Northwest Fishing Reports

If I'm casting spinners, crankbaits, rapalas and the like for bass, should I use mono or flouro? Does it actually matter? Currently I'm using flouro.

I don't like using leaders at all unless it's needed. The only leader I'll use is for a carolina rig, and I do like using fluoro for that rig. Anytime you use a leader that means additional knots, which means more potential of breaking off.

For line, I use mono for spinnerbaits, crankbaits, and flipping. I like the stretch when using these lures.

I use fluro for dropshotting, jerkbaits and football heads.
For the heavy slop, I'll use braid.

I'm using leaders cuz right now I'm using bright yellow power pro braid. I figured without the leader the fish might be spooked.

I use fluro leaders on mono line as the fluro is supposed to be near invisible to the fish. I can't say I've had any more success with it though.

I've found that when using flouro I have more break-offs than with mono. Flouro seems to be less forgiving when it comes to kinks, sharp toothed critters, knots that aren't tied perfectly, and minor abrasions. I still use it, but not in anything less than 12lb. For the light lines, I go with Maxima Ultragreen. It stretches like a rubber band but always seems to hold up under stress.

You can use a black or blue sharpie to color your hi vis braid and make it less visible. Most of the strikes your getting on those baits are reaction strikes anyways, and the braid shouldn't have too much of an effect on the bite.

bionic_one wrote:I'm using leaders cuz right now I'm using bright yellow power pro braid. I figured without the leader the fish might be spooked.

Sounds like your a power fisherman from what i gather here , Many angler use the braid to Flouro applications for a # of reasons .. Some like the combo on drop shots , Jigs , Football headz , Softbody jerkbaits , topwaters , texas rigs, carolina rigs , etc ..

Nothing mentioned above is Wrong for your combo , Each application has its own advantage at times . Example , During the winter months when fishing deeper depths Braid to flouro will increase your sensitivity greatly and also increase Better hook sets as well ..

Now with that being said Bionic , the flouro game is a very expensive one to play . If you are not using your line on regular bases i would suggest some steps for protection , KVD line conditioner is a must with use of flouro to extend life and decease line memory IMO.

Flouro has many advantages over Regular Mono , But there all many of times when its a non factor IMO . I have been cranking , Jerking with Mono for over 10 years and Honestly overall i dont feel the need to convert over to Flouro FOR THOSE APPLICATIONS..

Now on my Jig stick i do run the Combo (braid2Flouro) , 50lb braid to 20-25 Flouro ! And i have also just this past year ran Braid in 10lb test to 8-10 lb flouro on spinning gear , Mainly for throwing smaller topwater and allowing to increase my casting distance ! As for dropshoting , Im a Co-Polymer kinda angler !

Some anglers i know will use Flouro on mostly all of the rigs they run , I personaly just would not consider it as a requirement !!

Thats my two cents !! Hope you picked up just one helpful tip and if so , salute !!!

BBD

Mainly I use Mono but more recently i've been starting to take a liking to flourocarbon. Good luck.

Picking lines is almost a personal preference, try each out and see what ya like.

Drewp wrote:You can use a black or blue sharpie to color your hi vis braid and make it less visible. Most of the strikes your getting on those baits are reaction strikes anyways, and the braid shouldn't have too much of an effect on the bite.

Great suggestion Drew , I love to do this when throwing KERMIT :-)

G-Man wrote:I've found that when using flouro I have more break-offs than with mono. Flouro seems to be less forgiving when it comes to kinks, sharp toothed critters, knots that aren't tied perfectly, and minor abrasions. I still use it, but not in anything less than 12lb. For the light lines, I go with Maxima Ultragreen. It stretches like a rubber band but always seems to hold up under stress.

I've experienced the same issues w/ Flouro...one day I was talking to Tom at Sportco about these issues...he suggested to try Seaguar, I did and never looked back. The stuff is the best I've tried.

Drewp wrote:You can use a black or blue sharpie to color your hi vis braid and make it less visible. Most of the strikes your getting on those baits are reaction strikes anyways, and the braid shouldn't have too much of an effect on the bite.

Agreed:cheers:

Thanks for all the input folks.

