When bluefish are finicky, it’s time to ditch the wire by using heavy monofilament or braid leaders -- or lures like this diamond jig that acts as a bite-proof leader. Photo courtesy of Pete Barrett.

Bluefish are famous for their wickedly sharp teeth. This is one reason why many fishermen believe it makes good sense to add a wire leader at the end of the fishing line to protect from cutoffs and lost fish. Although a wire leader is sometimes a good idea, what do you do on those days when a wire trace makes ol’ yellow eyes finicky as Morris the cat? With a pea-sized brain, bluefish aren’t known for their high IQ, but their natural instincts are finely tuned and their eyesight is perfect. When a wire leader makes a bait or lure look phony, even the most aggressive bluefish may become leader-shy. That’s the time to have a few tricks up your sleeve.

The first trick is to ditch the wire leader and replace it with a length of heavy nylon monofilament. If you’re already using heavy mono leaders, you’re probably annoyed that I just gave away one of your pool-winning secrets. If you haven’t tried mono leaders, you probably think I’m off my rocker because everyone knows bluefish will slice through mono in an instant. Well, yes and no.

The truth is heavy mono leaders are much less visible than wire, and are so supple that a mono leader actually helps a live or chunked bait suspend or sink in the water much more naturally. And a 60- to 100-pound-test mono leader will usually stand up to a bluefish or three before it’s chafed and needs replacing. Yes, the mono will eventually be cut or break, but on those days when blues just won’t hit anything with wire attached to it, the choice is simple: Use mono and get some bites, or use wire and go fishless. Watch the party boat pool winners, and you’ll see that they often use heavy mono leaders to score good catches.

The very best mono leaders are made of fluorocarbon, a special material that is less visible than nylon monofilament and has much more abrasion resistance. It’s also more expensive, but remember, you’re only using 2 to 4 feet of fluorocarbon for the leader, so each piece isn’t going to break your fishing budget. A typical leader spool will provide 30 to 50 leaders at about $1 for each leader or a lot less than a cup of coffee these days.

Monofilament is the most popular line choice with most bluefish anglers. After all, it’s inexpensive, nearly invisible, ties strong knots, casts well and is easy to handle on spinning and conventional gear. Mono stretches up to 20 percent of its length before breaking, a property that cushions the fight of the fish and prevents break-offs from sudden lunges by a bluefish. Its elasticity also makes the line less sensitive, so strikes are not as easy to detect. Monofilament is a good choice when casting metal lures and popping plugs and for bait-fishing.

If you spool your reel with mono as your main fishing line, you can easily and quickly add a heavy leader with a double surgeon’s knot. Because the surgeon’s knot is about 80 percent of the unknotted line strength, it’s good practice to double the main fishing line by tying a Bimini twist or a spider hitch at the tag end. The doubled line is then twice as strong as the main line, so when you bend the mono or fluorocarbon leader to it with the surgeon’s knot, the connection is still very strong.