Fishing line

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Tag Watson on February 12, 2014 at 7:43pm

No amount of spinach or steroids is going to make you break a well-tied NBK, 65# braid to 25# or 30# leader on a hookset.  Your rod will bust in half well before one of the knots break, I promise.

When using lighter line, it's just important to remember to use a nice firm reel/pressure set vs. a Conan gorilla hookset.   

Chris Blandi said:

I think my biggest problem will be Will I take enough uummpphh off the hookset since I'll be using braid more.  Some of these fish catch you off guard and when they strike it's usually a good surprise, Tag knows lol.

Permalink Reply by Ronald Hobbs, Jr. on February 12, 2014 at 7:56pm

I always thought that knot was called an Albright have been using it for years I Love it for all joining purposes..... guess I have been people the wrong knot to tie and confusion with guys saying I was tieing it wrong LOL. I know I have showed alot of guys how to tie and telling them the wrong name I am not very smart Bertolini knot.....or just Berto knot just as good....ha ha I am confused! Almost as good as the knot my partner uses...Wolsky....called the butt hole knot, he doesn't know the real name I have watched him tie it, it not for junctions, but basically you wrap the line around than stick it back through the buttholes...hence the name....butthole knot LOL

Permalink Reply by Ronald Hobbs, Jr. on February 12, 2014 at 8:01pm

I don't like using that long of leaders I think 4 feet is more than enough, swimbaits mesmerized fish they are not looking four foot ahead of your bait they are looking right at it.

Permalink Reply by Ronald Hobbs, Jr. on February 12, 2014 at 8:26pm

Another question.....65# braid....why? Why not 40#? Because they said so? You can see 30# flouro just as well as 40# braid imo. Isn't 40# breaking strength good enough...your rod would break before the line? 30# flouro. Should break before it as well. Is it because if you get an overrun you don't cracker your $150 bait off? Just wondering.... not saying anybody is right or wrong but I always wondered are we giving these pea size brains of fish too much credit.

Permalink Reply by Chris Blandi on February 12, 2014 at 10:06pm

Ron is right for sure on many of his points.  I agree the bass, even a smart mama doesn't care 10 feet up the line, if it's following it's keyed in and is only thinking about one thing, a meal.  As for the 65 lb, I see what your saying too.  65 is just the standard for heavy cover, I guess when you're in open water 40 is plenty.  But then again, why not 65 if the fish isn't seeing it anyway.  It's all personal preference and what you're confident in.  I've never "casted off" a swimbait, knock on wood.  That happens when these "kids" start swimbait fishing cause it's COOL and they don't even know how to properly cast a brush hawg. (or use crappy equipment) haha.

Permalink Reply by Tag Watson on February 13, 2014 at 5:00am

Ron brings up some valid points and good questions.  My replies below:

As far as the long leader in clear water is concerned, it is about confidence for me.  If I feel like I am being a little more stealth, I fish with more confidence, plain and simple.  If I can see the braid stick out like a sore thumb and the fluoro is less visible to my eye, a longer fluoro leader makes sense to me.  There is no downside to the longer leader that I can see, so I stick with it in clear water.

Regarding the 65# braid, it is the diameter I feel most comfortable using for throwing the heavy 4-5 oz. plus baits and for joining the lb. test leaders I am using.  I throw a lot of 30, 40 and 50 for smaller to medium size swimbaits to achieve extra casting distance and less drag in the water for increased depth control.  If someone wants to run 30 or 40 lb. mainline for heavy swimbaits, I would say give it a go!

I never profess to have the right answers.  I'm just a weekend warrior who likes to make a few casts and chase a big fish when time permits.  I am merely sharing what works for me and what I feel comfortable with.  One of the fun parts of bass fishing to me is experimenting with these types of things to determine the best systems for my style of fishing.  Everyone will have their unique approaches to various techniques.

Good fishin'!

Permalink Reply by Ronald Hobbs, Jr. on February 13, 2014 at 6:06am

Good answers! Just like hearing guys that think on their own, the diameter for the 65# makes more sense to me than anything the closer the diameters of two adjoining knots the better the knot comes together. One thing I found with braid is that the abrasion resistance goes up with pound test. It would sure drop my confidence though when you wind up and throw that bait hard and the knot comes around the spool and slices your thumb open! Honestly I think Don has the best solution to this problem........ Power Pro Hollow Ace.... knot less junction even though it's a sit down at your desk task it's the answer, you could use a 20 foot leader if you wanted too, I know a few guys from California that were using a similiar product for flipping from Toray. I think the guys that like to throw big baits and braid here is you're answer no annoying knots to slice your thumb open or to catch on guides. They have 40# and 60#.

