I get a lot of questions about how to rig leaders for surf fishing. I'm not saying this is the "Only way" or the 'Best way", but it's my way, and it's been proven to work time and time again. This is a basic steel leader for casting that I use during the summer or when sharks are around. It works great for sharks, reds,drum, jacks, stingrays, or anything else that can be caught in the surf. For these smaller casting leaders I like to stick with smaller leader material in the 100# to 250# range. I understand that there are Great Whites in the Gulf, but your chances of catching one casting off the beach in Texas are pretty slim, so you don't need 1500# cable, so stick with the smaller size leader. In this case I'm using 135# because I had it in my box, but you can vary up or down in size depending on availability. To start off with cut 2 pieces of leader material around 24" long and one around 18". Here again this isn't rocket science, if you cut 2 30" and one 26" it will still work, the important part being that 1 is shorter than the other 2. Attach one end of a 24" piece of leader to a swivel, in this case I'm using a 4/0 size, always double or triple crimp all connections, big fish have a way of finding any weakness in your rig. I also cover all my crimps with heat shrink tubing. It's not necessary, but it looks cool and keep the crimps from ripping my hands open while leadering fish. Now attach the other end of piece of leader with the swivel to one end of a 3-way swivel, this is also a 4/0 size. Once that's completed, take your other 24" piece of leader material and attach one end to a snap swivel for your sinker and the other end to the 3-way swivel. Now you take the 18" piece of leader material and attach one end to the drop on the 3-way swivel and the other end to your hook, in this case a 9/0 Lazer Trokar circle. When it come to hooks, as with the leader material, your not trying to land "JAWS", so there is no need for giant hooks. I try to match my hooks to the size bait I'm using, so I keep a assortment of circle hooks in the 5/0 to 10/0 range. Now you have a simple, affordable, and durable leader that will hold up to anything your going to catch on a casted line.