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[Animal Chin]

The line that will break first is most likely your mainline and it's quite easy to lose your expensive float and a lot of main line.

It's also a massive pain in the rear when someone left a monster nest of braid/mainline at the bottom of the river and you drift into it.

[Sandman]

Is this a legitimate question or a troll? The leader is where most of the force is when fighting fish, especially if you lose tightness and get sudden jolts. It's also the piece of line most likely to get caught on a rock and get snapped off. Heavy leader = less dropped fish.

When fishing for Giant Trevally, I use 60lb mainline and 100lb leader. When fishing for big Snapper, 20lb mainline and 40lb leader. This is pretty much the standard across most fisheries around the world. Obviously there are exceptions, like when you are trying to entice a bite on a picky fishery, so you size down your leader...but as far as fighting fish goes, having a heavier leader allows you to be much more aggressive. It should also be taken into consideration that when I talk about mainline it is strictly braid, which outperforms its test rating by quite a bit.  Apart from the obvious fact that lighter leader = potentially more bites, I can't see any performance benefit from doing this.

Funnily enough this is something I have been asked 2-3 times since moving here. Not sure I quite understand the reasoning behind the thought process, maybe you can enlighten me?

We'll I believe the thought process is simple: when playing a fish, the force is exerted on the whole line, not just the end (leader).  The weakest point of the line is going to be the weakest knot and the thinnest line. If your main line is lighter than your leader, and we are going to take into account your claim that your braid outperforms the rating to which it was tested(not sure how it manages to do that).  Therefore, if your mainline is rated 10 pounds (but actually performs to 12lbs) and your leader is rated 20 pounds and the knots tying each are equal strength, and the fish on the hook applies 15 pounds of force then the main line is likely the one that will break (usually at the knot) whereby you lose your hook, 20 pound leader, and likely any other hardware attached below that mainline knot, such as pencil lead or an expensive float.  The only reason I can see for using a heavier leader is when the mainline exceeds the weight stress needs but you are worried about the fish wearing out the leader (eg: pike)-

[4TheKids]

Chinook are not notorious for making huge runs when hooked. They are known for sulking on the bottom and being a problem to move or bring up. The only time I have ever seen chinook make huge fast runs is when they get snagged or are flossed. Seeing as how you guys have mentioned losing multiple fish due to them making big runs I would have to guess they were snagged or flossed. 10 lb or 12 lb leader is more than enough to land chinook in the cap or vedder. If you think about it the fish may weigh 30 lbs out of the water, however when it is in the water it floats and does not weigh 30 lbs.

Everyone's experience is different. This year in the Cap I have had 2 big springs (18 and 25+) go on multiple long runs. Both were fairly caught. Both were long fights where they held for long periods of time but when they pointed downstream they took off.

My fishing buddy had one that blew a pool, he chased it down only to have go back up the rapids to the original pool. He landed it and it was fairly caught. However this was the only time I have ever seen a fish in the Cap leave a pool (hint hint you don't need really strong leaders). And yes - there are two pools in the Cap where this can happen.

[fic]

I hooked a fish that had yellow belly today. The hook popped out before I could land him. Any ideas what it might be? I don't think it was a pink nor a tomato coho. First thing I thought was carp but that can't be on the Cap.

[HamidSeshadri]

I hooked a fish that had yellow belly today. The hook popped out before I could land him. Any ideas what it might be? I don't think it was a pink nor a tomato coho. First thing I thought was carp but that can't be on the Cap.

i saw some guys catch a decent size fish last week... didnt see it for myself but i overheard them say it was a chum. maybe?

[fic]

i saw some guys catch a decent size fish last week... didnt see it for myself but i overheard them say it was a chum. maybe?

It might have been a chum. Though chums tend to have a greenish skin color in fresh water. Some cohos were already tomato colored.

[RyanB]

My fishing buddy had one that blew a pool, he chased it down only to have go back up the rapids to the original pool. He landed it and it was fairly caught. However this was the only time I have ever seen a fish in the Cap leave a pool (hint hint you don't need really strong leaders). And yes - there are two pools in the Cap where this can happen.

I had this happen to me today but I lost it when it went over the rapids.  I had my drag a bit too light and couldn't pull it back fast enough from the edge, lesson learned. 

I caught a five pound hatchery coho so I didn't feel too bad.