Longevity: Seaguar's Threadlock holds up extremely well over the course of a year and likely beyond. I've been fishing it since I completed my rounds with PowerPro's product last year. Yet despite my favorable impressions of this line, I wasn’t sure if a write it up would prove useful because it's not available in spool sizes that make it easy for bass fishermen to try. With a 600 yard spool, you have to have a predisposition to the product. Either that or go in with a group of friends who also want to try it, but that will present it's own set of challenges as you figure out who's going to own the tools and who gets any left over line.

Trouble is, once you get this stuff on your reel, it's difficult to go back and so easy to just keep adding to your experience finding different ways to take advantage of the line's unique properties and ease with which to work. That's one thing I may have failed to mention until now. Threadlock is very easy to work with. Maybe I'm just getting more adept at using hollow braid in general, but I've found getting started with this line, either in the middle or at a fresh cut end, is super easy.

With the use of a latch needle, pictured here, you can create a loop end for quick and easy leader attachments

Simply insert the latch needle into the line (A) pointed towards the open end (start about two or three feet down from the end of the line). "B" shows the tag end and "C" shows the line coming from your reel or leader

Pre-tied Leaders: Of course, the question comes up, what if you need to replace the leader in the middle of a trip? I mentioned earlier where I had to retie because my leader was abraded. What if that situation continues to occur and I run out of leader material? Well, if you're a planner, you can pre-tie a bunch of leaders and swap them out on the fly during your fishing trip. Earlier, I talked about a method of splicing hollow braid remnants together. That method required the use of a loop needle. If you pack that needle with the rest of the gear, you have all you need to effect repairs and attach pre-tied leaders on the fly. However, that method can be tedious and time consuming in the middle of the day while you're out on the water. Fortunately, there is another, cleaner method of handling pre-tied leaders. It requires a third tool, the latch needle.

When you reach a point in the line with at least twelve inches remaining in the tag end, poke the needle back out and hold onto that loop at point "A" using your fingers (unlatch from the needle). With your other hand, also hold the line at point "B". Then pull in opposite directions as if you're continuing to pull the loop out of the line. Be sure to squeeze at point "B" while doing so

Using the latch needle, you can form a loop at the end of your main line and tag end of your leader. Then, using a loop to loop knot, you can swap out leaders on the fly. This just requires you to plan ahead and pre-tie a bunch of leaders to carry with you. However, taken to another level, this means you can tie leaders of different strengths and materials giving you the flexibility to respond to changing conditions out in the middle of a fishing trip.

What will happen is the line turns inside out reversing the position of the tag end (B) so that it comes out at the point of original insertion of the braid back into itself (A)

Then, using your latch or loop needle, tuck the tag end back into the hollow braid in the opposite direction of the loop. The result will be the loop end (A) and a smaller loop where the line goes back into itself (B). Make this loop at the end of the line coming out of your reels and on your leaders and you'll be able to swap leaders out on the fly.

Is your fluorocarbon leader making your top water bait behave strangely? Swap it out with a nylon monofilament leader and try again. Need better abrasion resistance because the topwater bite is gone and you're pitching soft plastics into cover? Go back to the fluoro. With the help of the latch or loop needle, you can even create a leader of standard four or eight strand braid so you can go from throwing soft plastic swimbaits with a fluorocarbon leader at one point during the day, then switch things up with the same rod and reel combo and throw a hollow belly frog. All it takes is a bit of forethought and planning.

Sounds like a lot to deal with, right? I actually tested this scenario while fishing iRod's IA784C-H Croaker Crusher fishing rod. This is a stick designed as a frog rod but with a lure rating of up to three ounces, so anglers are also using it for smaller swimbaits too. I had this rod matched up with Daiwa's new Zillion and spooled the reel with 50lb Threadlock finishing the line off with a loop. I started one trip with a leader of 25lb Gold Label FC fishing Skinny Bear's Big Cull line through swimbait and after catching a fish on that setup, switched the leader to one with 50lb Sunline FX2 Braid. The loop to loop knot was a little difficult to undo, but once I removed the fluorocarbon leader, attaching the alternate with braid was a piece of cake. My efforts were rewarded later that same day with a frog fish on Molix's new Pop Frog!

Conclusion: My primary objective in using hollow braid was to find a solid mainline to leader connection for throwing big baits. With the 100% strength of connection and a low profile finishing knot that search is done. Now I'm on the hunt for different, reliable leader options. However, that Chronarch MGL with the 50lb Threadlock and 10lb AbrazX line combination I paired with the ARK Rods Cobb Series BB73MMHFC opened my eyes just a little bit more. There were no issues with that thin, 10lb leader pulling out and zero capacity issues considering I only had about fifty two yards of Threadlock on the reel together with the approximate thirty feet of leader material. You don't really need one hundred yards of line on your reel. But that combo opened my eyes just a little bit more because now I know I can use this strategy on smaller reels with lighter leaders too.

As you can see from all the photos, I've become a bit of a fanatic with the hollow braid, and now that I know I can safely leverage down to 0.268mm in line diameter as a leader, unless I'm testing a specific product, I may never use a full spool of nylon mono or fluorocarbon on a casting reel again. Seaguar has done an excellent job creating a hollow braid product that's easy to work with, stands up well over time, and provides a secure connection with thinner than expected leader material. Hopefully those filler spool sizes of Threadlock 50 and 60 pound test are in the works making it easier for more anglers to buy into the fun that is hollow braid.

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