What lb leader for Bass?

[chrisallangler]

Hey every one i went bassing at north pine dam the other day and only managed two reasonable sized bass, i was using 12lb leader and was wondering if this is too heavy not too sure any help appreciated. Cheers Chris

[dan1990]

hey mate, it really depends on what sort of structure you are fishing, where I fish for bass, the main structure is weedbeds and a leader of about 8lb seems to be the go

[Leigh77]

I use anything from 6lb to 10lb...all depends on what area I am fishing.

But there are guys out there that use 20lb (or heavier)....this I see as nothing but overkill. If you are using plastics then a lighter leader is generally required.

[NAGG]

I think it depends on structure fished! ....... but I like 8-12lb. But I do admit to going up to 20lb if I'm throwing them Jackalls in rough country (wimp!!) ... Nagg

[darylive]

Lighten up mate, bass are not Barra. The leader is for the benefit of the snags, a bass is not going to break a light good quality leader. In the open go light.

Remember the lighter the gear the more bites. Go as light as you can. Heavy leader will hold a fish OK but the trick is to get the fish hooked in the first place. 8-).

Try 6 rather than twelve and see for your self. obviously if you are chucking Masked vibes into the sticks you will want to go up. Personally I won't throw a masked vibe (Jackal) into the sticks cause they cost too much :-/. But Jacakals on light gear in the open water or on the edge of the weeds are the go. ;).

Sliders on light gear in the sticks so you don't cry if you loose em.

[basskid]

Hey Leigh 77,
I am one of those guys that use 20lb with either a spinnerbiat or jackall and i use it no because i am scared of losing a jackall but when you use them in submerged trees and the bass are of an average size of 45cm wouldnt you?. If you were fishing at North Pine Dam i would use anything between 8lb and 14lb but if were just casting lures of the bank 10-12lb would be substantial. Just remember massive yellowbelly are a by catch and so are cod so i wouldnt even think of using anything under 10lb.
Cheers

[Leigh77]

Hey Leigh 77,
I am one of those guys that use 20lb with either a spinnerbiat or jackall and i use it no because i am scared of losing a jackall but when you use them in submerged trees and the bass are of an average size of 45cm wouldnt you?.
Cheers

Ummm....no!

I never use leader over 10lb, whether that be throwing jackalls/spinnerbaits in the sticks, or plastics in open water...I really enjoy the thrill of the fish having a 'more then fair' chance of doing something drastic. I too fish in spots where there is the chance of big yellas and cod as a bi-catch.

When I fish the Clarence Gorge (50cm+ are common), 10lb leader is what I use. Throwing jackalls amongst the sticks at Clarrie Hall, 10lb is what I use (and a mid 40 Bass in Clarrie are getting common). Its a bigger rush for me...pure and simple, you can tell that by having all my reels spooled up with 6lb mainline.

It all comes down to what you feel comfortable using.

[MitchCalcutt]

Hi everyone, this year in Hinze i went from 4lb Fire line with 8lb soft leader to 10lb Fire line and 18lb hard line over an hour. Only because i lost $186 worth of lures in that time. In doing that i had to change everything, hooks rings, soft plastics and techniques. For me it comes down to how well their bitting. The lighter the better, Softies require lighter line and loop knots in my opinion.
Mitch

[Little grey men]

10lb mainline with a 12lb leader at North Pine, seems to handle everything fairly well. Occaisionally you do get a bass out there that will wrap you around the sticks ( very rare ) but when it happens it's nice to be able to give them a bit of a heave the get them loose. The last two times I was there I saw two bait fisho's get busted off by fish that went under the woodwork.( same snag that's cost me two Jackalls and one Spro, but the fish like it )
I think I would get more hits if I down sized the leader but I hate loosing those sparkly little vibrating lures that make me so happy.

[roydsy]

Buy good quality low diameter 10lb and you will be right. I like using 8lb fins braid, and 10 flurocarbon leader for bass. yes, I have tackleback but that only works from a boat to get my jackalls back.

[bass-pirate]

I am with bass kid, I use heavy leader on my baitcast gear with jackalls (anywhere between 14 - 20lb) but on spin gear i use 6 - 8lb with soft plastics and surface lures. I was losing too many jackalls when i was using 10lb leader and cant afford to go through up to 6 in a session.

[Jeremy87]

used to use 20lb leader when spinnerbaiting around submerged timber, but i'm happy enough now days to use about 12lb, this seems to be enough to stop the vast majority of fish from parting your leader, If there is the risk of a big yellow or toga etc i will up the poundage a bit more. i use 8lb for most of my wild bass and plastic work.

[oldboot]

Holy snappin' duck ..............t :o :o :o $186 worth of lures in one session......... budy you don't know when to stop.

You need to invest in some little floats and some diving gear.;D

or start making your own.

cheers

[barkers creek]

iv used 20lb before and cought 14 bass and 4 in under 10 mintus out at cania but im down to 8lb now and getting sam result....... to me its wat u feel comfatable to use

[Bassjunky]

I use only 6lb main and 6lb leader at NPD. Borumba I run 8lb main and 10lb/12lb leader because of timber and toga's.

[MitchCalcutt]

Holy snappin' duck ..............t :o :o :o $186 worth of lures in one session......... budy you don't know when to stop.

You need to invest in some little floats and some diving gear.;D

or start making your own.

cheers Hi there oldboot
You tell me one fisherman that would stop fishing when the bite is that hot?
In the hole scheem of things $186 is only - what 4 Jackles or 9 3D Vibes, its not as though i blew half my tackle box. And all lures lost were attached to Bass , so recovery wasn't possable.
And yes I am going into production of my own line of softies by eirly next year.
Mitch

[Leigh77]

In the hole scheem of things $186 is only - what 4 Jackles



I am hoping thats a typo...else you are being bled dry.

[fatboyfishing]

I use 6 to 8lb on soft stuff but i'm with the other boys on jackalls 15lb to 20lb
i lost my fav jackall that was holding 45 fish caught from 15cm to 49cm . i was to lazy to change my 8lb leader and it got eatten by a big bass in lake gregory and was never seen again. wasn't happy i tell ya. so if you are rich go real light but it will cost you.

[kevin jackson]

I run 14lb on every thing dosen't matter what i am throwing, on spin gear i only have 4lb fireline, and my bait caster have 10lb braid, personally i don't even think that it matter in freshwater as teh water is not clear enough.

[Leigh77]

personally i don't even think that it matter in freshwater as teh water is not clear enough.



Its not the visibility factor that warrants going to lighter leaders...when using plastics you need a lighter leader to give the bait a more lifelike appearance (to much action is lost when using heavy leader). Also bibbed lures and lipless crankbaits will run deeper when using lighter leader material.