Tapered shockleader

[anthony byrne]

Hi lads

I know how a shockleader works but could some tell me how a tapered shock leader works and how it's better

Cheers

[shaft666]

Hi Anthony

The big advantage with a tapered shock leader is the size of the knot you can join it to your mainline with.
I use Varivas leaders which are 18lb at the thin end so joining this to 15lb mainline results in a very small knot which doesn't catch in the rings and picks up a lot less weed than a bulky knot.
Hope that helps

Paul

[Seancelt]

The idea behind a tapered shockleader is that you have heavy line between the lead and the reel to avoid crack-off during a cast but as the line leaves the spool the diameter reduces to the thickness of your main-line. The advantage is that you don’t have a large knot from say 60/80 lb line running through your guides, possibly damaging them or slowing the cast. A simple double uni knot is only needed to join two lines of the same diameter. Also you have a smaller knot in the water to snag weed.

The disadvantage is that they can be costly and can’t be adjusted for longer rod lengths.