Whats the highest pound test i should go. I fish alot of clear water so the fish can get skittish so i need to be very stealthy, I have been using 12lb and i have never broke off, but i need thicker line for some bigger baits and want some more covidence for when i hook some big fish. I was thinking 17lb fluro... What do you guys recommended? Thanks for any answers.
I've never had good luck with mono or fluoro on baitcasters, because if the reel isn't set perfectly, you'll get a bird's nest that goes all the way to the spool. You can remedy that by putting a piece of tape on the reel, say 30 or 40' in and then you will only backlash to that point. Bill Dance taught me that one.
I usually use braid with about a 7-10' flouro leader, which seems to work pretty well. I use 20lb Berkely Vanish and rarely get bite offs from pickerel, and seem to catch a fair amount of bass. I even use it for ice fishing leaders for pike and stuff...it's pretty tough.
I usually use braid with about a 7-10' flouro leader, which seems to work pretty well. I use 20lb Berkely Vanish and rarely get bite offs from pickerel, and seem to catch a fair amount of bass. I even use it for ice fishing leaders for pike and stuff...it's pretty tough.
For awhile i was using 30lb power pro with 12lb fluro, but im just not a huge fan of leaders. I would trade some sensitivity for covidence. As for backlashes go that is a thing of the past for me. The new JM carbonlite has a superior DBS that can be controlled without taking off the side plate. I can chuck a 1/8oz lure nice and far without backlashes. So im not worrierd about backlashing.
there you go. i use 6-8 lb for the drop shot, 10 lb. for cranking, 12-15 lb. "all around" for spinnerbaits / jigs / texas rigs / you name it, and 17-20 for pitching.
several good kinds out there and im sure everyone has their own preference. some good ones are berkley trilene, seaguar invisx, or p-line.
several good kinds out there and im sure everyone has their own preference. some good ones are berkley trilene, seaguar invisx, or p-line.
I've never had good luck with mono or fluoro on baitcasters, because if the reel isn't set perfectly, you'll get a bird's nest that goes all the way to the spool. You can remedy that by putting a piece of tape on the reel, say 30 or 40' in and then you will only backlash to that point. Bill Dance taught me that one.
I usually use braid with about a 7-10' flouro leader, which seems to work pretty well. I use 20lb Berkely Vanish and rarely get bite offs from pickerel, and seem to catch a fair amount of bass. I even use it for ice fishing leaders for pike and stuff...it's pretty tough.
not to say your wrong, but to say line isnt the issue. i started out with braid on my first baitcaster and nested everyother cast, and braid would cut up my fingers trying to get it out. you just have to get the feel for the reel and how it works. i use fluro more that any line i have. you have to remember if you only have one baitcaster and your using different baits/ lures say from a spinnerbait to a 1/4 oz jig you HAVE to adjust the brakes before you cast or you will nest up. thats where people can start to think its the line.
you can use any type/test of line on baitcasters you just have to tune them. and its sounds way more complicated than it really is.
if your using braid for alot of lures you can lose the presentation.
and lunkerhunter, if i were you id go with 15-17lb trilene 100% flurocarbon, awesome smooth casting line, real tough great feel/sensitivity and great casting, little to no line memory and can last. its a little on the expensive side but its 100% worth it. you get what you pay for
I've spooled up all my freshwater gear the same way I got all my saltwater stuff but on a smaller/lighter scale. I spooled them up with 20-50 pound power-pro and I use short 2'-3' flouro carbon leaders tied on using and albright knot. This weekend I was fishing big swimbaits in a lake that holds bass, pike, and tiger muskie so I was using 3 pound seagar flouro carbon. The fish didn't seem to care as I caught plenty of dink bass and pickerel and hooked into a few larger fish. I don't think using heavier line spooks the fish as much as we think. I do agree that sometimes you got to scale down your entire presentation but there is usually another reason as to why fish won't bite. This past ice fishing season I was using 50 and 60 pound flouro leaders while pike fishing and still managed to catch plenty of bass and smaller fish. The only application I strictly use mono for in freshwater anymore is when trout fishing.
Not to start any kind of debate here (full disclosure: I fish spinning gear now having put aside the baitcasting for bass many years ago), but it sure sounds as if the problem lies in technique rather than in the type or weight of the line.
Backing line, changing out old line, adding heavy leader onto light line all seems to be part of the answer here. I can't imagine needing such heavy line for bass unless you're casting into muck, undergrowth and submerged limbs and don't want to lose your tackle. Even then, it almost sounds like fishing for muskies and not bass!
And as was said, getting your thumb in there to prevent rats nests will help, along with keeping your line clean. I was watching a guy this afternoon (too cold for me so I just watched) sending yards of curling line off his baitcasting rig. I don't think he'ld changed his line out in a year or more.
I rarely went above 20lb leaders on 15-18lb test line with something heavier for backing if I had a deep spool. Change out the old line regularly.
Sounds as if you might benefit from some rigs to bring your lures down the depth you want without getting tangles? I'll sacrifice a weight on a lighter line off a three way swivel any day to losing a lure.
This is not to be critical, this is just harking back to early manual bait caster models when you had to pay attention to all the little factors, line was incredibly expensive and we all couldn't afford heavy weight braid.
Try it.
Backing line, changing out old line, adding heavy leader onto light line all seems to be part of the answer here. I can't imagine needing such heavy line for bass unless you're casting into muck, undergrowth and submerged limbs and don't want to lose your tackle. Even then, it almost sounds like fishing for muskies and not bass!
And as was said, getting your thumb in there to prevent rats nests will help, along with keeping your line clean. I was watching a guy this afternoon (too cold for me so I just watched) sending yards of curling line off his baitcasting rig. I don't think he'ld changed his line out in a year or more.
I rarely went above 20lb leaders on 15-18lb test line with something heavier for backing if I had a deep spool. Change out the old line regularly.
Sounds as if you might benefit from some rigs to bring your lures down the depth you want without getting tangles? I'll sacrifice a weight on a lighter line off a three way swivel any day to losing a lure.
This is not to be critical, this is just harking back to early manual bait caster models when you had to pay attention to all the little factors, line was incredibly expensive and we all couldn't afford heavy weight braid.
Try it.
not to say your wrong, but to say line isnt the issue. i started out with braid on my first baitcaster and nested everyother cast, and braid would cut up my fingers trying to get it out. you just have to get the feel for the reel and how it works. i use fluro more that any line i have. you have to remember if you only have one baitcaster and your using different baits/ lures say from a spinnerbait to a 1/4 oz jig you HAVE to adjust the brakes before you cast or you will nest up. thats where people can start to think its the line.
you can use any type/test of line on baitcasters you just have to tune them. and its sounds way more complicated than it really is.
if your using braid for alot of lures you can lose the presentation.
I won't argue its all about feel - once you figure it out, you can cast any weight lure with any line, no issue. But, when you get a backlash with braid, it doesn't mess up an entire reels worth of line. It packs tight on the spool, and, in my experience, will only backlash to a certain point, which is far from where I tied the line to the spool. I guess its personal preference, and I like the braid!
As for the presentation issues, that is why I use a flouro leader. I plan on trying some more light weight set ups this year with it, and we'll see how it goes!
Last edited by volume4130 on Thu Mar 29, 2012 5:22 pm; edited 1 time in total
Im new to the largemouth bass fishing scene in small lakes like around here but why do you use 17 lb test for a bass. I have reeled in plenty of 20-25 lb salmon with 15 lb flourocarbon with a 7'6" medium heavy rod and rarely have any break offs. And there is alot of rocks in the river the fish like to swim near. Just curious not trying to bash anyones technique
