Your surf fishing leader is the last portion of line in your setup.
It should therefore occupy a significant space in your considerations as it’s what has the most contact with the fish, the structures, and the seabed.
In this article, we will talk about the main factors to consider when choosing a surf leader and how to decide its material, length, and strength.
A quick answer
For best results, surf fishing leaders should be short (preferably within 12-18 inches) and ideally made from monofilament or fluorocarbon. The strength of a surf leader is dictated by the targeted fish and underwater structures. In most cases, it is best to keep the leader weight 20-30% lighter than the main line pound test.
The 5 main challenges that surf leaders face
In order to choose the best leader for surf fishing, we must first understand the 5 different challenges that leaders face when deployed in surf zones.
Appeal to fish
Your leader is what presents your bait to the fish. Consequently, it should not look spooky or intimidating to them.
Typically, a leader should be the least visible underwater.
That’s why plain clear is the best color for leaders.
The goal is to make the bait look as if it’s freely suspended in the water, which is the most appealing bait presentation.
If fish can see your leader, they are likely to get suspicious about your offer and, as a result, strike less often.
Another challenge surf leaders face is the way they present the bait to the fish. Should they sink with the bait to the bottom or float and keep the bait suspended in the water body?
Each presentation serves a different type of fish. It’s therefore important to match your leader to the species you want to catch.
Resistance to abrasion
Abrasion is an important threat to surf leaders.
When fishing rocky shores and mixed seabeds rich in rocks, kelp, and seaweed, the last portion of line becomes subject to significant abrasion and friction, which can result in frequent cut-offs and tackle losses.
Consequently, surf fishing leaders should exhibit high resistance to abrasion and should not snap easily when rubbed against sharp objects.
The risk of abrasion doesn’t arise solely from rocks and sharp structures; it can also result from the jaws of fish.
Some fish species, such as bluefish, sharks, mackerel, and snapper have a sharp set of teeth that can cut through leaders easily when they bite.
An abrasion-resistant leader is therefore essential for dealing with such species.
Resistance to currents
Another challenge leaders face when surf fishing is that they risk getting pulled away by strong currents.
This can be problematic because you don’t want water currents to determine where you deploy your baits, as they can carry them to ghosted areas where no fish hold.
Therefore, it’s important that your leader can effectively resist currents so that your baits stay where you want them to be.
The key point to remember here is that the thicker the leader, the more it’s affected by currents, making it challenging to remain in the strike zone.
Sensitivity
Most fish we catch in the surf weigh less than 10 pounds. As a result, bites from such fish can be quite subtle and challenging to detect.
That’s why your surf fishing leader should be highly sensitive and transmit vibrations effectively. It’s the most reliable way to detect most bites and prevent missed catches.
As a general rule, the less stretchy your leader is, the more sensitive it is. Conversely, leaders with a lot of stretch tend to absorb most of the energy that fish create when they strike, making it difficult to detect bites.
Knot strength
The knot that joins your leader to the main line (or shock leader) is a vulnerable point in your setup. This makes it likely that cut-offs due to high tension will occur precisely at the knot.
Therefore, it’s important that your leader offers a high knotting strength to minimize the risk of unexpected snaps when dealing with heavy loads.
Now that we have discussed the 5 challenges that surf leaders face, let’s use this knowledge and discover how to choose your leaders strength, material, and length.
What is the best leader material for surf fishing?
Monofilament and fluorocarbon are the most common choices here. Both are stretchy and highly resistant to abrasion.
Fluorocarbon is more expensive, but it has the advantage of being less visible in the water.
When we asked our readers about their preferred line material for the leader, monofilament claimed the top spot with 44.66% of the votes, indicating its widespread usage for leaders.
Fluorocarbon ranked second, garnering 32.07% of the preferences.
Braid, although less favored, still secured a notable 23.28% of the votes due to its exceptional strength and sensitivity.
Read more about the best leader material for surf fishing.
How long should a surf leader be?
For the length, the shorter is usually better.
Long leaders tend to get tangled more often in mixed seabeds rich in weeds and rocks. Long leaders also receive more air resistance during casts, resulting in a shorter casting distance.
So always try to keep your leaders short. 12-18 inches is most of the time all you need for surf fishing.
Some situations, however, require long leaders.
For instance, crystal-clear waters make it easy for fish to spot your terminal equipment. Here, a long leader can help you separate your bait from the other spooky objects in your setup.
Also, targeting large fish may require long leaders in order to avoid tail kicks and line twists during fights.
The answers from our surf fishing survey indicate that the most favored leader lengths were 12-18 inches, capturing the preference of 25% of participants, closely followed by the 18-24 inches range, which garnered the favor of 24.83% of respondents.
