X9 Braided Berkley Line Crystal

[Acton]

Hey guys, been doing some research on hair jigs and recently I came across Ike's video on YouTube discussing hair jigs in which he advocates for using high vis Berkley braid crystal line.  Another pro who I've probably learned the most from this year overall Seth Feider also advocates for using "high vis braid" with hair jigs.  Many of the pros talk about "watching the line" and "being line watchers".  Last month I was throwing power pro low vis and had trouble watching the line on sunny days.  I'm thinking about throwing this line on all my finesse setups.  Usually those include tubes (my most productive finesse lure last year), drop shots, finesse jigs (keitech spider jigs), ned rigs and wacky rig senkos.  Usually I throw 10lb low vis braid on these setups with 6-8 feet of 6-10lb flouro leaders.  I lost many fish last year because I didn't manage slack in the line very well and/or didn't detect the bite.  I'm thinking high vis line like this could be helpful, but I've also come across other pros talking about using only flouro for techniques like tubes, especially when you want to pendulum the lure through the water.  That school of thought states that you want to use flouro over braid because flouro sinks and braid floats.  I recently moved my jerkbait setup over to straight 10lb braid for this very reason. I'm thinking that maybe the high vis might be good for me since I'm a novice and any assistance I can get with watching the line might be good, even if I lose a few fish because of it.  I caught plenty of fishing on braid to flouro last year.  What do you guys think?

[Capt. BassinLou]

I'm a high visibility braid user myself, but not for the technique(s) mentioned. I'm also a braid to fluoro leader user as well. I don't use the hi visibility braid for bite detection however. I use it as a bite direction indicator. Meaning, I like it because it tells me the direction the bass is going after its taken my lure. If your having challenges "feeling" the bite, depending on the situation, you won't "see" the bite on hi visibility braids/lines either. My recommendation would be working on staying "connected" to your lure from the time you cast it, til the time its out of the water for the next cast. Having slack line on the baits fall is important, but too much slack line can lead to missed opportunities.  Besides "feeling" for that tell tale "tick" or "thump", observing sink rate changes, and subtle changes in line direction, are skills that will be picked up with more time on the water.

[Acton]

I'm a high visibility braid user myself, but not for the technique(s) mentioned...Besides "feeling" for that tell tale "tick" or "thump", observing sink rate changes, and subtle changes in line direction, are skills that will be picked up with more time on the water.

I agree, I actually made a post on detecting the bite better recently here.  I figure high vis line will help me see how much slack I have in the line and it will also be easier to do the "count down method" with it too.  What type of high vis braid do you use?  Ive been told high vis yellow is a better choice then the X9 crystal.

[loomisguy]

I use the Sunline SX1 in the hi vis 12lb on my finesse rods and have had good luck with it. I use about 10 feet of 6lb flouro for a leader.
I think the bright colors do help on baits that get hit on the fall a lot like ol' Ned or a tube.

[Capt. BassinLou]

I'm a high visibility braid user myself, but not for the technique(s) mentioned...Besides "feeling" for that tell tale "tick" or "thump", observing sink rate changes, and subtle changes in line direction, are skills that will be picked up with more time on the water.

I agree, I actually made a post on detecting the bite better recently here.  I figure high vis line will help me see how much slack I have in the line and it will also be easier to do the "count down method" with it too.  What type of high vis braid do you use?  Ive been told high vis yellow is a better choice then the X9 crystal.

I use Power Pro.

[Smallie_Stalker]

I use hi-vis braid for everything except 1 particular cranking situation where I use hi-vis mono.  The small diameter of the line  is great for finesse applications.

No leaders for me just straight hi-vis line.

I use Berkeley Fireline on all but 1 spinning outfit and Spiderwire on my baitcasters.

For the cranking situation I mentioned I use Berkeley Trilene Sensation.



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[Oldfart9999]

I started with Fireline and it is a good braid but I tried Power Pro and like it better. When you here what a pro is using check who they're sponsored by. Most lines are good and it becomes a matter of personal choice.
Rodney

[FlatsNBay]

I've been using the X9 for the last few months in green and really like the performance of it. I just spooled up some Hi Vis yellow on my finesse outfit. It casts really well and is very strong so far.

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[FlatsNBay]

I caught a nice 4 pounder on 10 lb. Hi Vis X9. The line is very sensitive and handles beautifully. The fish got me buried in the weeds and I had to lean on it pretty strong to get the fish free. So far, I'm very happy with it.

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[bigjim5589]

I've used hi vis lines for years now, and mainly because I can see them better. I also don't use leaders with braid, and tie direct and I have fished a lot of hair jigs over the years, because I make them.

I will take what pro's say, and use it, but I understand that not everything they say, will be gospel. There is the marketing & business side to the pro's, and many of them will recommend specific products because it's a sponsors product. That is not to say, it's not a good product and the reasons they'll gave are not legit.  But I don't use any product just because a pro uses it & recommends it. With that said, there may be better or at least equal products on the market, and most of us will find what we like, and use it.

We have had some lengthy discussions here about line colors and fish seeing the line. You might do well to search out some of those discussions and read the comments.