Braid to lure

[jwkelley51]

Who uses a baitcaster, straight braid, no leader, on swim jigs, magnum shakey heads and football jigs and how do you like it? It won't go thru my guides (micro and semi-micro) with a leader. Is it better to use the braid straight or just go to flurocarbon? I'm using cx premium fluro coated copolymer now and it's fine shallow and up close but way out, not so much. I'm thinking braid would let me set the hook 50% farther away....but maybe not.

[Bud Kennedy]

This has been an often discussed topic here on UB.  Although arguments have been made for straight braid or braid with leaders, I want to think that it appears most here are going straight braid for the presentations you list.  I am a straight braid user myself and don't plan on changing anytime soon.  You are right that a leader knot is mostly un-functional with micro guide unless you are using a very short leader.

[zippyduck]

Swimjigs straight co-poly

Straight floro for all my bottom contact Techniques.

Only braid use for me is heavy weeds.

[Capt. BassinLou]

I'm all braid for swimjigs. 40-50lb

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[BrandonK]

All braid here unless it's something I'm fishing slowly, which is almost nothing, in which case I'll throw a leader on

[BarryFL]

All braid for those baits but an Alberto knot to attach a flouro leader should go through any guides.

~Barry~

[Smallie_Stalker]

Braid will definitely improve your hookset and hookup ratio at longer distances.

Straight braid for everything for me except one specific cranking situation where I use  mono.  And no leaders here.

I am always trying new lines as money allows and recently bought some mono and co-poly and I will be trying some of the K9 flouro this coming year but it's more of an experiment than anything.

Unless one of these lines really knocks my socks off I'll be going back to braid for everything. It just works for me.

The important thing is to find what works best for YOU. You may have to buy a couple of spools of different lines and see what YOU like best.

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[nats]

Swimjigs straight co-poly

Straight floro for all my bottom contact Techniques.

Only braid use for me is heavy weeds.

which co- poly do you use on bait caster?

[zippyduck]

P-line flouroclear

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[SteveTX]

Straight braid for almost everything for me. I use some mono cranking at times. Typically no leaders here either. I will say I have used a short leader with some walking baits that seem to want to tangle in braid.

That is my normal use but I do experiment here and there. So it is possible I may have a leader or fluro on at some point. 

[merc1997]

i use braid for every type of fishing, and tied straight to the lure.  if you are afraid that fish see your line and will not bite the lure, then you are also saying that fish can reason.  so, i will pose a question.  first you would have to give in that your hook or hooks on any lure are even more visible than your fishing line.  second if fish can reason the hook or hooks is what is doing the harm to them, not the line.  so, why then would any fish ever bite any lure regardless of it has a line of any kind attached or not??

your choice of line affects your sink rate and in some instances the action of a lure, and in the case of crank baits dictates running depth because of line size.

i use braid for tow main reasons.  first is feel.  i can feel the most nothing bite that would never be detectable on floro or mono, and have proved that fact to many that fish with me.  they were using floro and not catching anything because it truly was a nothing bite happening.  i have given them one of my rigs with braid, and they all went to catching bass because they were then feeling that nothing bite.  they have all switched to braid.  second is hookset with anything.  the hook or hooks are going to bury.

use what you have confidence in.  but, i have many decades of fishing under my belt, and have used everything in the way of lines along the way including floro, copolys ect.  feel and hook sets and limpness are the most important factors to me.  braid is the winner.  with that said, you do have to learn the rules of braid.  learn those rules and you will get along with it.  don't learn those rules, and you better stick with mono or floro.

just my humble opinion.

bo

[apenland01]

use what you have confidence in.  but, i have many decades of fishing under my belt, and have used everything in the way of lines along the way including floro, copolys ect.  feel and hook sets and limpness are the most important factors to me.  braid is the winner.  with that said, you do have to learn the rules of braid.  learn those rules and you will get along with it.  don't learn those rules, and you better stick with mono or floro.

just my humble opinion.

bo

So what are "Bo's rules of braid"?  I fish a lot of fluoro for bottom contact, so I'm curious about these rules to get along with braid.....

[SteveTX]

  That sounds like a great topic for a thread in itself. "Rules to get along with braid."

I use braid a lot and a few things I can say that make a huge difference in hating braid or loving braid are

• proper drag settings
• proper way to secure to spool
• using quality braid

[BarryFL]

Good points, Steve and I'll add that on bait casting reels the smaller the lb. test, the more it digs in. I never use lighter than 30lb as it's the same diameter as 10lb mono or flouro.

