fishing line

[frankt]

i have read some of the posts about lines used in black lake. im looking for some advice on either using a monofilliment line or braided line. usually i have my family with me and we fish with live worms or crabs sometimes minnows and soft baits , is braided line good for fishing for bass and keeping the pike from break offs , what pound and color line ? or any other advice would be great. would braided also help agaist the line being cut by rubbing against zebra muscles, any advice would be great , thank you

[Gary]

Hi Frank,
I posted a thread about 3 weeks ago on pike cutting off braid.
I like braid allot, I have used PowerPro for 4 or 5 years on 4 different poles.
The pros:
It is very sensitive, as it has no stretch. You can feel even the slightest action on the end if the line doesn't have any slack in it.
It has no "memory" and less problem with line twist.
You don't need to "cross their eyes" when setting the hook.
Pound for pound, it will cast easier than mono.
It last a long time and you can turn it, end for end, when it starts to ware.

The cons:
It can be a little "wispy" and get tangled on the end of your pole.
If you reel it on loose and over it tightly, the top coils can imbed in the lower coils.
If you hold it in your hand and pull on a snag, you can cut yourself very badly.
And yes, it does cut easily by a pike, or I suppose a muscle as well.

I only use green in 20 pd test on 3 casting reels and a size 4000 Shimano spinning reel.
I fish mostly plastic and spinner baits. (no live bait).

Now, to avoid bite offs, I use a 30 pound floro. leader. So far, no cut line and the fish don't seem to mind. I like yellow line, but green seems to be more available when I need it. 20 or 25 floro may be just as good. If the leader gets scratched, I just cut off 6 in. or so and retie.

The actual size of braid has as much to do with the diameter as the pound test. For me, I like 20lb because I am in the weeds most of the time. 20 pound braid is = to 8 or 10 pd mono. that is fine enough for me. I could easily use 30 pd braid.

My suggestion (and I am going out on a limb).
For example, if you have a 2500 spinning reel, try 15 pd braid with a 10 to 20 pound floro carbon leader. Use a double uni knot. Younger kids should stick with mono. line, as they tend to have enough problems as is.

As a side note, we are going to BL in the morning for 2 weeks. Staying at "The Happy Fisherman"

Hope this helps and I am sure others will join in.

Best Regards,

Gary

[wildchild]

Well put Gary! I use Power Pro allot and am a fan. I also like Fireline Crystal. I only use mono on my baitcasters though, problems with the braid sinking into itself.

[Gary]

I tried Fire Line, and is good, but it seems to make a little more noise going out through the pole guides.

The braid will sink into its self. Especially reels that weren't designed with the spool isolation for braid. I've casted off several lures because of that. It doesn't look good when people are watching. My wife uses braid on her about 5 year old Shimano Sahara reel with no problem. However, she doesn't cast very hard. But she does catch fish.

Gary

[wildchild]

The fireline does make more noise, I have noticed that as well. Yeh I lost several $10 lures using the braid on my Steez(I bought it used) either after catching a nice fish or freeing a snag. Went back to 14# mono, can't cast quite as far but have not thrown a lure into the next count either! With the 10# fireline crystal I seem to do better than with the 10# Powerpro though in clear water situations. But most places that I fish are either loaded with stumps or heavy weed growth, so 20# powerpro has proven itself worthy in these situations. For soft plastics in open and clear water I have found 6-8# Berkley Vanish flourocarbon to be about as good as it gets. So many line choices these days, back in the day you had nothing but a brand and strength of mono.

[Gary]

Sounds like I'll have to come up there and go some testing.
I'll be there in about 4 hours. If I we ever get out of the house.

Good Fishin,

Gary