What to do with spare bits of leader?

[Little_Flatty]

Occasionally I need to change up my leader on a given outfit whilst on the water. Often, the leader is perfectly fine, so I'm loathe to throw it out. But then more often than not I end up with a tangled mess.

Has anyone else been in this situation? I'm thinking of keeping a piece of pool noodle in my pack with a couple of slits to store it.

Would be keen to hear any ideas.

[Fab1]

Pass it to the mrs to put in her handbag with the other million bits a nd bobs she carries until the end of trip.

 I reckon I could say to the mrs I wish I'd brought my bar fridge with us on the boat and she'd pull it out of her handbag.

[Mike Sydney]

I use my cut offs as lengths for knot practice. Until I can tie a fresh FG in a howling wind at night there’s always more practice needed! 

[Little_Flatty]

9 minutes ago, Mike Sydney said:

I use my cut offs as lengths for knot practice. Until I can tie a fresh FG in a howling wind at night there’s always more practice needed! 

I hear you! Every leader to braid knot I tie at home is an FG. Every leader to braid knot I tie in the field is a uni...

[kingie chaser]

11 hours ago, Little_Flatty said:

Occasionally I need to change up my leader on a given outfit whilst on the water. Often, the leader is perfectly fine

Do you mean your upping or decreasing the leader strength for some reason??

I try to avoid this by having 4 rigged rods set up in the tinny with me & if I am chasing something larger or smaller I use the appropriate rod.

1x 8lb braid, 10lb leader

1x 10lb braid, 12lb leader

1x 12lb braid, 14lb leader

1x 20lb braid, 30lb leader

I also have a heavy outfit unrigged if there are any kings about that is 50lb braid, 80lb leader(wind on so I can change this on the fly. 

The only time I will change a leader when I am out is if it gets chaffed or damaged.

As you suggest retying an FG while your on the water in a boat is not always easy & I even have an FG Knot assistant but still prefer to do it from home. 

 

[frankS]

As I am getting older I find it harder to tie any decent knots , my fingers are just not as nimble as they used to be and the line always wants to go the opposite direction to what I want it to go.

But I can still tie a decent F G know in a bucking boat, as long as I can sit down I can tie the know.

I can't for the life of me work out how you blokes are having problems tying the knot.

Frank

[Green Hornet]

If I change leaders out in the field, the old stuff goes straight into the bin. I believe its the hardest working part of your rig and that it pays to replace it often.

One thing I've always done with my old line is wrap it around my fingers, then put the scissors through it, cutting it into roughly 15cm strips before going into the bin. That way, no matter where it ends up, animals won't get tangled up in it. 

Also as @kingie chasersays, I'm a big fan of the Knot Assist FG tool and use it in all leaders down to as light as 3lb. In leaders as light as this, its not for how slim the knot is, but for the 100% strength. 

Edited December 17, 2021 by Green Hornet

[Rebel]

If the leader is ok ,put it on a small spool or an old hand line.

Don't forget to mark the weight.

Cheers.

[Restyle]

I tend to cut off at swivel and keep hooks, leader swivel etc at the end of my trips and save them for the next few. Sharpen the hooks on a old wet stone and they are good as new 

[Little_Flatty]

4 hours ago, kingie chaser said:

I try to avoid this by having 4 rigged rods set up in the tinny with me & if I am chasing something larger or smaller I use the appropriate rod.

I do this occasionally, but being landbased it is slightly more of a hassle than when in a boat. That said, with my new pack I can carry a spare outfit + a net, both of which have been a boon to my existence.

2 hours ago, frankS said:

I can't for the life of me work out how you blokes are having problems tying the knot.

I guess it isn't hard, just the extra few minutes it takes to get it all done costs me more casts and I'm prepared to give up. I guess I should stop being so lazy and just do things properly every time.

1 hour ago, Green Hornet said:

I'm a big fan of the Knot Assist FG tool and use it in all leaders down to as light as 3lb. In leaders as light as this, its not for how slim the knot is, but for the 100% strength. 

I have a knot-assist and agree on its usefulness. However going down to 3lb is new to me. I'm going to do that from now on, because at that line class, knot strength matters! The rizzuto finish is working well, by the way. It's a little tricky to tie, but I'm sure it will get easier with practice.

1 hour ago, Restyle said:

Sharpen the hooks on a old wet stone and they are good as new

Absolutely agree. I've started carrying a stone with me. I find it's often quicker to sharpen a hook than tie a new one on.

 

[Green Hornet]

7 minutes ago, Little_Flatty said:

 

I have a knot-assist and agree on its usefulness. However going down to 3lb is new to me. I'm going to do that from now on, because at that line class, knot strength matters! The rizzuto finish is working well, by the way. It's a little tricky to tie, but I'm sure it will get easier with practice.

 

 

Out in the field if I retie an FG, I often skip winding to loop of the rizzuto around the twists and close the knot off kind of like a uni knot.

I haven't noticed any difference either way, as its only to lock the knot off and has nothing to do with maintaining knot strength.

[slothparade]

I have little zip lock bags where I'll keep leaders that are long enough to reuse like 30cm or longer. I lable the zip lock bag with exactly what leader is in the and I do not mix them.

I also have 3d printed some rig holders so I'll just keep the whole rig and just tape the swivel. Keeps everything organized and I have a small tackle box dedicated to pre rigs and it has saved me so much time. They are about 10 cm long channel with big holes in the bottom and heapes of little holes on the walls to thread the hook through. I'd be happy to provide some photos.

The dyi version I found was to get a 1m 1cm by 1cm square bit of pine from Bunnings and then cut it into 10cm prices and file down the ends so there is a slot in both ends and drill holes all the way along to thread the hook strough. If you don't want to keep it rigger, do this horizontally and sand some channels horizontally and tie one end of the leader through the hole then wrap and run the end underneath the rest of the leader so it doesn't come undone.

Another thing is when I'm using heavy leader, over 100 lbs I'll ravel it up just into a loose coil and put 2 price of masking tape on it, works great.

[mrsswordfisherman]

15 hours ago, Fab1 said:

Pass it to the mrs to put in her handbag with the other million bits a nd bobs she carries until the end of trip.

 I reckon I could say to the mrs I wish I'd brought my bar fridge with us on the boat and she'd pull it out of her handbag.

Geez @Fab1 I bet your wife has come to the rescue with her handbag FOS !!

I am very selective who I give my handbag contents to 👜💰

[Rebel]

My wife is the same,including the kitchen sink.

Cheers.

[Fab1]

On 12/17/2021 at 5:10 PM, mrsswordfisherman said:

Geez @Fab1 I bet your wife has come to the rescue with her handbag FOS !!

I am very selective who I give my handbag contents to 👜💰

She sure has.How someone fits so much into such a small bag is beyond me.No wonder she thinks we can put a table,lounge,kitchen,tv,bbq,etc,etc into my 14ft tinny and still have plenty of room left for us.

[anthman]

On 12/17/2021 at 1:10 PM, Green Hornet said:

Out in the field if I retie an FG, I often skip winding to loop of the rizzuto around the twists and close the knot off kind of like a uni knot.

I haven't noticed any difference either way, as its only to lock the knot off and has nothing to do with maintaining knot strength.

Totally agree, just for a nicer finish, I sometimes just trim of the tag end in the field.