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Can fish see steel leaders? A few years ago we were catching pike like crazy in my lake on the Storm swimbaits. Mostly the shad shaped ones. Now we can't catch them on anyting! I have tried diffrent lines, black leaders, everything. I know they are there beacause when the lake freezes in the winter the ice fisherman pull out some nice pike. Does anyone use anything other than steel leaders? What about swivels or do you tie your line?
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First off, welcome to the crazy world of BFT! I personally do not use steel leaders for muskies but i do use 50# braided line and have only lost 2 fish to cut off in the last 6 years. I have caught a few tigers through the ice without it also. Surely the fish can see the leaders but if you are swimming a big Storm past them they are not paying attention to the line or leader. My guess is they are in a different pattern right now and you may want to try changing lures or presentations. Have you ever tried topwater on them? If you haven't, buy a buzzbait in chartreuse and white in 5/8 oz and cast it to structure or along the bank and keep it on the surface making a lot of noise. Hopefully i helped and didn't make your question worse.[cool]
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Thanks for the help. I have fished the lake with topwater but more for bass. I usually use a jitterbug or a torpedo. I will have to give that a try. The water is VERY clear so i will probably go with a diffrent color choice.
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i like your idea on the braided..i use 25 pound mono instead of steel leaders seems to work good..ive only had 2 cutoffs with it ..thats what i use on tip ups..might try the braided idea..
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Quick answer is yes but the long answer is who cares as I have caught 100's of Muskie boat side. These fish are king of the waters they live in and if a 18' boat with the trolling motor doesnt spook them 8-12" of steel leader certainly won't
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when im fishing pike on a tipup in the winter the tipups with mono on them will outfish the steel leaders every time..i guess it depends on the situation...
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