# Mono to Mono shock leader



## KevinImX0 (Dec 25, 2011)

i use a 15lb main and 50lb shock. Why i don't use braid, its more exp. Its not that much more exp, but in the end. Its just fishing line. And who knows what can happen to a spool of fishing line. So id rather have to respool with mono than braid... 

As for the shock, its the line you retie the most... well to me anyways. I like to have the knots out of the rod guides, so my shock leaders are short. About 2-3 feet. So i just use mono for that as well. and a 50lb spool goes a long way since u only use like 2-3 ft at a time... 

I've been using the spider hitch to slim beauty for a while. and im not sure if its me tying the slim beauty wrong, but once in a while. Id chuck it, and i kinda hear a POP! and basically im left with the spider hitch. and 2 curly ends. I mean i think it happened like 2 times so far. which is not that many... But somedays when i look at the knot i tied, its just freaking pressure holding down the loop end of the spider hitch. And im just like wow. how does this work? all of them stick out perpendicular to the main line. So i know i did em right. And i lubricate and even use pliers and pull it so taunt. 

What do you guys think of the slim beauty? im fine with the spider hitch. The bimini twist? LOL. spider hitch FTW. 

also tying a slim beauty... at night... by lantern light... on the go... is not a good idea... in that situation. I have no choice and go with the double uni, now a 50lb mono in a double uni... is not a slim knot... hence why i like to have all my knots out of the rod guides. Even if its a slim beauty. 50lb mono is still thick. I can feel it bump the rod guides. Its not snagging or anything, but i can feel it. 

Also i tried the yucatan and no mans knot. They are worthless to me. No matter how many times i try it, with the instructions in my face. over and over and over again. sometimes i try it this way and that way and with more loops and all. If i wrap the main line in 1 hand and the shock leader in the other hand and yank. I hear a POP and it comes untied leaving me with curly ends. No matter what. always if i yank, pop and done. 

with the slim beauty atleast, i can yank all day till the line cuts my hands and the hardest yank breaks the spider hitch and my slim beauty is still fine. Yucatan and no mans is trash.


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## Eattheflounder (Apr 24, 2011)

If your shock leader is only three feet long, you are receiving little if any benefit from it. In that case, don't worry about what knot you are using. 
Slim beauty has worked fine for me. Not the best, or strongest, but it works well, slides well through the guides, and ties easy.


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## jakuka (Oct 12, 2009)

Sounds like you're using a bite leader and not a shock leader. Not sure how much weight you're throwing, but right now the knot has to absorb the impact of the cast. If you're tossing 1 or 2oz jigs or metals it shouldn't be a problem, but 4 or 5oz sinkers it would be. If that were the case then your leader should run through the guides and wrap around the spool 5-10 times. That's the only way to protect the knot from the impact of the cast. What are you tossing with this rod?


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## RuddeDogg (Mar 20, 2004)

On my heavers, 8nbait, I use a shock leader, 40-50lb mono. I run braid and mono on my reels. I was always told that your shock leader should go from your reel, to the tip, to the ground, in essence, almost double what your rod length is. I found that was a bit long for my taste and backed it off just a bit. I use a uni-uni knot and haven't had any issues as of yet. The rest of my surf set ups I run mono, with a top shot of 50lb braid and no shock leader, that's up to six ounces.


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## fishinfanatic (Jan 23, 2008)

If your using 2-3' of leader, it's not a shock leader. The shock leader needs to be long and wrapped around your spool a few times so the entire load is on the 50# line, 3' is going to do little to nothing. You are usually going to feel or hear the shock knot going through your guides, it's nothing to worry about. I tie a knot I made up(kind of like a spiderhitch) and then tie a no name/albright knot to the doubled main line. I used to tie a bimini but like my doubled line to be really short, and faster to tie, so I came up with a new knot one day when it was raining too much on the pier. There probably is nothing wrong with your knots, it's just that you aren't using enough shock leader.


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## Drum Bum (Jan 12, 2004)

For mono-mono, I tie a modified Alberto....3 up & 3 down.


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## HStew (Jan 8, 2009)

Length of rod? Number and size of guides? Small guides? Strip off the smaller guides and replace with larger size yourself or have someone else do it for you.


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## time2be (Sep 16, 2008)

I like to use the uni to uni and have several turns on the spool.


