Shock Leader Vs Normal leader

[shineshy]

Hi guys...

Maybe someone can shed some lights on these shock leaders n normal leader line.


I understand tat shock leader is a length of heavier line that is tied to the smaller main line to handle the weight of the sinker during the cast. The shock leader absorbs the load weight of a heavy lead and allows you to cast safely with greater force..but can it be use as a "normal leader line" eg on rang gong usage for bottom bashing ??? in other words issit suitable ?

some advise pls..thks

[DaFrogman]

Shineshy,

You know, sometimes I really miss fishing as a kid in a river with just a bamboo stick with a piece of old mono and a scrounged hook tied on the end and a bug or worm as bait. We complicate the process too much these days..

Ok, sorry bout that... The shockleader you use in casting from a surf rod can also be used to bottom fish dude. Basically any form of mono can be used as a leader in bottom fishing.

But there are different considerations on what makes a great shock leader and what makes a great ranggong leader.

With the shock leader, as its name implies, the main thing is its ability to absorb the shock of the sinker rapidly being accelerated from 0kmh-100+km/h as someone like Master Physlo subjects it to zziplex abuse. So the elasticity and tensile strength of the mono used plays an important role and other considerations like clarity, colour, abrasion resistance and stiffness are less important.

With the ranggong type leader, the main thing is usually abrasion resistance and stiffness followed by clarity and visibility in the water. A stiffer line usually signifies a line with less stretch and less ability to handle sudden shocks. But a stiffer line is also less prone to being twisted permanently into a beehoon mess if your bait spins on the drop or in the current.

So as answer to your question, yes, you can use shock leader mono as ranggong leader. You should still catch fish with it, but it may not be the ideal line to use and you may catch fewer fish with it then say FC.... But hey what the heck man, I used to fish with a bamboo pole and god knows what mono tied to the end of it ...

Regards,

Saimee

[shineshy]

hmm, i bought this dono wat brand leader yesterday at AO. then came to realise..think i got the wrong type. which thus resulted this thread.

Btw anyone using JINKAI mono leader ? i was told not very gd as it tends to curl easily..

[DaFrogman]

Yes dude,

I used to use Jinkai a lot, but mainly in the heavier leaders 80-150lb. It is softer than quite a few other lines out there, but not so soft that you cannot use it for bottom fishing.

If you want stiffer leader Sufix Tritanium, Penn 10X, DuPont and of course, Seaguar FC. I think some of the cheaper brands like Pioneer and Toman have some surprisingly good leader for bottom bashing. And my crew still use the no name 150lb leader you buy in loose loops...

Regards,

Saimee

[ragman]

Hi Siamee

Next time you come to singapore, give me a call and i'll bring you to a commerical fishing tackle shop that sell stuff to long lines, trawlers etc. They have some mono about 2 - 3 bucks for 40M loose coils, claim material is from Germany and made in W. Malaysia. I hav ebeen using it since we need to use long tracers for Kuraus and find it to be a good shock leader and general purpose bottom leader. SO cheap that it does hurts whe we use a lot of the stuff for 40 ft leaders, very soft & good abrasive resistance too. What more do you want.

Cheers
Ragman

PS : Just back from Exmoth and use it on everything there, landed tons of fish with 50pds. No problemo

[stickbom!]

Basically it's how you use the leader... if you tie a longer, wind-on length onto your main line then its the shock leader. If you have it tied on the hook then you call it bite leader. Its all the same Shin.

hey Ragman, care telling me more about the shop that sells commercial nylon? Thanks

[Makaira]

In terms of shock vs leader monofilament, I believe there is a difference (or should be) in material. Here's my take on it........

A shock leader, be it for launching lead into the wild blue yonder or to provide some stretch for spectra, should be soft, pliable & slightly stretchy. For such purposes, any good quality monofilament will do. Why soft & pliable? Because you usually have a few cranks of the stuff on your spool. As such, soft & pliable mono will result in less memory which will help you in casting distance; plus a soft pliable mono will give you the stretch in spectra use resulting in lower incidence of hook pull or mainline breakage when it comes to the crunch.