Oh and Dez, I don't know what the hell I'm doing when it comes to Bass, so everything is helpful. Only LMB I ever caught was when I was trolling for Stripers in Lake Moultrie, SC with my uncle @ 14 years old.

bionic, like Gman suggested, one of the reasons I didn't go to a full spool of fluro was due to the lower abrasion resistance, so opted for using about a 6' leader. I think I bought Maxima 10lb. Anyhow, it seems to be very durable and I have not noticed any increase in broken line at the leader than when using mono only. When I was doing my research on going to fluro, there was quite a bit of praise for Pline on this forum. The only reason I didn't buy that at the time was because the store was out of Pline in the # I wanted. FWIW

I'm in the category of using flouro for everything except topwaters (especially frogs - #65lb powerpro exclusively)

I like the added sensitivity and low stretch that flouro has, and as long as you are careful tying your knots, the knot strength is just fine. I tie a palomar for just about everything I do, except jerkbaits and topwaters, which gets a rapala knot. I'm familiar with the reputation of lack of abrasion resistance, but haven't experienced it myself. flouro absorbs water quickly and doesn't float, which is why you don't use it for topwaters, and it can be a bit unruly on spinning gear when you fill the spool all the way, or are fishing the line dry before it has had time to absorb the water which will make it more manageable. Dez mentioned line conditioner, which definitely makes a difference. I actually just use a can of Silicon Spray that I bought at Ace, and spray all my spools down the night before a guide trip, or a tournament, which allows the line to soak it up over night and then it's ready to go in the morning. Try it!

I run 6-8 lb flouro for d-shots and finesse plastics, 8-10lb for jerkbaits, 12-17lb for spinnerbaits and crankbaits, depending on how deep I want to fish them, and I'll use a 30lb powerpro mainline with a 8-10 lb flouro leader for spinning gear when I'm fishing deep stuff. I'm sure it's all a matter of preference and budget, this is just what I've found to work best for me and how I like to fish.
Best,
Dave

I have used both but the go to for me is mono. seems to work cause the fish keep comin. welcome to the bass game, or back to it. 10-12 pound makes for fun times.

I use yo-zuri hybrid line. 12lb on my crank stick and 15 for my topwater/jig rod. My other rods get standard mono, but they are spinning and the fluoro I had on them wasn't very manageable.

Whatever you do stay away from Berkley Vanish. Took the rod out this weekend and had the line splinter break twice on casts. This line was on my cranking setup. Luckily I had been waiting for this line to crap out and switched it over to 12lb yo-zuri. It's stiffer than mono, but I like its characteristics.

Teal101 wrote:
Whatever you do stay away from Berkley Vanish. Took the rod out this weekend and had the line splinter break twice on casts. This line was on my cranking setup. Luckily I had been waiting for this line to crap out and switched it over to 12lb yo-zuri. It's stiffer than mono, but I like its characteristics.

Totally agree about Vanish! When I started out with Fluro I was using Vanish, I had horrible time with it. The big thing about it, it didn't have any knot strength and in a couple weeks it would break anywhere on the line, not sure if the sun or the water had to do something with it.

kzoo wrote:

Teal101 wrote:
Whatever you do stay away from Berkley Vanish. Took the rod out this weekend and had the line splinter break twice on casts. This line was on my cranking setup. Luckily I had been waiting for this line to crap out and switched it over to 12lb yo-zuri. It's stiffer than mono, but I like its characteristics.

Totally agree about Vanish! When I started out with Fluro I was using Vanish, I had horrible time with it. The big thing about it, it didn't have any knot strength and in a couple weeks it would break anywhere on the line, not sure if the sun or the water had to do something with it.

What kind of knot were you using? The box shows a specific type of knot that must be used to retain strength. You also have to wet the knot before you tighten it, or the heat created will cause the line to become brittle.

Vanish! I have also has breakage problems with it, and never at the knots. Mav186 mentioned Seaguar, I got some as a door prize at a 3-Rivers seminar. It sat around for quite awhile before I tried it - now I am sold. That is all I used this year for Salmon from the beach and in the rivers.

bionic_one wrote:

kzoo wrote:

Teal101 wrote:
Whatever you do stay away from Berkley Vanish. Took the rod out this weekend and had the line splinter break twice on casts. This line was on my cranking setup. Luckily I had been waiting for this line to crap out and switched it over to 12lb yo-zuri. It's stiffer than mono, but I like its characteristics.

Totally agree about Vanish! When I started out with Fluro I was using Vanish, I had horrible time with it. The big thing about it, it didn't have any knot strength and in a couple weeks it would break anywhere on the line, not sure if the sun or the water had to do something with it.

What kind of knot were you using? The box shows a specific type of knot that must be used to retain strength. You also have to wet the knot before you tighten it, or the heat created will cause the line to become brittle.

You're going to have to trust us on this one. If you use Vanish, that is exactly what the fish is going to do. It will break at the knot or somewhere on the line. It is simply an unreliable line period. It is that bad.

I also like and use Seaguar's invizx. It is getting a bit pricey for me though and as a shorebound angler who fishes a lot of rocks when I drop shot, I can go through a lot of line from re-ties. I have also been trying Cabela's FC line and it seems to be very similar to Invizx. If it holds up, it will be a nice and more economical alternative to Invizx. I have never lost a bass from a knot break and this is using 6# invizx. With regard to abrasion, no line is completely immune to it. I make it a habit to check my line periodically for wear and tear while I'm fishing.