HOW to CATCH

[buddha]

Maybe the reflection of the wire is why they are biting the line even with a wire leader attached.

Have you thought of spray painting the wire leader black to minimize reflections?

How long a leader do you think will be effective? 3 feet?

[bigbarrels]

Same problem down there last October. Lost a handful of irons to the Sierra. Crazy when your line suddenly goes limp without a strike. We put wire leaders on and the action dropped off big time. Also lost a bunch of irons to the rocks on some big ass freight training fish. can't wait to go back down there but definitely bringing a ton of irons/lures

[walrus]

The wire, swivels, and crimps I use are black. Anyway the issue isn't the wire getting bit, no problem there, wire saves lures. Without wire my loss of terminal tackle would be three or four times higher. I would not even try fish Baja without wire if the Sierra are around.

I found sierras often target the the swivel or crimp connection point to braid. Their teeth cuts through braid like a sharp razor blade, and you lose the entire wire leader and lure.

I think what is happening is the swivel and/or crimp is mistaken for a little minnow darting thru the water by sierras. So I'm looking to make the connection point as small as possible and less likely to draw attention.

[makobob]

Originally Posted by walrus

The wire, swivels, and crimps I use are black. Anyway the issue isn't the wire getting bit, no problem there, wire saves lures. Without wire my loss of terminal tackle would be three or four times higher. I would not even try fish Baja without wire if the Sierra are around.

I found sierras often target the the swivel or crimp connection point to braid. Their teeth cuts through braid like a sharp razor blade, and you lose the entire wire leader and lure.

I think what is happening is the swivel and/or crimp is mistaken for a little minnow darting thru the water by sierras. So I'm looking to make the connection point as small as possible and less likely to draw attention.

Wally, that RP/John Collins knot is EXACTLY what you want. Start with a 20" Multistrand wire, attatch leader to lure. Take and make loop in leader and tie the RP knot to your line. This makes a leader about 12-16 inches long. It will not have much bulk and it is not flashy or shiny. It solves the problem if the tags are kept short, I use 20 or 30 lb test leader for sierra, if fishing for Cabrilla you might want a longer leader and heavier leader material.