how long's your leader?

[Green Light]

Some additional semi-random thoughts...

I my humble opinion, the length and weight of your leader depends on the type of fishing and tackle you are using.

I my case, I have two setups. One for plugging and one for bait fishing.
For bait: 10 ft 50 lb Ande clear mono with a uni-uni to 40 lb Power Pro
For plugging: 5 ft 50 lb Ande clear mono with a Spro 130 lb swivel to 40 lb Power Pro. These two set up work "ok"....but, I am always adjusting my tackle and presentations.

If you are like slinging some serious meat and lead with an 11 ft or 12 ft HD rod (e.g. Fish Finder rig with a whole bunker head and 8 oz 3-sided pyramid sinker), then you may want a 60 lb MONO shocker leader.

If memory serves, in Ron A.'s long distance casting video, he recommend a shocker leader long enough to wrap around the spool 3 times.

There was also some "rule of thumb" about adding leader 20 lbs heavier than you main line. e.g., if you a fishing 20 lb mono, then a 40 leader is recommend.
I think this "rule of thumb" breaks down with braided lines.

I have seen some fisherman use fluro-carbon shocker leaders. I think fluro-carbon is a good abrasive resistant leader material (refractive index aside), but I do not think its a good "shocker" leader material. The reason being that fluro-carbon, unlike mono-filament, does not have much stretch or give; hence, no "shock absorption". If you are slinging plugs, then do you really need shock absorption? If you are negotiating with a cow on light tackle, then a good shocker will really help landing her.

In short, the length and weight of a shocker leader, "depends".

My $0.02.