You should use a leader that is right for the clar­ity of the water. It also must be right for the type of fish you are look­ing for. If you are fish­ing for Kings using 40 pound test mono leader would not be con­sid­ered real smart if you want to get any fish to the boat. A steel leader will get more fish to the boat. If you are fish­ing for AJ’s 60 or 80 might be in order depend­ing on the size of the fish. They seem to be there but don’t seem to be hit­ting like they should, reduce the size of the leader and loosen the drag you’ll catch a lot more fish. Many times espe­cially in clear water you can see fish but they aren’t hit­ting. That is a prime time to use a lighter longer leader and a smaller hook.

Keep an eye on your leader if it shows any signs of chaffing replace it. Chaf­ing does two things it increases vis­i­bil­ity and weak­ens the line. Flu­o­ro­car­bon line is more expen­sive but in my opin­ion is well worth the added expense. As the fish­ing sea­son moves on towards fall from spring and sum­mer the fish seem to get more and more leader shy. Lighter you can go with your tackle the bet­ter your fish­ing will be and the more skill you will develop.

john@crazyfishguy.com