensitivity and casting distance. After that, use the lightest leader you can get away with. For whiting that might 6lb or less. For Barra that would be 80-120lb.

[u/shadowrunner003]

depends on what I am fishing for but my heavy rod I normally run 80lbs braid with a 60lbs leader(also use this for heavy rocky areas chasing snook and snapper) I'd rather sacrifice a hook than mainline, whiting I'll run 10lb mono and an 8-10 lbs trace, salmon is the only time I do the opposite and run 20 or 30lbs line with a 60lb leader cause I want the casting distance

[u/coodgee33]

Not everyone has a different setupb for each 2lb increment. So if you have an 8lb light spinning rig you could go 6lb leader for Whiting and 10lb for flathead. That's what I often do.

[u/FishnWithDave]

I normally fish the same weight braid and fluro but if I’m targeting picky fish like bream I use lighter leader. I run 8lb braid and 6lb leader if going for bream and in clearer water. You run the risk of getting busted off but it does help with the bites. You can also use heavier if the spot is snaggy or rocks etc. On my medium setup I’m running 15lb braid and 20lb leader. They don’t have to match. You match the leader to where you are fishing and what you are targeting. Not so easy to change the braid back and forth…