Hi guys, I just order my first Baitcaster (It's the Abu Garcia combo with the Abu Garcia Pro max reel) and bought braided line with it (Spiderwire Stealth Smooth 8, red, 20lb). I am stuck with some questions tho.
For info, I come from the Netherlands and we do not have largemouths here, our 'bass' is the Perch. I mainly fish for Perches, pikes and walleyes using Spinners, jerkbaits, plugs and shads. Please keep this in mind when reading my questions.
I have never ever fished with a baitcaster before and same goes for braided line, is it smart to use braided line with a baitcaster (and is this braided line the right choice)?
Also, is a baitcaster rod and reel suited for normal spinning activity, like spinners and plugs and in turn, is braided line suited for that?
Isn't it better for me to invest in normal spinning rod and reel?
Thanks in advance!! Any tips and tricks are welcome.
Welcome to UB!
A question to be able to answer your questions better
Where you fish, is it real weedy? If so, braid is a good line to use.
If not I would just use a good polymer line, that is abrasion resistant to help if you have rocks around where you fish.
Quote from: Lee Smith on June 11, 2019, 03:11:29 PM
Welcome to UB!
A question to be able to answer your questions better
Where you fish, is it real weedy? If so, braid is a good line to use.
If not I would just use a good polymer line, that is abrasion resistant to help if you have rocks around where you fish.
It depends, sometimes I fish in big rivers and lakes, other times I fish in small creeks and they tend to be weedy indeed..
First let me say welcome to the Ultimate bass family. It's great to have you with us.
More information may be needed to answer all of your questions in detail but here are some things to think about.
Braid on a bait caster can be used for any of the techniques and species you mentioned. You may need to go to a heavier braid, especially if you are just learning both a braid and bait caster. This will stop the braid from digging in on itself and causing backlashes. Also, since pike and walleye are especially toothy critters thinner braid may be more easily frayed or bitten through. You may want to consider a steel leader.
If you can tell us the weights of the various baits you fish and the types of cover/structure you deal with we can help you figure some things out in more detail. ~sun
Quote from: Smallie_Stalker on June 11, 2019, 03:17:34 PM
First let me say welcome to the Ultimate bass family. It's great to have you with us.
More information may be needed to answer all of your questions in detail but here are some things to think about.
Braid on a bait caster can be used for any of the techniques and species you mentioned. You may need to go to a heavier braid, especially if you are just learning both a braid and bait caster. This will stop the braid from digging in on itself and causing backlashes. Also, since pike and walleye are especially toothy critters thinner braid may be more easily frayed or bitten through. You may want to consider a steel leader.
If you can tell us the weights of the various baits you fish and the types of cover/structure you deal with we can help you figure some things out in more detail. ~sun
Thanks for your quick response. Since I live in Europe, the metric system I am about to use differs...
I bought 0.17mm braided line, which the site says is 20lb. I do not really understand what digging in itself means. I chose this thickness/strength of line since I never catch any huge fish and thought this would be enough. I already have steel leaders, but somewhere I read that I need titanium leaders, because the main line is braid.
My rod has a casting weight of 15-45 grams, it says on the site. I am planning on using Jerkbaits/plugs of about 30-50 grams and spinners of about 10-30 grams.
The type of cover/structure differs a lot, since I fish in many different places...
I couldn't stress enough, start with mono line. You're gonna seriously burn through and waste money on braid.
I'm new here, bought a baitcaster 3 months ago and spooled it up with 12lbs mono for 3 months.
I started using braid last week and encountered many issues with my first attempt. I specifically joined this community for help with my braid/baitcaster problems and the people on here have helped me so much.
Main thing I learned is 1. Use a tight mono backer 2. Use a thick 50lbs braid 3. Learn the Alberto knot 4. Thin braid will 'dig in'
I agree with starting out with an inexpensive mono line about .30 mm (12lb) to 40 mm (15 lb) give or take. That should hold up well to begin with. There are so many things needed to learn to make bait-casting second nature and other things needed to learn on using braid, that it is much easier to separate the learning curves.
I don't know the difference in the two leaders, when I use metal leaders, I use Stainless Steel all the time, mono or braid mainline, although I'm fishing in Saltwater.
Quote from: Pferox on June 12, 2019, 08:48:17 AM
I agree with starting out with an inexpensive mono line about .30 mm (12lb) to 40 mm (15 lb) give or take. That should hold up well to begin with. There are so many things needed to learn to make bait-casting second nature and other things needed to learn on using braid, that it is much easier to separate the learning curves.
I don't know the difference in the two leaders, when I use metal leaders, I use Stainless Steel all the time, mono or braid mainline, although I'm fishing in Saltwater.
And what about fluoro?
Flouro is pretty much on the high side to be playing with when you're Learning, bet can be another avenue after.
Quote from: RayWolly on June 12, 2019, 10:10:53 AM
And what about fluoro?
Stay away from fluoro until you are very good at casting and 'thumbing' the line on the cast, it'll truly bite you! In the pocketbook, that is lo
Quote from: RayWolly on June 11, 2019, 03:25:51 PM
Thanks for your quick response. I do not really understand what digging in itself means.
I apologize that I missed the fact that you have never used braid before. Like the others here have said I would recommend you start with mono line until you feel very confident with a baitcaster and can cast the mono with little to no backlashes before trying braid. A trained thumb is your best friend when it comes to baitcast reels.
As to the question above it's kind of hard for me to explain but I'll give it my best shot. Braid, for various reasons can cross over itself and line that should be on the top of the reel ends up being pulled down into the underwrappings on the spool. When this happens you will find that either you can't cast as far as you could before or you will get knots down in the spool that will cause a backlash. The thinner the diameter of the braid the greater the chances that this can happen. At least that is the common theory.
For a discussion on the topic here is one older thread from the forum that might give you more insight.https://www.ultimatebass.com/bass-fishing-forum/index.php?topic=117382.0 (https://www.ultimatebass.com/bass-fishing-forum/index.php?topic=117382.0)
You may find more threads on the subject using the search feature of the forum. If that doesn't give you a satisfactory explanation then maybe a Google search could help. :-*
Welcome to the forum.
I agree with the above. 12-15# mono or co-polymer. A few good ones: Siege, Mean Green, AN40, XXX, Super Natural, Big Game, Yo-Zuri and XL.
I received a used reel with 30# braid. Spent the first 15 minutes or so 1) cast 2) remove tight spot 3) repeat 4) repeat 5) repeat. If you insist on going with braid, use 40# minimum. Go lighter once familiar with your baitcast reel and using braid. Braid needs to stay tight on the spool.
Fluoro has good abrasion resistance, but this comes at a price......memory. It is also expensive so cutting half a spool off gets pricey. A couple other nylon lines....CXX and Platinum...have pretty good abrasion resistance, but have the same problems as many fluoros. Too much memory unless you use a line conditioner.
EDIT: Braid and treble hooks aren't the best combination. Use a rod with a forgiving tip. Don't crank drag pressure too high. My brother-in-law uses 40# braid on all his spinning reels (the only type reel he will use), and has no problem landing bass on an F-11 Rapala. His rods all have plenty of 'give'.