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## KevinImX0 (Dec 25, 2011)

jakuka said:


> Sounds like you're using a bite leader and not a shock leader. Not sure how much weight you're throwing, but right now the knot has to absorb the impact of the cast. If you're tossing 1 or 2oz jigs or metals it shouldn't be a problem, but 4 or 5oz sinkers it would be. If that were the case then your leader should run through the guides and wrap around the spool 5-10 times. That's the only way to protect the knot from the impact of the cast. What are you tossing with this rod?


i have a 10ft, 11ft, 12ft, and 13 ft... all threw with 4oz.


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## KevinImX0 (Dec 25, 2011)

HStew said:


> Length of rod? Number and size of guides? Small guides? Strip off the smaller guides and replace with larger size yourself or have someone else do it for you.


idk how many guides or the size... they aren't small. The problem with the knots is that, when im reeling in a fish, the line is bent at like a 45 degree angle or something like that... and when the knot comes up. it gets stuck on the edge of the guide. So i gotta jingle the rod up and down and reel in when the line gets slack. So now the knots don't interfere with anything because i can reel the fish in far enough to bring over. 

But i guess ill try something else. Can i do mono main line and a Braid shock leader? Or is that a bad idea??? That way the knots would be sooo tiny. its the 50lb mono's thickness thats catching onto the tip guide...


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## KevinImX0 (Dec 25, 2011)

RuddeDogg said:


> On my heavers, 8nbait, I use a shock leader, 40-50lb mono. I run braid and mono on my reels. I was always told that your shock leader should go from your reel, to the tip, to the ground, in essence, almost double what your rod length is. I found that was a bit long for my taste and backed it off just a bit. I use a uni-uni knot and haven't had any issues as of yet. The rest of my surf set ups I run mono, with a top shot of 50lb braid and no shock leader, that's up to six ounces.


what is a top shot?


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## Eattheflounder (Apr 24, 2011)

KevinImX0 said:


> idk how many guides or the size... they aren't small. The problem with the knots is that, when im reeling in a fish, the line is bent at like a 45 degree angle or something like that... and when the knot comes up. it gets stuck on the edge of the guide. So i gotta jingle the rod up and down and reel in when the line gets slack. So now the knots don't interfere with anything because i can reel the fish in far enough to bring over.
> 
> But i guess ill try something else. Can i do mono main line and a Braid shock leader? Or is that a bad idea??? That way the knots would be sooo tiny. its the 50lb mono's thickness thats catching onto the tip guide...


You could just walk back a few feet, get the fish on the sand and pick it up. This is not a problem that I have experienced. My knots do not prevent me from reeling in fish, so maybe there is a problem with your knots.
I think that you might be missing the point about what the shock leader does. Changing to braid will not solve this problem. You will be just as dangerous using braid to mono as you are using mono to mono. The idea is to take the weight off of the main line, and put that force on the shock leader . The main line cannot handle the force of the lead weight during a vigorous cast. The shock leader must be wrapped around the reel a few times to accomplish that.


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## KevinImX0 (Dec 25, 2011)

Eattheflounder said:


> You could just walk back a few feet, get the fish on the sand and pick it up. This is not a problem that I have experienced. My knots do not prevent me from reeling in fish, so maybe there is a problem with your knots.
> I think that you might be missing the point about what the shock leader does. Changing to braid will not solve this problem. You will be just as dangerous using braid to mono as you are using mono to mono. The idea is to take the weight off of the main line, and put that force on the shock leader . The main line cannot handle the force of the lead weight during a vigorous cast. The shock leader must be wrapped around the reel a few times to accomplish that.


1: i don't fish on sand. i fish on rocks. Or pier...
2: i know what the shock leader does now. U don't have to be the 5th guy to say it. 
3: since i know what a shock leader does now, why can't i change to braid?
4: why the change to braid? because the 50lb braid would be much thinner than 50lb mono and the knots would not be huge. 

when i first asked a shock leader question, they said the leader should wrap around your reel 4-5 times. Yea. 4-5 times around is like 3 ft... And i don't mean braid main line to mono shock leader. i meant mono main line to braid shock leader. 

Idk if that works tho... i saw on a striper forum and he used a braid main line to a braid shock leader. And his wrapped around like 20 times.. doubles up the main line than just does uni to uni. And said he never had a problem... 

so why not mono to braid? 

let me find the link. its good


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## KevinImX0 (Dec 25, 2011)

http://www.stripersonline.com/t/479674/knot-for-braided-line-to-mono-shock-leader

read what reelin rod has to say.


