Which Leader? The Best Carp Fishing Shock Leaders Reviewed!
Which Leader?
By Jamie Simpson
Over the years I have found on several waters the need to cast that little bit further than I can reach with my normal 12lb big game line. (Check out also the Angling Lines Blog article on “Distance Casting”). I have tried many different materials over the years and spent quite a bit of money on the tactic.
Firstly I would like to state that I won’t use leaders and light line if I believe it will be detrimental to the well-being of the carp in the event of a crack off or lost fish. Therefore I will not use them on extremely weedy waters where the lighter 8lb or so line will part. I see no point hooking fish I cannot land.
If it is safe though and I think it will make a difference then I will feel totally happy using leaders. I started off using amnesia leaders at first and although they did a fair job and the material was fairly cheap, they were a bit stiff and I wasn’t happy with the knot. I would say this was in the early nineties and before the tapered leaders were available.
I then moved on to Quicksilver leaders, and by using the braid I found the knots to be better, but after not tightening my clutch properly after I had caught a fish in France, I managed to tear my casting finger to the bone. This was pretty painful as you can imagine and is probably the biggest problem with braided leaders, they are so abrasive. The worst part of this was that it was early in the week and I had to struggle to cast for the rest of the week. I did super glue my cut which helped, but it still put a dampener on what was otherwise a good week.
Then came the tapered leaders, now I may have initially missed the boat on these but it seems like they haven’t been around that long at all and I can’t remember using them until around 5 years ago. There are loads on the market now and I have tried several of them in various breaking strains. A huge plus point is obviously that they taper down to around 12 or 15 lb so you can get a nice and tidy Knot.
Recently I went for a casting day with one of the country’s casters, who is without doubt at the pinnacle of long range casting expertise. I was using one of my tapered leaders at the time and was casting a fair way by my standards. It was pointed out to me that although the leaders were fine, I would be better off using a braided leader such as Korda Armacord. The reason for this was quite simple really and it makes total sense when you sit back and think about it. The mono leader stretches slightly whilst the rod is under compression and acts as a buffer against the pull of the cast thus reducing the rate of propulsion and therefore the overall distance of the cast.
A word of advise for anyone using braided leaders is to always wear a finger stall or casting glove and ensure that it is made from leather and not a rubber imitation. The Gardner glove shown is my personal favourite. Be careful with the stalls as the size needs to be right for your finger and they do vary tremendously.
Believe me on large waters with a fair amount of pressure the carp will regularly move out of range to their comfort zone away from anglers lines. If you gain those extra few yards on your cast by using leaders and a slightly thinner line it can make all the difference.
Cheers
Jamie
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Tags: angling, bait, carp, fishing, france, tackle, techniques, tips
Top stuff Jamie, some really sound advice there. I use a finger stall for all my spodding and distance casting and would be lost without it.
If you see my comment about marker float rods elsewhere on the Quest blog I tend to use a 23.5lbs breaking strain Seaguar fluorocarbon casting leader on my marker float set ups to avoid braid getting tangled and preventing the marker float popping up. I also use the same leader material for casting distances when fishing. I agree with you - braided leaders will give you maximum distance but if I don’t need to cast as far as possible I will always use a fluorocarbon leader instead. I just feel so much more confident that the last few feet of line to my rig is pinned to the bottom and hardly visible in a way that many braids just don’t do. The other advantage is on some waters braided leaders are banned. I’m no meg caster but I can get 130 yards with a baited rig with the fluorocarbon leader I’ve described. If I want to cast further still then I would revert to a braided leader if it’s allowed.
Best fishes
Elie G
Hi
I’m just a beginner, learning fast though, but could you explain what a shock leader is? I’ve read loads about them, I think it is the link leading to the lead weight, but everyone seems to know what it means but me!! thanks!
Hi David,
A shock leader varies in breaking strain, and can be either braid or mono (I like the Korda arma-kord 30lb) and is used to absorb the initial force of a cast,hopefully reducing the risk of a ‘crack off’.
If you are trying to hit big distances with heavy leads and/or bag fishing, then if you are using a typical 10-12lb main line, the chances are you will end up giving it the ‘big un’, and breaking your line with the impact of the cast, potentially chucking rig and everything out into the lake.
By using a leader tied to your main line (typically a leader length is five turns on your reel, up through the length of the rod, and around half way down the rod - dependant on what drop to the lead you like to use when casting), you will still be able to use your 10-12lb main line safely to achieve those bigger distances and cope with heavy bags.
Shock leaders are also useful for your spod and marker set ups, as again, the spod is a heavy item to chuck out when fully loaded, so by using a leader to take the shock of the cast, you can then drop down to a lighter main line (8-12lb), to help your casting distance.
Please make sure you check out the rules of where you are fishing as not all places allow leaders, and also, its worth reading up on leader knots, so that you do not end up with any dangerous rigs.
Hope that helps
Steve