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I have built all of our leaders since we started. With the exception of one tube of Chads leaders and a couple from a guy named Andy Moraller . Chad makes a great leader as does Andy.

Leaders are like rods and reels when it comes to lure sizes. Using heavy Florocarbon or solid steel single strand leaders on small light weight lures would be rediculas as would using light weight 30 pound 7 strand for pulling 15 inch Trolling lures. I have found that I need many leader types and sizes. For Pike I use 30 pound Mason 7 strand uncoated stainless steel wire. It is thin as thread super strong and lasts until its kinked or frayed.

For small Pike and Muskie lures like the Crane 205, mini bagley, Sisson bass baits and little #5 Mepps and most other very small lures I use the Mason 45 pound 7 strand uncoated. Again its very tough wire and coupled with 40 pound Power pro makes a great setup on a bass rod for small lures for both Pike and Muskies.

My next step up from that is 65 pound power pro for most 4 to 7 inch lures and the leader is 65 pound Mason 7 strand uncoated. This rig has served us with zero failures for 12 years but again we do not use this weight rig to throw anything more than a small bulldawg, Little claw, 6 inch Grandma etc.

Going up to the heavy class we are using what most people consider proper Muskie tackle . 80 or 100 pound Power Pro with 90 to 150 pound steel either 7 or 49 strand, solid or Florocarbon. Makes no difference to me when we are talking about big lures. I have my big lure rods spooled with 100 pound power pro and 150 pound 49 strand shark braid steel for all of my lures like the Weagles, Hoosiers 9 inch glides, Magnum bull dawgs, and any other large heavy lures. Trolling is the same concept for us. W e use all mono lines for trolling (Mason P-Line) and we use three different line tests and leader tests to handle everything from tiny little Rapala J-11'S all the way up to 15 inch Deepthreats and Dragon Claws.

The bottom line is this. You should match the line and leader sizes to the lures and applications for best results. When in doubt you should always error on the heavy side to defend against breaking off. No one wants to feed a lure to a fish. Check your crimps, Knots, split rings, snaps, Line and leaders often and replace worn components with new ones and your Musky fishing days will be filled with good reports and not failures. I carry a minimum of 20 replacement leaders of each size on every trip out. I have yet in 12 years of building my own leaders to feed a lure to fish or have a leader fail us. Replace all worn leaders !! It just isnt worth the grief of losing a monster or worse yet feeding one a mouth full of hooks. Good luck and as for Greggs new combination or floro and wire ? I cant see the advantage of having more knots or crimps. But the book is still out on that one in my opinion. Mike and Michelle