Sometimes I sit back and look at us bass fisherman and kind of chuckle, 65 pound braid 20 to 30 leaders super heavy rods, I confess I am right there too, gosh We ARE USING ALBACORE GEAR FOR BASS! LOL Just funny if you can get outside the bubble and look back in the rest of the industry must think we have gone bonkers!

Permalink Reply by Don Hogue on February 13, 2014 at 8:27am

I've found 50# braid to be the best answer for me. If I drop down below that I start having issues with diameters matching and knots (like Ron mentioned) and also with the braid wanting to dig into itself on the reel.

The Hollow Ace works well - never failed me, but it is a labor, learning, tool intensive thing. Once I figured out how to do it, I would use long (20-30 ft), wind on leaders of 12-20 lb test FC. Those leaders would last for months. On my flipping/pitching rod for example, I spliced a 20lb FC leader into the Hollow Core last Feb. and used it from then till August when I finally put that rod away.

Permalink Reply by Tag Watson on February 13, 2014 at 10:09am

I agree, Ron, some of the the lb. tests and tackle we are using to catch fish under 10 lbs. does seem a bit like overkill.  However, I did experiment in the past with running 40 lb. and 50 lb. braid for frogging to get additional casting distance, and also 50 lb. braid for punching.  I did have 40# and 50# both break (relatively fresh line up from the knot) on the hookset - Power Pro and Suffix Braid which are both quality.  These were nice 6-8+ lb. fish, but I have not had a single failure with 65# test.  You hit the nail on the head with the abrasion resistance aspect of heavy braid.  I've had tungsten weights take their toll on 50# braid (fairly quickly) and have broken that in the past on the hookset as well.  You won't catch me punching with less than 65# now, and I've yet to have a failure.  While I'm only talking a few failures total, that's a few too many for me if one of those bites happens to be an 11 pounder. 

I think it's great that you challenge the status quo and ask these critical questions.  It makes for a better WaFish and helps everyone learn. 

Permalink Reply by Tag Watson on February 13, 2014 at 10:13am

This definitely sounds like the way to go.  I've been intrigued by the splicing option ever since I learned about the concept.  Need to get geared up and give this a try.

Don Hogue said:

I've found 50# braid to be the best answer for me. If I drop down below that I start having issues with diameters matching and knots (like Ron mentioned) and also with the braid wanting to dig into itself on the reel.

The Hollow Ace works well - never failed me, but it is a labor, learning, tool intensive thing. Once I figured out how to do it, I would use long (20-30 ft), wind on leaders of 12-20 lb test FC. Those leaders would last for months. On my flipping/pitching rod for example, I spliced a 20lb FC leader into the Hollow Core last Feb. and used it from then till August when I finally put that rod away.

Permalink Reply by BigBass Dez on February 13, 2014 at 1:35pm

I personally run my main  line with 40 & 50lb Power pro (super slick) when joining 15-20lb FC (Leader line) and Thus far i dont any complaints or regrets.

Through trail and error i have determined that the 40-50lb diameter is what works best for "me" when rigging up Football heads, Swimbaits , spinner baits , & some flip'n Jigs.  (I step it up for frogs )

As tag mentioned above , maximzing your casting distance is one of the important factors that comes into play but also the " Spool Dig" factor is equally important to me as well .
The line diameter with 40-50lb braid doesnt dig into my spool as much as the smaller diameter sizes like 30,25, 20, etc for baitcasters .
So if someone was to ask me why am i using 40-50lb braid in general for bass fishing. My answer revolves around casting comfort and line management overall not the size of the fish im targeting .
(nothing personal albacore anglers)

I am very interested in what Don had to say about the Power pro Hollow ace  Braid . I like what prower pro is saying about the fibers being designed to offer a more powerful connection when joining lines .

Good thread guys!!

 

DEZ  "The Senior"

 

 

Permalink Reply by Russ Kroeker on February 13, 2014 at 2:51pm

That Spool Dig issue that Dez was talking about is the reason I switched to 65# for punching/flipping. I tried it for swimbaits last year, but I just didn't like to feel of it.  Noisy through the guides, etc...

Years ago when I went to El Salto, the guide told us that he would see customers lose fish there for 2 main reasons...number 1, they were using 40# braid or smaller and the wood down there was cutting it off when the fish tried to run behind trees, and number 2, the 40# and smaller diameter braids (like I was using:) were digging into the customer's spools, then jamming and snapping off at the spool.  I ended using 25# mono and lost no fish.  I have had this issue up here with 40# on my reels.  I don't know if I'm agrivating the issue by not initially spooling tight enough?  Or maybe there is some "trick" I'm not aware of???  Line line conditioner?  I love to know if someone has this issue like I have.  Peace!

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