rwp Posted March 13, 2021 Report Share Posted March 13, 2021 (edited) I have been slowly forcing myself to use longer leaders, and have had nothing buy annoyances with the knots. I never have confidence with the FG knot with heavy braid to a lighter leader. Some people do, I don't. Albright works, but is a little clunky coming though the guides with the tag of the leader facing forward. Uni to uni or blood knot is really rough though the guides. I had a bunch of points with tackle direct, and a coupon code, so I figured why not try it. I don't have a serving jig, so the leader in the pictures is secured with a stack of half hitches (this isn't structural to the connection, but more of a slack line safety). This goes though the guides pretty well, but it was mostly just for me to do some testing. I set my main line up with a loop on the end, which allows me to use wind on leaders. You can also use wind on leaders attached to normal braid that you tie a loop into. A surgeons loop works well for this and its a very thin/smooth knot. I ordered some wind on leaders from sufix in 30 and 50lb that should be here next week. I chose to use hollow core as my main line because it is stronger and thinner than the sufix 832 I was using, especially after the 832 is tied. Wind on leaders are about $10 each for mono and $15 for fluoro. The hollow core itself is not much more than good braid I think I paid around $180 for 1500 yards. You also need a loop needle for the hollow core, and a serving needle for your leader if you are making your own leaders. The needles are about $12 each. Anyway, here's the photos. Edited March 13, 2021 by rwp El_Weruso, CG_Fishes, Bs94 and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon P Posted March 13, 2021 Report Share Posted March 13, 2021 You’ll have to do a second post after having fished it for a while. I’d be curious to see how much of an improvement it makes. MattGbaz, rwp, Bs94 and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwp Posted March 13, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2021 Will do! Jon P and Bs94 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogers954 Posted March 13, 2021 Report Share Posted March 13, 2021 Following this one, honestly every time I’ve tried to do braid to Fluro setups it always causes problems usually resulting in a backlash. Was gonna spend more time learning the FG this season for testing but always open to something possibly better Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NEbucketmouth19 Posted March 13, 2021 Report Share Posted March 13, 2021 I use the blood knot and while you definitely hear it go through the guides I don't have issues with it hanging up and bakcklashing. That's with 65lb braid to 25lb mono. The only issue I have is if you are trying to wind in the line at a sharp angle it can hang up at the rod tip so you have to mentally be aware of how you are landing the fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tbird420 Posted March 13, 2021 Report Share Posted March 13, 2021 The Rizzuto finish on the FG in place of half hitches to finish the knot made a huge difference in for me with my leaders CG_Fishes 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwp Posted March 13, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2021 1 hour ago, rogers954 said: Following this one, honestly every time I’ve tried to do braid to Fluro setups it always causes problems usually resulting in a backlash. Was gonna spend more time learning the FG this season for testing but always open to something possibly better If you buy wind on leaders, there's almost nothing to learn. Putting loops in the hollow core is really easy. You could try them out with your existing braid. 1 minute ago, NEbucketmouth19 said: I use the blood knot and while you definitely hear it go through the guides I don't have issues with it hanging up and bakcklashing. That's with 65lb braid to 25lb mono. The only issue I have is if you are trying to wind in the line at a sharp angle it can hang up at the rod tip so you have to mentally be aware of how you are landing the fish. Yeah, it works for sure 95% of the time, but I've had that damn knot hang up so many times. Coming in or going out. The worst is when the leader is just the right length and you go to do a quick pitch/flip with bait 6 or 8 feet from the tip of the rod. The knot gets hung up coming out of the level wind and the bait turns and comes flying back at your face. rogers954 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwp Posted March 13, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2021 1 minute ago, Tbird420 said: The Rizzuto finish on the FG in place of half hitches to finish the knot made a huge difference in for me with my leaders The FG is a great knot, and I have used it for many years with light braid to a heavy leader. 20 or 30lb braid to an 80lb leader, all day. The thin braid bites in real hard when you lock it down. Using 50+ lb braid and 30 or 50lb leaders, I don't get that same bite. It may work fine, it just doesn't make me feel confident, especially throwing $100 baits. Losing a fish over a bad knot sucks, throwing a hundo in the drink................ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NEbucketmouth19 Posted March 13, 2021 Report Share Posted March 13, 2021 35 minutes ago, rwp said: The FG is a great knot, and I have used it for many years with light braid to a heavy leader. 20 or 30lb braid to an 80lb leader, all day. The thin braid bites in real hard when you lock it down. Using 50+ lb braid and 30 or 50lb leaders, I don't get that same bite. It may work fine, it just doesn't make me feel confident, especially throwing $100 baits. Losing a fish over a bad knot sucks, throwing a hundo in the drink................ 20lb braid to 80lb leader? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwp Posted March 13, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2021 3 minutes ago, NEbucketmouth19 said: 20lb braid to 80lb leader? Yeah, that was a pretty common set up when bluefish were in the area. 20 or 30lb braid to 80lb mono. Most 20 or 30lb braid will break at 40+ lbs at the fg knot anyway, so we used to stuff the the reels (spinning) with as much line as possible. The 80lb leader was just too keep from getting bit off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NEbucketmouth19 Posted March 13, 2021 Report Share Posted March 13, 2021 1 minute ago, rwp said: Yeah, that was a pretty common set up when bluefish were in the area. 20 or 30lb braid to 80lb mono. Most 20 or 30lb braid will break at 40+ lbs at the fg knot anyway, so we used to stuff the the reels (spinning) with as much line as possible. The 80lb leader was just too keep from getting bit off. Oh gotcha that makes more sense for spinning tackle and bluefin. I was trying to imagine casting a hudd with that setup lol. rwp 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwp Posted March 13, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2021 Just now, NEbucketmouth19 said: I was trying to imagine casting a hudd with that setup lol. You could do it...... Once..... Lol NEbucketmouth19 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SacPig916 Posted March 14, 2021 Report Share Posted March 14, 2021 1 hour ago, Tbird420 said: The Rizzuto finish on the FG in place of half hitches to finish the knot made a huge difference in for me with my leaders This is 100% key, you need a rizzuto finish or the FG is trash. I've gone through 3 440yd spools of 30lb mono now and NEVER had a knot break. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milkman76 Posted March 14, 2021 Report Share Posted March 14, 2021 I think the key to the fg knot is using some sort of knot puller. You just can’t get it to bite in with your bare hands. The braid in the knot has to turn a shade darker. The one thing I think you’re not going to like about the hallow braid is that it tends to float and on windy days will be a pain in ass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwp Posted March 14, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2021 8 hours ago, Milkman76 said: I think the key to the fg knot is using some sort of knot puller. You just can’t get it to bite in with your bare hands. The braid in the knot has to turn a shade darker. The one thing I think you’re not going to like about the hallow braid is that it tends to float and on windy days will be a pain in ass. I'll follow up on both of those when I fish it for a while. Milkman76 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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