I think people are very mistaken if they think that fish can't see your leader...and your weight, and your boat, and you, too.

Fishing for pressured troots with tiny flies...yeah, they are "educated" and have been caught before, most likely...and they have lots of actual naturals to compare your subpar imitation to, so flourocarbon leaders for chironomid fishing and whatnot is probably a good idea.

Salmon and steelhead? There isn't anything in the natural world that looks or behaves much like anything we throw at them, especially in rivers...why they bite is anyone's guess but I am 100% certain it's not because it looks and acts exactly like something they like to eat and they can't see the leader.

I prefer mono for almost every river application because I think the softness of it gives my lures a much better action, not because they can't see it as well as braid...plenty of fish ate plugs back in my plug fishing days with braid tied directly to the lure. If the anchor rope wouldn't mess up the action of a plug or spoon I suspect you could use it to catch steelhead, too.

Fish on...

Todd