Noteworthy selections also included 6-12 inches (18.37%) and leader lengths of 36 inches or longer (11.22%), reflecting significant preferences among surf anglers.
Comparatively less common options encompassed 24-30 inches (9.69%), 30-36 inches (6.97%), and 6 inches or shorter (3.91%).
More about the leader length when surf fishing.
How strong should a surf leader be?
The pound test (strength) of the leader depends on the fish you target and the type of structures you fish.
Fish with sharp teeth, such as sharks, bluefish, and mackerel, have the ability to cut through leaders with ease when they bite.
To avoid this, it’s recommended to use a strong leader with a 25-30 pound test.
Similarly, rough grounds can cause leaders to break if they come into contact with sharp rocks. Thick leaders are therefore the way to go there.
The surf condition also dictates the strength of your leader.
Thick leaders receive more pressure from currents and therefore can hurt your stability and accuracy.
Thin leaders cut better in the water and therefore help keep your baits where you want them to be.
So it’s a tradeoff situation here.
You need to consider all the factors and variables and then decide which leader to use.
The rule here is to pick the lightest leader you can afford.
In other words, start by considering all of the factors and conditions that require a heavy leader, then go for the minimum pound test that satisfies all those factors and conditions.
Ok, fair enough. but what are the conditions that require strong leaders?
As we said before, targeting rough seabeds and sharp-toothed fish is likely to break your leader due to abrasion and therefore requires thick diameters.
Does that mean I can use an ultra-light leader if I’m not fishing abrasive structures or targeting fish with sharp teeth?
Well, not really.
The problem here is that big fish, even if they don’t have teeth, can break your leader if it’s too weak.
So don’t go with a 7lb test leader if you know 20-30lb fish are around.
Should the leader be stronger or weaker than the main line (or shock leader)?
As a principle, the strength of your surf fishing leader has nothing to do with the strength of your main line (or shock leader) and should only depend on your fishing objectives and conditions. However, when fishing rough terrains and snaggy bottoms, keeping the leader lighter than the main line is the surest way to protect your line if things get stuck with no way of getting out.
The idea here is simple.
When your terminal gear gets stuck between the rocks and you cannot get it out, you want that when you opt for force, your leader snaps before the main line.
If the main line breaks first, you cannot predict where the cut-off will occur and therefore there is a high risk of losing a fair amount of line.
So as a good rule, when fishing in rocky areas, try to keep your leader under the pound test of your main line (or shock leader). This way, when things get stuck, the leader drops out first and therefore keeps your line intact.
Another possible workaround is to use a weak knot to connect the leader. It works, but it’s not guaranteed.
A weak knot also risks breaking during a fight against a big fish. So that’s not the best option.
Now when surf fishing clear sandy beaches and open waters, do not worry about how strong your surf leader is in relation to the main line and shock leader. Pick the right pound test for each one independently, based on what best suits your situation.
That said, I encourage you to always pick the lightest leader to cope with the conditions you are fishing in. I prefer light leaders because they:
- Resist currents better and therefore help to keep your terminal gear stable
- Cut better in the air and therefore help to cast farther
- Allow for better bait presentation and are less visible to the fish
Personally, I often use leaders that are 20-30% lighter than my main line.
So for instance, if my line is 20-30 pounds, I try to keep my leaders at about 15-20 pounds.
We have talked about more tips like this in our ebook “101 tips for surf fishing”. It’s a guide that we meticulously crafted in order to spare you 2-3 years of experimentation and a lot of lost trophies and heart-wrenching moments.
My leader recommendations*
Two of my favorite products for surf fishing leaders are:
1- The Berkley Trilene Big Game Monofilament
The first product is the “Berkley Trilene Big Game“. This is my go-to option when choosing monofilament for my leaders. In my case, it has never snapped while fishing, even though I often cast into structured zones. I also like the floating capability of this line, which proves useful when targeting certain fish.
The product comes in different colors but for the leader I only buy the plain clear option. Also, the product offers more than 20+ different pound tests. Although I rarely exceed 30 pounds for my leaders, I like to keep 4-5 spools from this product covering different strength categories within the 10-30 lbs, 50-80 lbs, and 80-100 lbs ranges.
Worth noting here that I use the same product also for my main line and shock leaders.
2- Seaguar Blue Label
For fluorocarbon, my favorite product is the “Seaguar Blue Label“. Besides the low visibility and abrasion resistance it provides, I like its minimal stretch, making it ideal for situations where high sensitivity is needed.
This spool comes in 3 different sizes: 25 yards, 50 yards, and 100 yards, and the available pound tests range from 2 pounds all the way up to 80 pounds.
Note (*): If you make a purchase through links from this website, we may get a small share of the sale from Amazon or other similar affiliate programs.
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