I almost never use them unless I know lots of blues are around. I know it sounds like a stupid question and I know everyone says bass are leader shy, but why would a bass be shy of a steel leader (even if it was nylon coated) and not shy of the shiny hooks hanging off the belly and tail of a plug?

Just curious of others opinions.

good Q CAL...

IMNSHO....Bass are only leader shy in very specific and rare circumstances

most of the time they are not

It's probably not the leader's visibility. The wire isn't as flexible as mono and may affect the action of the lure. That might especially be the case with small plastic plugs like Bombers.

I've seen times when a leader doesn't make a difference, and times when the only guy who wasn't hooking up was running wire.

i NEVER use wire, even if the blues are around. it was always burned into my head that bass are wire shy. i have never seen any proof of it, though.

on a side note, if you ever get a chance to read Jerry Sylvester's book "saltwater fishing is easy", he spoke of ALWAYS using a small piano wire leader. he used a "japanese feather" lure with a shot of wire leader to catch, among many other trophy bass, a 57# pig from the RI surf.

There were certain times over the past few years where I would fish with a steel leader because I was fishing in an area known to be frequented with blues. After some time, I happened to switch over to fluoro or mono leader, and my action picked up with the stripers hitting the bait.

Whether that's coincidence or not, it makes you wonder.

Sometimes you just have to use the wire or lose $60 worth of plugs in an hour or....move.