Hey guys,
Wanted to start a discussion on line. What do ya’ll use. Currently for the stripers I am running mono and flourocarbon, though I do have some reels for them that are powerpro and flourocarbon topshots. What do you guys think? I am respooling all my rods this weekend and can’t decide if I want braided and top shots or straight mono. I do hate how mono will curl up on you after a while. We used powerpro and topshots on every reel offshore fishing but the topshots were lonnngggg so they had some stretch. on the lake I am wondering with less topshot would the limited stretch of braid not have good hook ups slow trolling for the stripers. What you guys think?
Wellcraft V20, 175 Yamaha
Formula 25 SC Express, Mercruiser 260
When I pull free lines / planner boards and down rods I use 8 to 15 pound berkley big game mono … The only time I use heavier line is when i cut bait and pull big big baits.
I’ll never use braid
…Sundance b22 …
140 Johnson
I have a limited number of rods, so these days I just keep all my baitcasters spooled with 15’ mono and use 15# flouro leaders. Seems to me like a good middle weight to fish both live and cut bait.
JMO, but I’ve always been hesitant about using something like 20# with a 10# or 12# leader because I don’t like the idea of having the leader being the weak point. I like to be able to pick up a rod at anytime and check the drag by pulling down on the line at the end of the rod, so it could feel good when pulling off 20# test and still be too tight if your leader is only half that. Same thing goes for when you get someone tightening down on the drag with a fish on.
Good stuff guys. Now I use mono as it has a 3:1 shock stretch when a fish strikes. I was thinking of trying braid and flouro top shot as it doesn’t get curly and need replacing a lot. We will see I haven’t decided. One things for sure 10 lbs flour is a lot stronger than mono the same weight and is much more productive as leaders. For a while I ran both mono and flour leaders in our spread to test and flouro was more productive. My .02
Wellcraft V20, 175 Yamaha
Formula 25 SC Express, Mercruiser 260
Spinning reels with braid and fluoro leader. Baitcaster reels are mono with fluoro leader. Thinking seriously about going with braid on them too. I like having my main line heavier than my leader for my rods that may be used with planer boards… that way when I get hung up on the bottom, I can break the leader off but still reel my planer board in, because the lighter leader breaks 1st (usually). Don’t have to turn around and mess up my fishing to go track my planer board down.
I use 15lb Ande on almost every real I have with the exception of a few that have 12lb Ande. I also use Flourocarbon leaders that are 2-3lbs lighter than the main line for reasons already noted in the thread. I have tried braid and really like it on spinning rods but for me its not worth the mess when a 20 inch fish grabs one and takes across the stern wrapping up my other three spinning rods and then you have one BIG braid knot that become virtually impossible to untie…matter of fact you may as well just start cutting. So for me I went back to mono and deal with the curl ups
Richy
“My biggest worry is that my wife (when I’m dead) will sell my fishing gear for what I said I paid for it.”
mono all the way to the bait,6-15lb test except on cutbait,loose drag,it always works for me,ande is my 1st choice.need a leader,got a full spool of it on my reel;
One thing I do often is cut off my leaders and let out a ton of mono while I’m cruising slowly and drag them a few minutes. Then reel them in and they are not curly anymore at all. That and storing mono and flouro in a fridge helps. I don’t know though…I still might switch some rods over to see what we think.
Wellcraft V20, 175 Yamaha
Formula 25 SC Express, Mercruiser 260
I prefer both braid and fluorocarbon for their lack of stretch. I want to be able to set the hook hard when fishing spoons. I’ve mentioned before that I use larger than furnished hooks on all of my spoons to give me a better chance of landing the big ones when they hit the spoons. I do understand only too well the problems with braid and tangles, but since I only fish a couple of rods at a time I don’t usually have much of a problem. I usually fish a slightly lighter pound test when using a hook and leader. That way most of the time I only lose the leader and hook and can re-tie quicker.
I prefer #20 P-Line Fluoroclear as my main line and #15 Seagaur as my leader when pulling boards. The reason as stated above is I can reel in my planer or cork without having to turn around when I get hung. Downrods are usually #12-#15 with #10-#12 fluorocarbon leader. When fishing timber, I will go as heavy as #30 with #20-#25 leader.
Whatever the leader is, that is the test you’re really fishing; so set the drag accordingly. I’ve never understood why guys would boast about having 50 pound braid with say 12 pound leader:question: They’re really just fishing 12 pound line where the hook meets the jaw. Line curling issues with mono could be the only viable reason.
One reason people probably spool their spinning reels with 50 pound braid is the diameter. If you spool a large spinning reel with 15 pound braid, even though you put 300 yards on it, it won’t fill up the spool because it is so small in diameter. If you ever plan to cast it, it won’t cast well unless the spool is filled up out near the edge of the lip… You can put on a bunch of mono backer line I guess as an alternative. I have two of my larger Baitrunners spooled with 50. I can tie on a 12 pound leader if I’m fishing Murray, or if I’m at a lake that has a lot of timber I can tie on a 20 or 30 pound leader for a big bait rod. Like Fog and some others said above, you’ve always got to get your drag right for your weakest link. Also, One of these days I’m gonna try to land me a Tarpon on that rod
I guess too that heavy braid on spinning reels is good for Bamma rigging. Though I don’t do it much, I use spinning tackle to cast rigs. With baitcasters, you run the risk of getting hung while you pick out a backlash. That’s $'s if you can’t get the rig back.
I’m home today with my 2 flu boys. They’re on the mend but have been out most of the week. Jennifer and I have been alternating days off to stay with them. Yes. We got our shots and our tamiflu as prevetion. Yall get your shot if you haven’t already!
I spent most of my DuPont career working in Textile Fibers, and was on the DuPont/Stren pro-fishing team. We used an Instron to measure elongation, breaking strength, tenacity, etc, of various fibers. One of the things I learned from this is that, there is much more stretch (elongation) than most people realize. I seldom use a leader that is lower break strength than the main line. The reason is, the main line has so much more stretch (elongation) than a 2 to 4 foot leader, it is rare that the leader does not break before the main line. To use 20 lb. main line and a 17 lb. leader is like using 17 lb. line on the entire reel.
My two cents, which is probably worth less than two cents.
I know a lot of guys who are very successful with light line and their records stand for themselves, but I tend to lean towards the heavier side. I like 20lb Momoi Hi Catch Diamond Mono in blue color and 20lb Seaguar Blue Label Flourocarbon on leaders for pulling boards and free lining.
Will lighten main lines on my lighter rods to 16lb Momoi mono and 12lb Seaguar leaders when they go deep during the summer and the bite turns to down rodding. I would probably get more bites if I went to 10lb or lighter main line…but still can’t bring myself to respool all of my rods with really light line. Might experiment with a couple rods this year though because you have to get the bite first before you can catch or lose it! Too many guys in the club are successful with really light line for there to not be something to it. Maybe I can talk myself into 12lb…
Cut baiting during spring and summer = 20lb Momoi mono and same 20lb mono line for leader. A lot of times you have to pull them out of hangups on the bottom, so heavier line makes sense as long as you can cast it a good distance from your setup. No flourocarbon - seems unnecessary given the fishing method and too expensive to break off.
I agree with billfish but do use 15 diamond for main line and 12 pound seaguar red label or blue label for leader line when i pull PL and FL and DR for cut bait i use 20 pound berkely big game mono and 16 yozuri hybrid
