HEN I first started sportfishing in the 1970s leaders weren’t really a thing. It was all mono fishing line back then and we used a “trace” down to the hook if you needed something heavier than your mainline to protect against a fishes teeth, etc. All traces were joined to the mainline via a swivel or brass ring which these days sounds very agricultural and basic. I guess some people still fish that way with bait but bear in mind that a lot of modern gamefishing still relies on the use of mono mainline and heavy traces run to hooks or lures that are
