# Braided line for every lure?



## FishermanMurph (Jan 29, 2012)

I'm wondering how many different lures you guys like to use or have used with braided line? I mostly use it for frog fishing lily pads but am thinking of trying it out on spinner baits and cranks this year.


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## lordofthepunks (Feb 24, 2009)

you've been doing it right, don't change now...


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## USMC_Galloway (May 13, 2011)

I have no problem using it all the time . I have braid on all my reels 15-20 lbs . I will use a floro leader if the water is super clear though. 

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## Bon3s (Sep 4, 2012)

I use braid with everything except on my ultra light.

Have caught just as many fish just a frequently with braid as with anything else.

I think its more of a confidence thing than the fish actually noticing.


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## Scum_Frog (Apr 3, 2009)

What your throwing braid for right now is all you need to throw it on. When throwing braid on cranks and so forth you need to realize it will change the action of the crank and also the depth the crank will be listed to run....

weather your throwing cranks, spinnerbaits, lift plastics.....stick with mono....or some on floro but def not all for braid....its truthfully overkill. Most situations im flipping 17lb mono. I do not like braid unless I really need it around structure. 

Your preference though man you throw what feels right too you and makes you the most confident.


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## Bassbme (Mar 11, 2012)

Just say no to braid. lol Seriously though. I'm with those that say braid isn't for everything. For the frogs you mentioned or for flipping and pitching into heavy cover, definitely. For other kinds of stuff? Why? Braid doesn't stretch or has very little stretch. It can actually hurt your chances of landing fish on crank baits. Especially if you don't have the right action rod. Personally for me, braid is strictly for slack, or semi slack line presentations. If I'm fishing a lure that's moving, I'm not going to be using braid. 

If you're trolling and flat lining lures 100' behind the boat, it's a different story. But for casting...... no thanks.


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## Rasper (Sep 6, 2012)

I like braid for jigs period but cranks noo maybe spinnerbait around cover. Oh i do texas rigged plastics with braid too but thats it.


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## Intimidator (Nov 25, 2008)

Murph
If you are a Money or Tourny fisherman, then you need to use specific tackle and lines for proper presentation of lures!

If you are like me, a person that fishes for fun and relaxation and that doesn't want all the expense and headaches of carrying all the different "Proper" stuff....then yes, you can LEARN to properly use Braid for EVERYTHING.
First you must understand the Pros and Cons of braid and counter the Cons with your technique and tackle...power hook-sets are the main thing you cannot do, other than that, everything else works just fine. For longer casts go with the Nanofil!


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## afellure12 (May 14, 2012)

So, not to sidetrack the thread, but as someone new to bass fishing, what is frog fishing? Googled it and didn't really find much.


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## Govbarney (Jan 3, 2011)

I only use braid when I am throwing heavy crank, or Bama rigs. 

For most of my applications Berkley Fireline with a flouro Leader works great. 

For Ultralight applications its always P-Line FloroClear
in-fact I am starting to replace everything where i don't require a rigid no-stretch line with P-Line FloroClear, great great line.


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## fishingful (Apr 5, 2004)

I have used braid for everything for years. With the exception of gills....then its 4lb green. I will tie a fluro leader on it 99% of the time.


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## USMC_Galloway (May 13, 2011)

afellure12 said:


> So, not to sidetrack the thread, but as someone new to bass fishing, what is frog fishing? Googled it and didn't really find much.


This is a frog, get some, enjoy the summer!


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## StuckAtHome (Apr 29, 2004)

Braid for everything, it gets better the more you use it, the benefits outweigh the drawbacks, love being able to feel exactly what's going on.

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## Bassbme (Mar 11, 2012)

afellure12 said:


> So, not to sidetrack the thread, but as someone new to bass fishing, what is frog fishing? Googled it and didn't really find much.


Hollow bodied frogs fished over the top of submerged or matted weeds is probably the most popular form of frog fishing. But you can fish them as a normal top water out in open water. I know a lot of people that fish them like that, and do very well with them. Personally if I'm fishing open water I prefer to use a top water lure that has treble hooks. 

The main advantage of hollow bodied frogs, or even frogs like Zooms Horny Toad, which is a soft plastic frog with a solid body and action legs, is that they're very weedless. As you can see from the picture that USMC Galloway posted, most hollow bodied frogs have a double hook that rests against the collapsible body. They're great for the aforementioned weeds or for fishing a top water lure in lay down trees. 

They're a blast to fish, but really need to be fished on pretty heavy tackle if you're fishing them in heavy cover. You need power to get the fish up and out of the weeds, and skiing to you on top of the water.