For hook leader material, stiff(er) & hard(er) surface is the way to go. As Guru Saimee said, better abrasion resistance, better presentation of bait, less chances of curly wurly, etc.

As such, shock leaders & hook / bite leaders are NOT interchangeable IMHO. Opinions differ of course

[shineshy]

*smile* its always gd to hear from the pros. I got the leader changed.

btw then wats wind on leader ?..

[Makaira]

Originally Posted by shineshy

*smile* its always gd to hear from the pros. I got the leader changed.

btw then wats wind on leader ?..

Hi Shineshy,

Good question.

Most people confuse a wind-on leader with a shock leader. Here is what I understand them to be & use them accordingly for my needs. Opinions differ of course.

Wind-on leader was first used by game fishermen for better control of the fish at boatside. It is usually spliced directly to the mainline -- dacron / hollow spectra -- or loop-to-loop connection with mono mainline to a dacron looped leader & are usually very heavy poundage mono -- 200-500Lb test. Wind-ons are about 15-20 feet ending with a very heavy duty ballbearing snapswivel. It can be longer if you like, but many try to keep to the IGFA stipulations of leader lengths just in cast they hook up to a potential world record fish. This working end will be connected to a shorter section of leader connected to a trolling skirt or to a hook for bait. It is in effect the working leader of the terminal tackle that can be wind on to the reel, hence the name wind-on leader. This technique allows for better control of the fish at boatside; safety is also much enhanced as there will be no slack leader lying on the boat deck to catch the legs of the angler / deckie or to wrap around the rod tip.

A shock leader is simply it's namesake. It serves the purpose of taking the "shock" from a full-bodied cast that lower poundage mainline may not be able to take. If I am not mistaken, shock leaders is a surfcasting innovation. Nowadays popping (for the casting shock & protection of casting finger) & jigging (for the stretch) use them as well, plus they also, by default, serve as a wind-on leader for these applications. They also provide the abrasion resistance that braided lines lack.

Just my 2 cents.

Best regards,
Makaira

[physlo]

shineshy,

While surfishing or surfcasting, leaders are generally used to absorb the shock/impact since most of us here used sinkers ranging from 125-150 gms. The other purpose is to withstand abrasions of whatever there is lying on the seabed. Generally, between 40-60lbs is good enough for this application.

I need leaders while doing bottom fishing as i want some stretch since i'm using braided lines. This also helps to absorb the impact of a running fish. Not a master or sifu but this are the basics of the fishing mentioned above. However, I do know there are many ppl who don't use leaders at all when bottom fishing. Everyone has their own style or theory to that.

Regards
physlo

[DaFrogman]

Originally Posted by ragman

Hi Siamee

Next time you come to singapore, give me a call and i'll bring you to a commerical fishing tackle shop that sell stuff to long lines, trawlers etc. They have some mono about 2 - 3 bucks for 40M loose coils, claim material is from Germany and made in W. Malaysia. I hav ebeen using it since we need to use long tracers for Kuraus and find it to be a good shock leader and general purpose bottom leader. SO cheap that it does hurts whe we use a lot of the stuff for 40 ft leaders, very soft & good abrasive resistance too. What more do you want.

Cheers
Ragman

PS : Just back from Exmoth and use it on everything there, landed tons of fish with 50pds. No problemo

Master Ragman,

Sorry, I missed your post somehow . Back from Exmouth huh? ...tons of fish too....uuuhhhhh let me mop up the drool from my laptop before it shorts the keyboard out.

Thanks a bunch for the info and the kind offer, I will certainly take it up as I like commercial gear for some applications (i.e. they tend to be heavy duty stuff).

Yeah, the crew does use the commercial type mono for leaders and hey they've caught heaps of fish on them, but even they have come to appreciate the uses of FC . But for the price and knowing the lengths of leaders that we get around to using, you are right, that kind of leader is too good to pass up. I was looking for longliner clips too btw, so I guess that doubles my interest in you offer.

Glad to hear that you have been having fun. Look forward to seeing you and your namesake sometime.

Regards,

Saimee