What thickness for Fluoro leader?

[mike rousseau]

I've landed A LOT of musky on my walleye gear wich has 10lb power pro and 20lb floro leader... Even fish up to 50 inches... But these were ACCIDENTAL catches and I don't advise targeting musky with light tackle...

That being said...

I do target musky with 100lb braid or 50lb mono...

And 100lb floro leaders for casting... And 120-150lb floro for trolling...

Musky are the sissy of the freshwater world... Light line can cut fish when they roll and also cause longer then necessary battles leading to the fish dieing...

 

[PainInTheBass]

WIth respect to the castability point brought up earlier, please note that 50 lb braid is approximately as thick as 12 lb mono. So, in terms of wind resistance, it should be no worse.

I use 10-50 lb braid with 8-30 lb fluoro leader on all my rod and reel combos. I try to get away with the lightest fluoro leader i can down to the equivlaent line diameter in order to improve knot strength. I go up in ledaer test based on the technique I am fishing, the cover and structure, the target species, and the other potential catches (pike and musky for example). For example, on my MH bass jigging combo, I use 50 lb braid with 30 lb fluoro. I also use similar line on my spinnerbait combo due to the high percentage that I will get into pike as easily as bass. On my ultralight/finesse bass combo, I use 10 lb braid with 8 lb fluoro.

The dig in issue was a larger issue with flat braids, where the profile allowed the line to mmore easily dig in. I have had line dig in with round lines before, and can happen if the line is not laid properly on the reel. If the line is aligned on the reel, it makes it easier for it to dig into the spool.

And while others may disagree, I have always heard that it is less frustrating to learn to use a baitcaster if you have heavier line because the birdsnests are easier to pick out with heavier line.