Normally when I fish flats on an incoming tide I’ll throw out a rod or two rigged with a live bait while I practice on the artificial game. While this method has been productive for me I have gotten the occasional to frequent scare as I’m casting and reds are trolling through and feel the braid from my live bait rods graze their back and they spook and haul tail (literally) in a panic and I lose the opportunity to catch that fish. I fish 20lb powerpro braid, is there a more buoyant braid out there that anyone can recommend that would remedy this problem or is this just the nature of braid? Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.
Any braid allowed to “soak” (as in live/cut bait fishing) will absorb some water and will therefore sink so I don’t know that a “more buoyant” braid is going to be your fix. Nylon monofilament absorbs water too. Fluorocarbon absorbs considerably less but it’s more dense than water and therefore sinks.
No matter how much it hurts, how dark it gets, or how far you fall…you are never out of the fight.
I can’t imagine that the braid is what spooked those reds. They spend the day swimming through grass and I’m sure the little bump they might feel from your line isn’t what is doing it.
Capt. R. Killin
“Day Tripper”
Shamrock 20 cuddy
Ford 351W
Any time I’ve ever allowed line to touch a red on the flat, they’ve spooked… And that’s 100% of the time. I’ve found that if they are up there in the shallows, they are easily spooked when they encounter much of anything that’s not normal to them. I’ve seen one red spook another one more than one occasion. If I were you and I was set on fishing live bait while throwing artificials, I would simply drown that bait in a place that wasn’t anywhere near where I was throwing the artificial or fly. And I think they can tell a difference between something like braid and the grass that they normally push through. Perhaps it’s not the actual braid that spooks then so much as the resistance that braid puts on him, just a thought.
Redfish Baron Extraordinaire
quote:
Originally posted by 23SailfishAny time I’ve ever allowed line to touch a red on the flat, they’ve spooked… And that’s 100% of the time. I’ve found that if they are up there in the shallows, they are easily spooked when they encounter much of anything that’s not normal to them. I’ve seen one red spook another one more than one occasion. If I were you and I was set on fishing live bait while throwing artificials, I would simply drown that bait in a place that wasn’t anywhere near where I was throwing the artificial or fly. And I think they can tell a difference between something like braid and the grass that they normally push through. Perhaps it’s not the actual braid that spooks then so much as the resistance that braid puts on him, just a thought.
Redfish Baron Extraordinaire
I agree, thank you.