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## FishermanMurph (Jan 29, 2012)

Thanks for all the informative responses. Crankbaits is one of the reasons why I've held back from using braid all the time. Fishing from a kayak, I'm limited on the a amount of rods I can bring so it helps being able to use rods for multiple lures and right now, my only rod with braid is only used for frogging and if the bass don't want frogs, it just takes up space. So I'm looking into making that rod more useful on those days. Jigging in dense weeds did not cross my mind so I can have that a try. 


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## Intimidator (Nov 25, 2008)

FishermanMurph said:


> Thanks for all the informative responses. Crankbaits is one of the reasons why I've held back from using braid all the time. Fishing from a kayak, I'm limited on the a amount of rods I can bring so it helps being able to use rods for multiple lures and right now, my only rod with braid is only used for frogging and if the bass don't want frogs, it just takes up space. So I'm looking into making that rod more useful on those days. Jigging in dense weeds did not cross my mind so I can have that a try.
> 
> 
> Posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire


I cranked all the time with braid....mainly throwing Lucky Crafts and Frenzy Flickers. The small diameter of the braid offers very little water resistance and we figured you might lose a foot of depth (6-10') at the most when "all was said and done"!


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## mo65 (Aug 5, 2011)

Bassbme said:


> Just say no to braid. lol Seriously though. I'm with those that say braid isn't for everything. For the frogs you mentioned or for flipping and pitching into heavy cover, definitely. For other kinds of stuff? Why? Braid doesn't stretch or has very little stretch. It can actually hurt your chances of landing fish on crank baits. Especially if you don't have the right action rod. Personally for me, braid is strictly for slack, or semi slack line presentations. If I'm fishing a lure that's moving, I'm not going to be using braid.
> 
> If you're trolling and flat lining lures 100' behind the boat, it's a different story. But for casting...... no thanks.


I have to totally agree with Bassbme on this one...braid is not a good choice for cranking...just look at the pros responses on this. If you only want one rod in the kayak...just spool it with 15lb. fluoro...and get the best "overall" performance for a variety of baits. :G


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## Shaggy (Oct 24, 2008)

I just love to read all the responses when a question like this is asked. It makes you wonder how there can be so many different replies.

I fish almost exclusively plastics for LM Bass. I consider a spinnerbait with skirt and trailer a plastic and I either use Nanofil or a good braid for everything. I throw swim baits instead of cranks as well. For finesse techniques the fact a quality braid has no memory is a big plus but what really sold me is with braid you can tell the difference, with a little practice, between your bait ticking the top of grass and a lite bite. It just feels different. The best advise was already given...use what you feel comfortable with but put a little money in the budget for some experimentation. Just experiment with fluoro last. I hate the stuff. Sorry Mo.


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## Bassbme (Mar 11, 2012)

How about that !!!..... Of the 17 replies to the OP's question, 12 of them dealt directly with his question. And the results were an exact split ..... 6-6 !!!


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## PapawSmith (Feb 13, 2007)

Nice to see a thread where everyone is staying on topic and maintaining a constructive discussion. I don't really disagree with anyone here because I believe the braid/mono choice is mainly a preference, method, and fishing style decision. I personally use braid for everything except one spinning rig I use for trick worms. I admittedly know it is not the best but do use braid on my crank rods but I use a 7' 3" med action stick with a moderate tip to provide a bit of 'give' on a strike. I do very little cranking and have never had an issue with missed fish this way, at least not in excess of using mono. 
I am primarily a shallow water pitch/flip and power fisherman and braid very much excels, IMO, for this style fishing. Once you get used to braid it is difficult to handle or adjust to the stretch in the mono lines, at least for me it is. My good friend and occasional tourney partner however fishes strictly with mono and can't adjust to the 'no-stretch' in braid.
It is all about how you fish, what stick you have in your hand, whats tied to it, and what line you are comfortable fishing with.


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## young-gun21 (Mar 14, 2006)

Braid is best when fishing around vegetation and it handles much better on a spinning reel. 

Fluorocarbon has been one of the biggest, if not the biggest, advancements in fishing tackle over the last decade, in my opinion. 

At the end of the day, we probably care more about the line that we use then the fish actually do. But i personally feel that in about 80% of my fishing, fluorocarbon will help me catch more fish throughout the process (presentation through landing).

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S3


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## Fishing Flyer (May 31, 2006)

I like braid with fluorocarbon leaders. I have pure fluoro on my spinning rods, but I'm thinking about going back to braid with fluoro on those as well. I end up re-spooling fluoro often each season, after loosing line to twist, memory, and the ensuing wind knots. Anyone else have this issue, or have methods for eliminating the problem on spinning gear?


