It’s usual in saltwater fishing to use a leader at the end of the main fishing line to resist abrasion from the fishing environment (rocks, coral etc ) and from the fish themselves (jaws, sharp gill plates, rough bills of sailfish and marlin etc ).

IGFA rules allow the use of a leader up to 15 feet (4.57 metres ) long in line classes up to 20 lb (10 kg) and up to 30 feet (9.14 metres ) in line classes over 20 lb (10 kg).

In some cases the target species or other species present have sharp teeth which will quickly cut monofilament leaders and necessitate the use of wire or cable leaders or at least a short length of wire or cable at the end of a mono leader.

As a rule, the more strands in a cable the more supple and kink resistant it becomes. However the diameter also increases significantly and it is more likely that during a prolonged fight a fish will gradually be able to cut through the individual strands making up the cable.

It’s a trade off. For a given breaking strain single strand wire will have the greatest bite resistance and the smallest diameter, but will also have the greatest tendency towards kinking. At the opposite end of the scale 49 strand cable will have the least bite resistance and the largest diameter, but will have the greatest resistance to kinking.

However having made the decision to use either a monofilament or a wire or cable leader there are further choices to be made.

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