than a single strand of Titanium wire that is .018 - .025 of an inch in diameter. The reason for that is related to the exaggerated bending and twisting associated with the wire. The matter boils down to a question of confidence. When you use a traditional steel leader, you can tell when it is time to replace the leader based upon evidence of bending and the stress of use. Unlike the steel leader, the Titanium leader does not display any indication that a problem exists regarding the fatigue of the metal. The illustration shown here demonstrates that metal fatigue can exist in the sub-surface of the metal without any external indication of failure. All of a sudden, the leader fails, and you are left to wonder what in the heck happened. So, what can be done? Well, you cannot change the basic characteristic of metal to fatigue. Certainly, leaders get one heck of a workout during a Musky season and there is no formula that one could apply that would forecast a threshold for replacement. Another area of concern with Titanium leaders, and any other leader that uses a mechanical crimp to close the leader loops, is related to pull strength. There have been problems reported with leader crimps pulling out at less than the rated strength of the leader. Before you buy a leader using crimps, you might want to ask if each leader is "pull tested" to verify its rating. As a general rule of thumb, you can replace your Titanium leaders at the end of each Musky season. Of course, that can be costly but the possibility of losing a Musky to a failed leader far outweighs the cost associated with leader replacement or you
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