# 10lbs Test Without Leader for Redfish?



## Gixxermike

I'm thinking of getting a 7'6" Medium Light Fast spinning rod, and using 10lbs test without a leader for Trout & Redfish. I'm thinking of this as my soft plastics rod. 

Do you think the 10lbs test is enough for Redfish?


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## grim

It depends on the size redfish you are after.  You arent going to be able to muscle anything off an oyster bar with it, trout may cut the line, and anything of any size is going to run pretty good if you have the drag set right.

The biggest question is are you going to get enough extra bites to make up for more break offs.

Fishing for slot size reds around my area, 10 pounds is fine.  Its a bit on the light side around bars and such, but you can get away with it.  I personally like 12-14 pound mono.  You will need to re-tie your lures more often.


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## Gixxermike

I guess I should of said that I'd be wade fishing. 

So would I be correct in saying that the Redfish one is likely to encounter while wading should be small enough that 10lb test would work in the majority of cases?


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## Parker Phoenix

I would use a leader. Tie a no name  and add it on, no swivel.


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## Trizey

10lb line won't work on the Reds I catch!!


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## Mr. Fishunt

*Leader*

I like to use 30# mono as my 18" shock leader.  I go with 18" so I can retie the lure periodically as the leader gets worn.  The mono leader weighs less than a steel leader and is more natural looking, as well as picks up less weeds than a steel leader.
I use a blood knot to connect it to my main line.  
10 lb is fine for reds and trout.
The shock leader will also protect your lure from oysters,bluefish and spanish mackerel, etc.......

Regards,
Mr. Fishunt


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## Gixxermike

I'd consider 12lb test, but the rod I'm thinking of says 6-12, and I've read somewhere that you should use test within the suggested range, not at the limits.

Any truth to this?


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## Gixxermike

Okay, so would this Rod, Reel, Line & Leader combo work well for soft plastics going after Redfish & Trout while wading?

Rod - St Croix Avid 7'6" MLF 6-12lb 1/8-1/2oz
Spinning Reel - Daiwa TD Fuego2500A
Line - 30lb Braid
Leader - 20lb Fluorocarbon

Is there a risk of the rod breaking because the line is to strong?


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## Parker Phoenix

What is wrong with a 15# braid and a 20 pound Fluoro leader? Why would the rod break if the drag is set properly?


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## sea trout

that setup sounds sweet.
i caught a big red one time at the edge of some grass. with a popping cork and live shrimp. he pulled the leader and the cork onto the tall grass and my 12 pound mono above the cork only lasted a few seconds against the grass.
ended up getting him later though. at low tide my wife and i chased that red cork around for an hour! finally got him.
but anyway, yes, i would definetly use a leader. mono or fl. good luck!!


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## Mr. Fishunt

*Leader*

Good point, Sea trout,
I forgot to mention the abrasiveness of grass.
Between the sand and other attached grit, it takes a toll on line.

Regards,
Mr. Fishunt


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## ddb

Gixxermike said:


> I'm thinking of getting a 7'6" Medium Light Fast spinning rod, and using 10lbs test without a leader for Trout & Redfish. I'm thinking of this as my soft plastics rod.
> 
> Do you think the 10lbs test is enough for Redfish?



I throw the 10# all the time, but fish the braids.  I'll use a 15# fluoro leader.  We picked up a 25# cobia on that a couple of weeks ago.  Just work your drag.  Course if you get into some of the pigs posted hear you may want to go bigger.


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## sea trout

lots of good advice here!
yeah, remember if your spooled with 30 pound line a 20 pound leader is your weak spot. the point of your leader is to take the abuse from oysters, sand, pillings, grass, the fish's tail and teeth, and take the shock from casting as hard as you can and over exiteing hook sets. also used for less vis to fish in some cases,
a 20 lb leader is awsome for all that but then a 30 lb braid is not mandatory, a 15 lb braid spool and 20 lb florocarbon would give you more finesse.
if you needed a spool of 30 lb braid for your quarry, you would require an even bigger leader.
hope this helps a little. good luck to ya!! lets us know how many reds you catch!! and pics!!


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## wmaybin

everyone has their own opinion and I can't necesarily disagree with what sea trout is saying however I fish 20lb braid with a 17lb flourocarbon leader or 30lb braid with a 20lb flourocarbon leader.  Just the way I was taught and well lets just say the person who taught me has caught their share of fish  as for overexerting hook sets, if you use the right hook there is no hook set needed, I have seen more fish missed, lost or broke off from a huge hook set than anything else, remember we can't all be Mike Iconelli  Course your talking arti's but you still don't have to try to snatch em outa the water if you know what I mean....


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## sea trout

wmaybin 
i think you are exactly right on you info for hook sets. i know some people get excited or mix fast and too hard together. i can often be one of those guys who, in trying to set a hook quickly, set it too hard.


