Never use one. My braid mainline is always stronger than the 1m of mono I use to tie my feeder rig to with a water knot. Have never broken the braided mainline. But then I don’t have to chuck more than about 50m.

conversely, always use one, you never know when you might get the actual feeder snag up, rather than just the hooklength. Also, particularly with bream on flowing water, the nod of the head is often enough to free the hookhold on the fish, which is always frustrating on hard fiting fish. as is losing them at the net due to lack of give in the gear at the net when matched to a heavy feeder rocking about trying to free the hook.

I always use a shockleader, 026mm Technium on big chucks 60+ turns. I would rather this break than my rod on the cast. Like whats already been said when the fish is under the rod I have more faith in playing it on mono.

same as always use a shock leader..i use maxima for the stretch and give factor.

always use about 7-8yard of 6lb mono as shock leader never had any problems

2-3 turns on reel plus 3foot drop.Use Alan scotthornes method of loop in braid with i think a blood knot? to attatch the mono.If its good enough for a 5x world champ its good enough for me.

Cream Of Notts, I use 1m of mono for that same reason. Simple to tie your feeder rig onto (and when you strip it off you only lose the 1m of mono not expensive braid) and if you snag you break away at the rig end.

I don’t use 1m of mono for a shockleader as such (even 60 turns as that’s not far enough to need a ‘proper chuck’) as I never worry about snapping on the cast if my braid/rod is matched properly.

If people worry about breaking their rod on the cast then they’re using the wrong rod.

for really long chucks you need the right gear as stated,i use an shimano ultegra pit reel(cos of its wide spool)and a a garby 13ft feeder rod, the rod alos needs to have a progressive power to absorb the cast and strike,also don’t go to light on the tip..what i mean is i use tips upto 4oz and still see skimmer bites.

I do and would use a shockleader for fish playing, and to allow an easy way out of snags without breaking your braid.

As for snapping your rod on the cast, I wouldn’t be so concerned. I do alot of sea fishing too, and the mantra for casting then is if a rods not 90% broken, it’s not casting properly. You really have to put alot of power into bending a rod to get it to snap. Most rods will also take more pressure to snap than it takes to overpower them. Just make sure you match the rod to the job, and don’t go for big chucks with an 11ft light feeder rod and a 40g feeder.

Just to buck the trend, I don’t use a shockleader. 8lb fireline straight through to the feeder ~clap
I’m that used to it now using a mono shocker just doesn’t feel right.

I never use a shockleader. I use 6lb Fireline to a 10lb Fireline shockleader. I use the same set up whether i fishing for roach at 30 yards or skimmers at 80+ yards.

I don’t see what advantage a few turns of mono offer. If anything, it causes more problems and cuts down on the distance you can chuck.

Provided you use the right rod, you shouldn’t have the hook pull out.

The only time i would use a mono leader is when fishing the Dink due to the savage bites you get.

Ewan