I'm already trying to find ways to kill time this winter now that the ducks and muskies stopped at the same time. Do those of you who tie your own leaders do it for something to do, to save money, or for better performance?
I'm pretty sure I'm moving to all flouro. I'm just trying to figure out if I should just buy them ready made from Aaron or if it makes more sense ot pick up the components.

i do mine to save money - floro is expensive but i'm sure you can save a little if you do your own.

fun? no. performance? they don't break so we're good to go.

for me, it's hard to pass up the straight wire leaders for the cost, but have fun with your floro

In the long run it saves you money!

I should mention that I use a lot of fluoro, but have recently been questioning it. You CAN cut it with a knife, so why wouldn't a muskie do the same? I love how simple it is to fish with, no kinks/bends/issues for the most part, but it's not wire.

I haven't had a fish cut one ever, but I don't want to learn this one the hard way. Sure lots of fish have been landed using them, doesn't mean it doesn't happen. Once would be enough to make me not want to use it.

-Jeff

Hugo,

It'll definitely save you money to make your own if you go through enough leaders. So the first thing you'll want to determine is how many leaders you think you might go through in a year. It'll likely take you awhile to come out ahead. Of course if you have some fishing buddies that are willing to give you a few bucks for leaders for themselves, that'll help you come out ahead sooner rather than later.

Before I ever used Stealth leaders, I tried making some of my own flouro to save money. Two things I found. One, I don't go through very many leaders. But more importantly, I can't tie the higher pound test very well. And when I look at my own knots next to the quality job of a Stealth leader, my leaders scare me and I'll never use my own again!

But if you can tie and/or crimp your own, it's a decent way to save a few bucks. For me it came down to not having confidence in the quality of my own leaders as well as just time. I wanted to utilize my time for other things over learning how to tie a high quality leader of 130# or greater test.

If you have any trashed leaders laying around, practice around with them before investing in a spool of fluoro. That should help you decide if you want to even give it a shot.

Aaron

I enjoy making my own 7 strand and single strand leaders - very cheap to make. Nice to pick your own components as far as snaps and swivels. I've not yet converted to the fluoro.

I'll be honest and admit to being somewhat lazy...I used pre-made leaders this year again for open water muskie fishing, almost exclusively fluoro. If I trolled a lot on LOTW for example or other shield lakes I would have wanted to make my own to meet situation specific needs, lentgh, wire vs fluoro, etc. Day in and day out, the pre-made leaders were what I used.

I did tie up my own QS rigs last year for ice fishing for pike, but as AWH said 7 strand is a lot easier to work with than fluoro in the 130#+ range. They turned out pretty well and did the job!

Erik... just go to Thorne Bros... and talk to Pat... He'll definitely help steer you in the right path...

I love using my homemade leaders... Its sweet knowing that it can withstand a 44" muskie...

Seaguar does have heavier leaders than 130#... am thinking of buying some next year... and also it would help to learn how to do a nail knot properly... which you can combine with crimping... stronger leader... more confidence too...

Well - looks like I'll have to find something to do other than tying my own leaders. Thanks to all for the input.
I guess its back to wittling ugly lures with badk paint jobs that won't get wet again this year.
The good news is that according to Bret's handy countdown timer there's only 267,000 minutes until the season opens back up.

or 16,000,000 seconds, which ever you prefer!!!!

I started using the Stealth leaders this year for my bucktails and propstyle topwater lures. I can tell you this much, I went through exactly TWO leaders this summer and one of them was because of a line snap when I got hung up in some rocks on LOTW. The LINE broke, not the leader. The other got a ding in it, and I just felt better changing it out. Probably still usable and keep it in the boat for a "just in case" backup. Point being, for the amount of leaders I went through, it is just easier, cheaper and FASTER for me to order my Stealth's through Aaron. 10 minutes and I am done and onto something else.

I actually do a combo of Buy and Build. I use Floro in some situations and I like to buy those since don't trust myself building them yet. But in the few of those I've retired, along with a few store purchased single or mulit strands, I get nervous about nicked leaders so the whole leader gets retired looooong before the snaps or swivels are of concern. I have been clipping off the swivels and snaps and (after a close inspection) using them to make my own single strand leaders. Works great!