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## Madsnooker

There is nothing wrong with using a braid that is actually higher strength than the leader. There are many reasons why.

I always use 50# power pro(equivalent to 12# mono as far as diameter) and a 30Ib flouro leader when I fish for big snook around boats and docks in residentail canals. The reason is, the 30# leader is sufficient to handle a big snook (most of the time) and is not to stiff to affect the 6" threadfin I'm using for bait, but if I only had 20-25# braid, I would get cut off to easy on props, keels under sail boats and pillings as the snook make long runs around such things.

As far as the original question, there is no reason to use 10# mono. You can use striaght 15# florocarbon and you will get just as many strikes as 10# mono but have a much higher chance of landing decent size reds around oyster bars and such. Seagar florocarbon is my choice.

The perfect setup for Reds and trout would be 7' rod with 20# power pro and a 15# floro leader. That of course, is just my opinion.


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## grim

I always use a heavier leader than line.  

The lighter section is your weak point.  Why penalize your casting distance with heavy line if your breaking point is gonna be your leader?  If you are going to finesse your leader, finesse the whole thing.


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## Mechanicaldawg

Fishing live bait I use 30# braid and 12 - 20# fluoro leader. I vary the strength of the leader depending, primarily, on water clarity.

I you get hung on the trash, the leader breaks and all you've lost is the hook.

Throwing artificial, I prefer straight 15# fluorocarbon.


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## CUOffshore

I'd suggest 20, 30, or even 50# braid (which will be the diameter of 10 or 12# mono).  The heavier the braid, the easier it will be to correct those "professional" backlashes.  To that, I like to add a "shock leader"... about a rod length of 20# mono...  that way, you have something with a bit of "stretch" to it  (unlike braid, mono can stretch up to 50%).  You'll also be able to tie your normal knots using the mono and, if you ever have to grab the line, you'll be handling mono, not braid.  (Braid can slice you like a knife).  Finally, add your swivel & leader if you're using a float rig.  Otherwise, tie your lure straight to the mono.  

If you're after redfish, don't worry about using a light leader.  They aren't sight feeders anyway.  

Trout...  different story.

Attach the mono to the braid with a uni-to-uni knot and you can wind it right onto your reel.

As said earlier, if your drag is set correctly, no worries.








Rig them up and go!

-D


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## Capt. Richie Lott

Braid would be best, no question, BUT if you must use mono, that will work fine... Just blood knot a few feet of 17 to the end. I fish that way regularly and it also cuts out having a swivel so the knot will reel through your guides and there is less hardware in the water... We blood knot mono on to braid pretty regular and on to mono.

You rod won't break if the drag is set right even if you put 50 pound braid on it. I have 80 pound braid on 20-30 class rods on every trip we make, so don't let that stop you... Just set the drag accordingly.


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## Madsnooker

grim said:


> I always use a heavier leader than line.
> 
> The lighter section is your weak point.  Why penalize your casting distance with heavy line if your breaking point is gonna be your leader?  If you are going to finesse your leader, finesse the whole thing.



If you are talking Mono only, you are correct. When it comes to braided line, the casting distance is not affected. I can throw 50# power pro as far or even further than you can throw 12# mono.


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## Baracus

I use 8 pound mono wade fishing grass flats in the panhandle area for reds and trout.  I catch fish up to the slot and over and rarely get broke off.  I use 7ft rods and stradic reels, most of the time im throwing spoons or jigs.  If Im fishing different parts of Fl for Snook or bigger reds or bottom fish I use braid with a flourcarbon leader.  I think on shallow clear grass flats you get more bites not using braid.


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## grim

Madsnooker said:


> If you are talking Mono only, you are correct. When it comes to braided line, the casting distance is not affected. I can throw 50# power pro as far or even further than you can throw 12# mono.



50lb pp is the same diameter as 12# mono.  You can throw 30#pp further than 50#.  The relationship is identical.


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## Madsnooker

grim said:


> 50lb pp is the same diameter as 12# mono.  You can throw 30#pp further than 50#.  The relationship is identical.



Yes but 30# PP does not hold up on a snook like the one in my avatar (31Ibs) when he goes around a barnacle filled Mooring pole like 50# does. That is why I have 50# instead of 30#. It casts the same and the diameter is almost the same so it's a no brainer for me. Again, I'm not concerened about the weak point becuase my drag is always correctly set becuase of my fishing conditions. And just becuase I have 50# PP doesn't mean I need a 60# flouro leader. This is only one of many reasons that one may have heavier line than leader. 

I hope you don't think I'm saying your wrong because I'm not, I'm just giving examples for the reason I use the setups I do.  Good luck and tight lines!!!


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## Gixxermike

I was thinking of using a 1/8oz jighead, do I need to step up to 1/4oz because of the braid - supposedly they float?

and madsnooker is there any chance I will catch any snook around panama city where I will be fishing this weekend?


