Q: I recently saved an episode of Sport Fishing TV on my DVR that shows you splicing monofilament leader to Dacron when making wind-on leaders. I think this makes a lot of sense and would like to try it. I was wondering if you could tell me, or direct me to information on, what size Dacron to use with certain diameters of mono. Also, what Dacron-to-mono ratio do you like on a given spool?

Michael Barrow,
Grasonville, Maryland

A: I can't give you diameters off the top of my head, but since I almost always fish IGFA-class line, we will stick with breaking strains. It's usually pretty easy to get mono of a certain breaking strain into equal-strength Dacron. Even though the braided Dacron is smaller in diameter than the monofilament, nylon expands when it is pushed together. (Hold a short length of mono between the thumb and forefinger on each hand, and push it together a little, the opposite of stretching it, and you'll see what I mean.) You can also slip a blunt-ended needle up into the Dacron to help open it up a bit, allowing you to get the mono up inside the Dacron a lot easier.

And since Dacron has a smaller diameter than mono, it is also easy to splice a larger line class of Dacron into a smaller section of Dacron. If you cannot get a heavy piece of mono into your Dacron, splice a short length (inches, not feet) of heavier Dacron into the Dacron line and splice the mono into that. A short connector of heavier Dacron would be legal for a record and is exactly the type of connection we use when constructing heavy wind-on leaders. As far as a Dacron-to-mono ratio, it's best to fill the reel with Dacron, leaving enough room for 200 yards of monofilament top shot.