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## Drumdum (Jan 6, 2003)

KevinImX0 said:


> i use a 15lb main and 50lb shock. Why i don't use braid, its more exp. Its not that much more exp, but in the end. Its just fishing line. And who knows what can happen to a spool of fishing line. So id rather have to respool with mono than braid...
> 
> As for the shock, its the line you retie the most... well to me anyways. I like to have the knots out of the rod guides, so my shock leaders are short. About 2-3 feet. So i just use mono for that as well. and a 50lb spool goes a long way since u only use like 2-3 ft at a time...
> 
> ...





KevinImX0 said:


> http://www.stripersonline.com/t/479674/knot-for-braided-line-to-mono-shock-leader
> 
> read what reelin rod has to say.


 If you are using a slim beauty,it's a good knot,so is a spider hitch.. If you tied a no-name,not "no man" knot,and it came untied on you,then you are tying it wrong... Uni to uni is also an excellent knot.. And if you are fishing a pier,or jetty for big fish,3' of shock is useless,imho... If you tie a knot correctly and have modern equipment there should be no problem with the knot going through the guides...

The sgt uses excellent logic with his comments,but there are drawbacks in my view to braid as a shock leader.. One is abrassion resistance,it is not nearly what 50lb mono would be when it comes to pilings or rocks.. Two would be the fact that if you ever have to use the shock to handle the fish,say on a jetty,cuts in your hand suck,and mono is much more forgiving there..

All this is just my opinion from what has worked for me,having caught a few fish in the past 50 plus yrs both fresh and salt,if you choose to ignore,do so,I'll still keep catching fish doing it my way...


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## KevinImX0 (Dec 25, 2011)

alright drumdum, thanks man

yea i know... its not like im going to keep making my shock leaders 3 feet long. jesus... ima make em really long now. Why does everybody keep bringing that up like im not going to do it!!!

ill stick to spider hitch and slim beauty i guess. i was never worried about it flying thru the guides, they just hit the guides and i can feel it. And i disliked it. felt uneasy about it, without knowing why. So i fixed the problem myself by shortening the leader... but that was the wrong move...

and yea, i guess ill stick to my all mono thing.


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## KevinImX0 (Dec 25, 2011)

oh and don't worry about the big fish on the pier... the biggest thing that comes around where I fish is a striped bass... like 24 inches or so... or a ray... and that just sucks. The shock leader is meant for casting 4oz'es not for the fish... Most of the time its like 3 lb bluefish or something... or croaker...


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## AbuMike (Sep 3, 2007)

have been using the SH to SB for years and never had a problem. breaking the way you describe sounds like friction heat created when pulling the knot tight. make sure you have plenty of lube and give it a quick tight pull then snug it up...oh yeah.....you need a way longer shock leader.....


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## Kenmefish (Apr 21, 2000)

Why don't you try a longer shock leader.:fishing:


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## Oldmulletbreath (Jan 7, 2006)

You Guys


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## KevinImX0 (Dec 25, 2011)

. . . . . . . . . .


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## NC KingFisher (Nov 20, 2011)

And yeah, you can use a braided shock. I use 200lb braid when i have it for my charkin rigs


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## BeachBob (Aug 27, 2010)

i use about 20' of 30# or 40# mono shock tied with an alberto knot directly to the running line, which is either 14# mono or 20# fireline. the knot is really small, pulled very tight, tag ends clipped flush and i secure it with water thin cya. zips through the guides with no issues - heck, even goes through the lw reels easily, too.


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## RoryGoggin (Jan 6, 2005)

KevinImX0 said:


> . . . . . . . . . .


 Please realize that not everyone reads all the responses to your original question after they read your original question before they answer your original question. They are just trying to be helpful. Would you rather receive no answers to your question? Maybe you could consider their answers as a X2 for the above answer.


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## AbuMike (Sep 3, 2007)

I carry multiple reels already set up with shock leaders. Break off or blowup I just change reels..


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## Drumdum (Jan 6, 2003)

AbuMike said:


> I carry multiple reels already set up with shock leaders. Break off or blowup I just change reels..


 Yeap,gotta freind that does that as well.. He's a lefty.. When he throws and everything stays together that thing is GONE!! BUT,I have seen him bring a box of 5 reels out on the pier,blow four up,then finally get it in the water with the fifth!!


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## AbuMike (Sep 3, 2007)

With me bad eyes and old fingers it's just easier to get back in the water quick.


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