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## Bassbme (Mar 11, 2012)

Fishing Flyer said:


> I like braid with fluorocarbon leaders. I have pure fluoro on my spinning rods, but I'm thinking about going back to braid with fluoro on those as well. I end up re-spooling fluoro often each season, after loosing line to twist, memory, and the ensuing wind knots. Anyone else have this issue, or have methods for eliminating the problem on spinning gear?
> 
> 
> Posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire


As you've already found out ..... fluorocarbon line and spinning gear don't go well together. Especially if the reel has a smaller diameter spool. There are a couple of different fluorocarbon lines that handle better on spinning gear than any others I've tried. Seaguar InvizX handles pretty well, and is in the same price range as most other 100% fluorocarbon lines. When treated with KVD line conditioner, it handles almost as well as a comparably sized nylon mono does. It's major downfall IMO, is that it stretches as much as regular mono does.

Seaguar Tatsu is considerably higher priced ($40 for a 200 yard spool) but it is by far the best handling fluorocarbon line I have ever used on spinning gear. I just started using it this year, so my experience with it is limited. Based on initial observations and limited usage it is going to be a great line. I'm using 10# test on Shimano Saros 3000's and absolutely love it. Money well spent in my book. 

As far as wind knots and line twist, there are a couple of things that you can do to help with those. If you're not already doing it, start by using your off hand to close the bail instead of turning the reel handle to close it. That will help eliminate some line twist. It will also put your hand in position to give the line a little pull to tighten it up on the spool before you start your retrieve. I also lift my rod a little to bring tension to the line before I start my retrieve. Of course there are certain lures that are going to induce line twist no matter what you do. In those cases you just have to grin and bear it. Also ... instead of respooling new line, you can use a well known trick for getting the twist out of your existing line.

If you are fishing from a boat, simply cut everything off the end of your line and let line out behind your boat as you're moving. When you have a sufficient amount of line out, close the bail and let the line trail behind the boat for a little while. Then just start reeling in the line while holding it between your finger tips. Any twist still left in the line will be pushed towards the loose end by your finger tips. If fishing from shore just let out enough line then pinch your fingers on the line as you reel in.


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## USMC_Galloway (May 13, 2011)

Using swivles on lures that spin will also help keep the wind knots and line twist down.


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## young-gun21 (Mar 14, 2006)

Just to add to points made on fluorocarbon w/ spinning reels...

Having a lighter drag setting, and back reeling when possible are also supposed to help with this issue. When line is pulled out of the spool it causes friction - which in turn causes twists. 

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S3


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## JohnPD (Jun 12, 2012)

Also to help line twist etc., try closing the bail by hand instead of with the reel handle. It also helps even more if you close the bail by hand just prior to your lure hitting the water. It helps takes up any slack in the line between the bail and the spool.


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## Fishing Flyer (May 31, 2006)

Thanks everyone for the twist advice. I always close the bail by hand, but I don't usually back reel. I have been using Invizx on my drop shot rod, and go through it like crazy. Drop shot is notorious for twist though I guess. I re-spooled probably three times last year. I might try the dragging the line behind the boat trick more often this year. I use 12 lb fluoro on a different spinning setup with a soros 3000, and a bunch of lines I have tried on that one seem to be too stiff and have memory issues. Tatsu might be a good option there.


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## Fishing Flyer (May 31, 2006)

One more thing, I have never treated the line. Does it make a big difference?


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## Bassbme (Mar 11, 2012)

12# test fluorocarbon might be a little big for that 3000 size reel. IMO the Tatsu handles a lot better than InvizX, and the 10# test Tatsu that I am using on my 3000's is pushing it as far as handling goes. The Tatsu is not without memory. When I say it handles beautifully, it does...... but I base that on handling beautifully for fluorocarbon line on a spinning reel. 

As far as treating the line with line conditioner..... it helps some. Fluorocarbon lines don't absorb liquid the way that nylon lines do, so it doesn't help as much as it would with regular mono. I know exactly what you mean about drop shot and line twist. Last year I started putting a small size 10 Spro power swivel about 18" above my hook. It helped with line twist a little, but I stopped doing it because for me, the benefit didn't outweigh the fact that you have two more knots between the hook and the rod.


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## HawgHunter (Apr 13, 2004)

Bassbme said:


> start by using your off hand to close the bail instead of turning the reel handle to close it. That will help eliminate some line twist. It will also put your hand in position to give the line a little pull to tighten it up on the spool before you start your retrieve. .


This tip alone has eliminated probably 80 percent of the problems I have had with "throwing loops" and wind knots.

Scott


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