shock leader

What is a shock leader? How to use it? How does this piece of equipment increase the casting distance and help the angler in the water? In fact, there is nothing complicated in it. Let’s try to figure out how it works.

Why you need a shock leader

Initially, the shock leader for the feeder serves to increase the casting distance. Here it is necessary to understand its mechanics. The fact is that a number of factors have a very large influence on the range:

1. How does the rod test correspond to the weight of the rig being cast?
2. How is the throw
3. Atmospheric conditions
4. Properties of the rod, guides and reel
5. Aerodynamic properties of cargo
6. The thickness of the line or cord

The latter factor is of great importance for range, especially in the presence of wind. The fact is that the load that is thrown with the help of a rod flies along its own trajectory, and two resistance forces act on it: its own resistance force and the tension of the cord. The latter is especially great with a side wind, which begins to blow out the line during the cast, and this arc begins to pull the load back. Yes, and in calm weather, the resistance of the fishing line in the air will be large.

Judge for yourself: with a cord length of 0.14 mm at 70 meters, its resistance area is about 100 square centimeters, this is about a square of 10×10 cm. Such a square greatly slows down the load. When a strong side wind presses on it, half of the effort of which will pull the load back, and the other half will increase the length of the fishing line, pulling it off the inertialess, the resistance grows even more. The easiest way to reduce this force is to reduce the thickness of the line.

This is interesting:

It is wrong to measure the casting distance by throwing a load and simply winding up the fishing line, counting the number of turns of the reel. After all, this does not take into account the arc of the fishing line, which will be formed after the flying load, increasing with a strong side wind. The difference between the actual range and the length of the line knocked out from the reel can be two times. When using a clip, the difference is significantly reduced.

Aerodynamic resistance is provided by all the line that is knocked off the reel. If, at the same time, its convergence is limited by the resistance on the coil, especially at the end of the cast, a tricky dynamic occurs – the casting distance will not decrease, but increase. A curious feature is connected with this, that at ultra-long distances multipliers can throw further than inertialess ones.

But it is not always possible to do this painlessly. The fact is that with long and ultra-long casts with a feeder, this is when they throw a load at a distance of more than 50 meters, the effort itself during casting will be great, especially with a sharp cast. If a sufficiently heavy load is thrown, it can cause a force at the moment of acceleration that can break a line that is too thin. For example, a load weighing 100 grams, thrown with a force of 0.08 on the braid, easily breaks it when casting. In practice, such a section is quite enough for catching, playing even a large fish, because its jerks will be amortized by both the rod and the drag of the reel. But, as we know from the strength of materials course, under dynamic loads it can increase several times compared to static ones.

Fishermen quickly found a way out. You can put a section of thick fishing line or cord in front of the load. Its length should be such that it completely enters the coil and the knot is on it at the time of casting. During the period of initial acceleration, he takes on the force, and then, when he comes off, the main fishing line begins to get out of the reel. It is this section of the line that is called the shock leader.

How to make a shock leader

There are a few things to keep in mind when making:

1. Shock leader length
2. Material for it: fishing line or cord
3. section
4. The node to which the binding is made

Length

To determine the length, you need to know the length of the rod. The shock leader must be fully on the reel at the time of the cast, otherwise it simply won’t work. It is better if at the same time he makes several revolutions on the spool. The classic length is when the shock leader for the feeder is twice as long as the rod, while adding about half a meter to keep it on the spool.

In practice, casting, when the overhang of the line is equal to the length of the rod, is not used. Most often, for long-distance casting, they take a softer rod that works with the entire blank, and put a small whistle so that the blank immediately begins to work into the load with its whip and the length of the “acceleration” loaded with the blank was as large as possible. At the same time, the length of the shock leader will be enough approximately equal to the length of the rod plus about half a meter. Those who use a soft “catapult” cast can be recommended to set the shock leader for the feeder a little longer.

If the angler likes to tie up rigs during fishing, tearing off a section of line, the length of the shock leader should be increased. In this case, if it is very short, it will soon become unusable, as it will go beyond the coil if it is cut off several times in a piece. Here you can use the classic length of two rods to have enough for dressings. It is not necessary to set it too long, since in this case it begins to affect the casting distance, providing more resistance.

Line or cord?

According to the author of the article, for a feeder, a monofilament fishing line should definitely be placed on a shock leader. The fact is that it resists dynamic loads well, as it has a slight stretch. This practically does not affect the registration of bites, since the total length of the stretchable fishing line is quite small. In addition, taking into account the property of extensibility, it is possible to put a fishing line of a larger cross section on the feeder, but approximately the same breaking load as the main cord. For example, with a main line of 0.08 and a load of 8 libres, you can put a line of 0.2 and the same strength of 8 libres on the shock leader. For the cord, you will have to set 0.18-0.2 and with greater strength, this is approximately the same diameter as that of the fishing line.

