7 strands
7-strand steel consists of 7 strands twisted together. It's the strongest, because it's made of large steel strands that are difficult to cut. However, its coarseness eliminates all flexibility, and it easily retains all deformations.
It's the one that quickly corkscrews and becomes unusable. It is often reserved for fishing with livebait, and is of little interest for lure fishing.
19 strands
19-strand steel uses the same manufacturing principle as 7-strand steel, except that it is made from 19 steel wires twisted together. The fineness of the steel strands used gives it a certain flexibility and less memory than a 7-strand.
These characteristics make it ideal for lure fishing. It is therefore suitable for the vast majority of lures used for pike, which do not require a very supple leader. It can be used with jerkbait minnow, soft leaded lures, crankbaits and lipless.
7x7 or 49 strands
The 7x7 leader is made up of 7 steel strands twisted together, themselves made up of 7 steel strands, giving a total of 49 strands. That's why it's called 7x7 or 49 strands, but it's really the same thing.
This design makes it possible to use thinner steel strands, and gives it excellent flexibility.
This is the best-performing steel leader recommended for lure fishing.
It has less memory, lasts longer, and even if it shows some deformation, as long as it doesn't fray, it's perfectly usable. Its cost is a little higher than 7- and 19-strand steels, but its durability and performance ultimately make it more attractive.
The ideal leader?
To fish for pike, use leaders 30 to 40 centimetres long and never shorter, as a large pike is capable of swallowing a small lure deeply.
Resistance will affect suppleness, so it must be selected according to the lures used and the resistance of the line body. As a general rule, for pike fishing, this resistance varies between 6 and 20 kilograms.
I recommend leaders made with sleeves; other types of fittings, such as heat welding, are unreliable.
Finally, of the three types of steel presented above, 7x7 is clearly better than the others.
A few references
For pike fishing with lures, the Spro wire leader 7x7 gives me satisfaction with most lures between 15 and 70 grams, and is unfailingly strong.
For use with smaller lures, for example when I'm targeting perch and black bass, but there are pike in the area, I like the Dragon classic surfstrand 7x7, for its extreme suppleness and lightness. It allows me to use small 6-centimetre topwires without any worries.
It is of course possible to make your own steel leaders .
The advantage of using ready-made lines is that they're ready to use, with a swivel to connect them to the line body. It also makes it easy to widen your choice, with different strengths and flexes.