~Barry~

[merc1997]

So what are "Bo's rules of braid"?  I fish a lot of fluoro for bottom contact, so I'm curious about these rules to get along with braid.....

rule #1: on baitcasters be sure to use a very small diameter line for your base.  this will help with line digging in and catching during a cast and causing a back lash.  tuning your reel is essential because of how easily braid fluffs off the spool during a cast.  #2 use a GOOD KNOT, and a palomar is not one of them.  i've seen palomar users have a lot of line failures and is not the line, but the knot is letting go.  go lto NuTech's you tube channel, and there is a video of the knot that i have used since the late 60's.  with braids above 20 you need to put 8 wraps in the knot.  20 and under 10 wraps.  this knot will hold more than 100% of your line test.  the line will break somewhere besides the knot.  #3 hangups.  DO NOT snap your rod as you do with mono and floro.  they stretch and you will not cut them on a rock, but braid has no stretch and you are putting full power on the line with a jerk beside and you will then cut it.  braid takes lots of abuse even in rocks and other abrasive things when you are just sawing it back and forth.  example:  if you take any line and put it to a knife blade with steady pressure, it actually takes more pressure than one would think to cut it.  but, smack that same line down on the blade, and it is cut like nothing.  so, when dealing with a lure that has hung up, you point your rod and the lure and gently pull.  you DO NOT pull by loading the rod.  if the lure does not come loose then go get straight over it and pull straight up, but not with your rod.  straight line pull.  when this does not work, then use a lure retriever.  #4: rods.  since braid has no stretch an m to mh heavy will get the job done.  you do not need your drag cinched down with a pair of pliers.

i now even use braid for crankbaits and jerk baits.  the upswing in catches on a crankbait are really astonishing.  why?  because you can feel that slight change in the wiggle that means a fish has made a pass at your bait.  and no, i have had no issues with bass tearing the hooks out.

yesterdays rods would not hold up to braid.  todays rods will.  if i had todays braid back when i fished tournaments all the time, it would have added a lot more dollars to my pocket.  in my mind and experience fishing with both mono and floro, there is that big of a difference.

i will close with a case in point that involved todays fishing trip.  i took another feller with me and we were catching them using a 1/8 NuTech crappie jig, with a trd on it.  our bites were coming 30 ft. deep.  this feller was using some 6# sunline floro.  i was just railing them and he was swearing that he was just not getting a bite.  the bites were next to nothing, but you could feel them with the braid.  i kept begging his to use one of mine with the braid.  before we quit, he finally took my rod that i was using and i took his setup.  he immediately put 7 bass in the boat.  and i did not get any with his because i could not feel the bite.  plus with the braid, the hook was through their head instantly.

fish with what you want to, but i will stick with braid until something better comes along.

bo

[apenland01]

Excellent tips, thanks for taking the time to write that up!  I'll go check out the video on the knot you use.

I've experienced the braid digging in, but it was always after trying to a lure free after getting hung up.  I have learned not do anything that causes the braid to bite on itself on the reel.

The bad experience I had with my braid knot may not have been the knot itself, but the hooks I was using.  I was using 10lb braid for my flukes because I was having trouble getting a good hookset and I was losing fish with lighter fluoro lines.  I started losing flukes by themselves, without having a fish on.  The fluke would just let go and disappear and I'd get my line back with the knot broken where it connected to the hook with the knot basically intact.  After a while, I figured that the constant back and forth action of the fluke cut the line where it connected to the hook.  At least that's what I figured.  I've gone back to a fluoro blend now and haven't had the issue.

For jig fishing, which is my new technique to practice this year, I'm going to try straight braid again.

Thanks for the info!

[merc1997]

Excellent tips, thanks for taking the time to write that up!  I'll go check out the video on the knot you use.

I've experienced the braid digging in, but it was always after trying to a lure free after getting hung up.  I have learned not do anything that causes the braid to bite on itself on the reel.

The bad experience I had with my braid knot may not have been the knot itself, but the hooks I was using.  I was using 10lb braid for my flukes because I was having trouble getting a good hookset and I was losing fish with lighter fluoro lines.  I started losing flukes by themselves, without having a fish on.  The fluke would just let go and disappear and I'd get my line back with the knot broken where it connected to the hook with the knot basically intact.  After a while, I figured that the constant back and forth action of the fluke cut the line where it connected to the hook.  At least that's what I figured.  I've gone back to a fluoro blend now and haven't had the issue.

For jig fishing, which is my new technique to practice this year, I'm going to try straight braid again.

Thanks for the info!

what is happening to you is that you are using a hook that has an eye that is not closed.  the line gets down in the seam or crack and either slips out or gets cut.

bo

[jwkelley51]

I guess I'm going straight braid on 2 setups and we'll see. I was going yellow 40 lb with the leader but now I guess I'm looking at 30 lb green, no leader but I really like yellow, I can see it move better. It was kinda crazy to fight the leader stuff when I know they will hit lures with 15-20 Big Game and it as easy to see as braid for sure. I really appreciate the input.... best experience I've ever had on a fishing forum. Thanks.