The fishing line, in comparison with the cord, will have a head start – this is high wear resistance. At the bottom, a section of the cord, especially a cheap one, will be very shaggy when in contact with shells, snags. Monofilament, having a smoother surface, passes through them well and has a longer service life.

Another advantage of the fishing line is the convenience for the angler when knitting rigs. A stiffer monofilament can be tied into knots and loops without the help of a loop knit. The cord has no rigidity at all, and it will be more difficult to tie a paternoster on it. If it is planned to catch with installations such as loops, then it is generally impossible to make a pigtail on a cord.

The third plus is the ability to absorb fish jerks and falling loads. Beginning anglers often forget to lift the rod at the end of the cast. In this case, the feeder is shot. The fishing line with some probability absorbs the jerk on the clip, and shooting will not occur. Jerks of fish will also be extinguished by fishing line.

Finally, the last plus of the shock leader line is economy. As mentioned, it can be taken at about the same strength as the main cord. At the same time, in the case of a hook and a break, only the shock leader with the feeder will break with a high probability. If you put a cord on the shock leader for the feeder, its strength will be much higher than the main cord. In this case, the break will not occur on it, but also above. Guaranteed loss of at least five meters of the main cord.

section

It strongly depends on how the cast is performed, as well as the properties of the fishing line or cord. The sharper – the more it should be. For the line as a shock leader, it should be at least twice as large, or even three. The load during the cast is great – the load accelerates from zero to a speed of 15 meters per second in half a second. This usually happens not during the movement of the hands of the angler, but at the moment when the blank of the rod is triggered. The hands create only the direction of the throw and the tension of the blank until the finger is released from the reel. It is at this moment that the maximum tension occurs, or should ideally occur with a good throw. After shooting, the cargo already lives its own life, and its flight can be influenced very limitedly.

It is possible to determine the cross section for each specific case only empirically. Let’s say an angler finds that the main line needs a shock leader because it breaks on the cast. After that, you should set different shock leaders for a given load and a given distance, until you achieve a stable cast without a break. Its cross section should be the minimum necessary so as not to affect the casting distance. If the range is not very long and you want some versatility when working with different loads, you can recommend taking a shock lead three times stronger than the main line if a line is placed, or one and a half times stronger if a fishing line is placed.

Node

Four main knots are used to tie the shock leader:

1. cross knot
2. Knot “Carrot”
3. Petr Minenko knot
4. Uzel Albright

The main feature of the knot for binding is that you should not cut the ends back to back. It would seem that the smaller the tips, the better the knot will pass through the rings. Not really, the soft long tips guide the knot smoothly on the cast and there will be minimal drag on the knot as it passes through the ring. The length of the tips should be about three centimeters.

When a shock leader is not needed

• It is not necessary when fishing for short distances, when there is no chance of separation when casting.
• There is no need for it when fishing with the main line, and not with a line. Firstly, the fishing line itself absorbs the jerk quite well, and secondly, it is easier to achieve long-range casting by putting a cord on the base, albeit more durable. You may not need to put a shock leader with him. Knit shock leader makes sense only to the cord.
• On cheap rods, low-quality tips, those that have been used for a long time and may be defective, it is not recommended to fish with a shock leader. The knot will be difficult to pass through the rings, and here it is more likely that the load will break when passing the knot, and not when shooting with a finger during the cast. Everything slips through normal rings without problems.
• When not dynamic, but geometric casting is used, like a catapult with a large overhang of the load. In this case, the load accelerates quite smoothly. Casting effort is not much higher than normal fishing, and there is no hard shooting with a finger at all. To achieve range, they use an increase in the length of the rod. However, this does not negate the need to use the thinnest possible line and cord, and the effect of thickness on the distance is great here.

Many may object that, for example, in match fishing, the shock leader is placed with a fishing line. The fact is that it initially uses a very thin main fishing line. This kind of feeder fishing is not used at all, the load is thrown lighter than a heavy feeder. And she has a large hanging on the shore below the waggler – it would be if with a feeder they put a leash almost as long as the rod itself. Therefore, the shock leader saves more from fishing line hooks on the shore, because in this case you will have to re-equip the waggler with undershepherds. In addition, the shock leader in match fishing allows you to re-equip the rod during fishing with different pre-loaded wagglers when fishing conditions have changed. To do this, you just need to tie a new snap in the form of a shock leader with a float. And the fishing distances there are disproportionately less than with the same heavyweights.