Fishing School
Lines
Recommended Medium Power Lines
Below are some links to the most popular lines used by Insider Club members for all-purpose medium power inshore setups.
- Braid Mainline (10 lb is most popular)
- Leader Assembly: 12 lb Leader with a 20 lb bite tippet is most popular
Note: Click here to see a lesson on how to spool your medium power combos with braid (start to finish tutorial.
Recommended Medium Heavy Power Lines
Below are some links to the most popular lines used by Insider Club members for all-purpose medium-heavy power inshore setups.
- Braid Mainline (20 lb is most popular)
- Leader Assembly: 20 to 30 lb Leader Line with a 30 to 40 lb bite tippet
PS – In case you wonder why I don’t use or recommend fluorocarbon line, it’s because I have been completely underwhelmed by it when testing lines. In all instances, regular mono line has proven to be more abrasion resistant than fluorocarbon, and I have not noticed a difference in strikes per hour of fishing when switching back and forth from fluoro to mono… so I have gone 100% mono over the past year even when fishing super clear water.
Luke, I have been a member for several years. In the beginning you only recommended the FG knot for attachment to a leader of larger diameter than your braid. In this lesson for reef fishing you describe using 20 lb braid with 20-30 lb mono leader. In your sight fishing setup you describe using 6 lb braid attached to a 10 lb mono upper leader. In both cases you still mention using the FG knot for attachment of braid to mono leader. Have you changed your mind over the last last few years about the FG knot. If properly tied, do you now feel that it is acceptable to use for smaller to larger, same size to same size, and larger to smaller lines?
Bill
Great question Bill! I still stand by the need to have the braid be thinner than the leader line when using the FG knot… this is to ensure that the braid can dig into the outer layer of the leader enough to lock it into place permanently.
Since braid is much thinner than mono/fluoro lines of equal strength rating, this allows for the connection of a 20 lb braid to a 20 lb leader to be ok with the FG knot (same for a 6 lb braid to a 10 lb leader).
In general, I am a huge fan of the FG knot whenever connecting braid to mono/fluoro as long as the rated strength of the braid is not higher than the rated strength of the leader (even if the braid’s diameter is still technically thinner) because the overall design of the FG knot is to protect the braid.
Luke, thank you for the clarification and prompt response!
The 10 braid to 20 leader and 6 braid to 10 leader joins made sense since they were smaller to larger. The 20 to 20 seemed off, but I hadn’t considered that the 20 lb mono was still much thicker in diameter than the 20 lb braid. I was only thinking in terms of specified pound strength not diameter. Thanks again.
Bill
Luke, instead of using 6lb braid, 10 pound mono leader and 20 pound tippet, why not just use 8-10 pound braid with a 20 pound tippet and cut out the leader? Is the leader really giving that much more strength to the line? Thanks!
I trust a 10 lb mono more than a 6 lb braid for holding up against impacting something sharp like an oyster shell… the leader acts as an abrasion boost while also being tougher for fish to see in the water.
I think we need more tests! Building the perfect leader system. Just from trying to cut braid with less than razor scissors while being able to pop mono on a dull knife I am not sure I would agree…without more tests!
would it make a difference if i used colored line like white or bright blue?
My apologies for missing your question… I have tried many different colors of braid, and I couldn’t tell a difference in strikes either way.
Makes me wanna start all over with filling a spool now 🙂 I’m running 15 lb main with just a 40 lb leader. Mine is mainly for structure. I haven’t made a pole set up yet for sight fishing.
I’ve lost 1/8 of spool over time to wind knots or abrasion. Can I I tie on a section or do I need to respool the whole thing? If I can add, what knot for 10lb braid to 10LB braid?
You definitely don’t need to respool the whole thing, but you also don’t want a knot that far up in your line. What you’ll need to do is just pull off enough line to get just about 1/4 inch gap. And then do a braid to braid connection there so that you’ll end up with just the right amount of line (assuming a 2500 Daiwa reel). The knot you’ll need is called the Braid Double Uni (a double uni with 10 turns for each line vs. the 5 used for mono).
Here’s a lesson showing how it’s done from start to finish (you’ll just need to peel off the line to get to the base point vs. this video that builds up the base first): https://saltstrongdev.wpengine.com/articles/spool-line-spinning-combo/
what is the bite tippit
The bite tippet is the final 6 to 8 inches of leader line that’s stronger than the regular leader so that it can hod up to the extra abrasion that it’s likely to get exposed to since it’s right up against the fish’s mouth.
thanks Luke
Hey Luke, what’s your go to tippet knot?
My favorite knot by far to connect the main leader to the bite tippet is the Blood knot. I show exactly how to tie it in the leader assembly supporting video on this page: https://saltstrongdev.wpengine.com/membercurriculum/advanced-module/knots/
Thank you!