[SteveTX]

I guess I'm going straight braid on 2 setups and we'll see. I was going yellow 40 lb with the leader but now I guess I'm looking at 30 lb green, no leader but I really like yellow, I can see it move better. It was kinda crazy to fight the leader stuff when I know they will hit lures with 15-20 Big Game and it as easy to see as braid for sure. I really appreciate the input.... best experience I've ever had on a fishing forum. Thanks.

Im not telling you what to do but that fish aint that smart. Leave the 40lb on. I catch easily my fair share on Hi Viz Yellow 65. Check my fishing reports they arent that smart. Its insane what people go through to try and hide that little thin line in a lake full of grass and God knows what. Think about it if the fish can see yellow he can see green most likely. If the fish was that damn smart he would see those big a__ hooks and never eat your lure.   

[BrandonK]

Im not telling you what to do but that fish aint that smart. Leave the 40lb on. I catch easily my fair share on Hi Viz Yellow 65. Check my fishing reports it they arent that smart. Its insane what people go through to try and hide that little thin line in a lake full of grass and God knows what. Think about it if the fish can see yellow he can see green most likely. If the fish was that damn smart he would see those big a__ hooks and never eat your lure.   

Yup. Yellow 50lb here. Water isn't clear enough for me to be concerned anyhow

[gtrpickr]

rule #1: on baitcasters be sure to use a very small diameter line for your base.  this will help with line digging in and catching during a cast and causing a back lash.  tuning your reel is essential because of how easily braid fluffs off the spool during a cast.  #2 use a GOOD KNOT, and a palomar is not one of them.  i've seen palomar users have a lot of line failures and is not the line, but the knot is letting go.  go lto NuTech's you tube channel, and there is a video of the knot that i have used since the late 60's.  with braids above 20 you need to put 8 wraps in the knot.  20 and under 10 wraps.  this knot will hold more than 100% of your line test.  the line will break somewhere besides the knot.  #3 hangups.  DO NOT snap your rod as you do with mono and floro.  they stretch and you will not cut them on a rock, but braid has no stretch and you are putting full power on the line with a jerk beside and you will then cut it.  braid takes lots of abuse even in rocks and other abrasive things when you are just sawing it back and forth.  example:  if you take any line and put it to a knife blade with steady pressure, it actually takes more pressure than one would think to cut it.  but, smack that same line down on the blade, and it is cut like nothing.  so, when dealing with a lure that has hung up, you point your rod and the lure and gently pull.  you DO NOT pull by loading the rod.  if the lure does not come loose then go get straight over it and pull straight up, but not with your rod.  straight line pull.  when this does not work, then use a lure retriever.  #4: rods.  since braid has no stretch an m to mh heavy will get the job done.  you do not need your drag cinched down with a pair of pliers.

i now even use braid for crankbaits and jerk baits.  the upswing in catches on a crankbait are really astonishing.  why?  because you can feel that slight change in the wiggle that means a fish has made a pass at your bait.  and no, i have had no issues with bass tearing the hooks out.

yesterdays rods would not hold up to braid.  todays rods will.  if i had todays braid back when i fished tournaments all the time, it would have added a lot more dollars to my pocket.  in my mind and experience fishing with both mono and floro, there is that big of a difference.

i will close with a case in point that involved todays fishing trip.  i took another feller with me and we were catching them using a 1/8 NuTech crappie jig, with a trd on it.  our bites were coming 30 ft. deep.  this feller was using some 6# sunline floro.  i was just railing them and he was swearing that he was just not getting a bite.  the bites were next to nothing, but you could feel them with the braid.  i kept begging his to use one of mine with the braid.  before we quit, he finally took my rod that i was using and i took his setup.  he immediately put 7 bass in the boat.  and i did not get any with his because i could not feel the bite.  plus with the braid, the hook was through their head instantly.

fish with what you want to, but i will stick with braid until something better comes along.

bo

Thanks for that great info Bo 

[D.W. Verts]

Straight braid on both casting and spinning poles. In water up to "very clear" (4-5' visibility) too. Have yet to try it in "ultra clear". The fish don't seem to care, so I don't either.

It's a struggle to not make things more complicated than they need to be, but I get it done.

[Oldfart9999]

After trying it I'm with Bo and Dale on this, straight braid, I'll be switching over my cranks this year, it'll let me use stronger pound test with smaller size line. The only place I'm going to use a leader is on my drop shot, I like some stretch there.
Rodney

[Smallie_Stalker]

I've been fishing cranks on braid for 20 years now in all but one situation. I've tried to convince others of the benefits and most of them wouldn't even try it to see if it worked for them or not.

I've never understood why such a high number of people are so resistant to the idea.

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[TNDiver]

Thanks Bo on the write up.  I have used Braid since I got back in to bass fishing in the mid-2000's.  I also use the Palomar knot, here is the link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OI4q5zqbDow  I think I need to practice