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## Madsnooker

Gixxermike said:


> I was thinking of using a 1/8oz jighead, do I need to step up to 1/4oz because of the braid - supposedly they float?
> 
> and madsnooker is there any chance I will catch any snook around panama city where I will be fishing this weekend?



Braided line doesn't float with anything tied to the end. You can use what you want.

The chance of you catching a snook in Panama city is about as good as me seeing a black panther in Ga.

Seriously, snook are not caught with any regularity, any further north than Crystal River on the gulf side and Cocoa Beach on the Atlantac side. And after the winter we just had, the line will move further south until we have multiple winters with milder temperatures. If you ever want to target snook, you really need to fish from Tampa Bay southward.


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## grim

Madsnooker said:


> Yes but 30# PP does not hold up on a snook like the one in my avatar (31Ibs) when he goes around a barnacle filled Mooring pole like 50# does. That is why I have 50# instead of 30#. It casts the same and the diameter is almost the same so it's a no brainer for me. Again, I'm not concerened about the weak point becuase my drag is always correctly set becuase of my fishing conditions. And just becuase I have 50# PP doesn't mean I need a 60# flouro leader. This is only one of many reasons that one may have heavier line than leader.
> 
> I hope you don't think I'm saying your wrong because I'm not, I'm just giving examples for the reason I use the setups I do.  Good luck and tight lines!!!



That makes sense.  I just fell into the trap of only thinking of my style of fishing for my targetted species.


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## sea trout

me too madsnooker. i don't use much braid, and after reading this it hit me that 30 or 50 pound braid is not larger in diameter than a flourocarbon leader, the picture in my head initialy was akward lookin.


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## Madsnooker

sea trout said:


> me too madsnooker. i don't use much braid, and after reading this it hit me that 30 or 50 pound braid is not larger in diameter than a flourocarbon leader, the picture in my head initialy was akward lookin.



I know what you mean. Before I started using braids I always used 20# mono with a 30# leader. When the braids started getting popular, I didn't jump on board right away. After fishing with a friend and watching him cast 50# line further than I could cast and watching how easy he skipped a bait under the mangroves and was able to consistantly get big reds out, it was a no brainer. I also use 50# PP bass fishing. I throw crank baits with it, I flip with it and I carolina fish with it.


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## Fletch_W

The problem you'll run into with mono is that you'll end up having to re-spool every month, or more, or less, depending on how often you fish. All the abrasion and knicks and what-not while catching fish in wading situations will dictate that you trim off 80 feet of line on each outing. Yes, you can land a very large fish on light line. But it's not ideal. Braided line holds up well to wear, little knicks and frays won't destroy you to the same degree that wear destroys mono. You'll re-spool less often, loose fewer fish to break-offs, end up spending less in the long run for those two reasons, and ultimately have a better fishing experience. I've still got a rod spooled up with Power Pro braid from 5 years ago (when I lived in Charleston) that I use on bass and catfish here. I can't say that for any of my rods with mono.

A Power Pro Pro-Tip:

Instead of trimming line, just re-spool it off one reel onto another, so the fresh line is on top. Rinse and repeat. Get twice the life from the line, it ain't cheap.


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## Madsnooker

Fletch_W said:


> A Power Pro Pro-Tip:
> 
> Instead of trimming line, just re-spool it off one reel onto another, so the fresh line is on top. Rinse and repeat. Get twice the life from the line, it ain't cheap.



Great tip!!!


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## ejs1980

Are there better options? Yes. You can catch all the fish you want on 10lb test as lung as it's not a blue or something similar with large teeth. When I'm dragging bottom or fithing live bait unter a float I use a leader. If I'm fishing topwater or a spinner bait with grub body I don't use a leader because the teeth never touch the line and oysters rarely do. Whatever mono you use check the area near the hook often and retie anytime it feels rough.


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## wharfrat

10 - 15lb braid w/ 15-24" of 14-20lb fluoro leader tied with uni-to uni knot for my spinning gear and 30lb braid with 20-25lb fluoro leader on my bait casters. Sometimes I skip the leader if i am jigging dirty water. Drag set according to situation. Just my 
.02


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## Mr. Fishunt

*Update*

I wish I would've taken a close up picture of the 30 lb mono leader after I caught this red last week.
After throwing a spoon about 50 times over the oyster bars and finally catching this one, I inspected the leader and it was frayed to the point that in some spots it  appeared to be less than 10 lb diameter.  I broke it off by hand and tied on a new leader to the 10 lb mono main line with a blood knot.
30 lb mono=cheap insurance

Regards,
Mr Fishunt


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## drake2215

Me and a buddy ran into a good run of bulls two years ago in Orange Beach. Caught them both on 10lb mono. So i can say it will work and it was an awesome time.


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