What is everyones' favorite line size for LM and SM Bass?

[20inchbass]

I personally like 8 lb. as I think it is a good medium in case you hook up on something big or even if you just have a fish run into cover. How about you all?

[-Joe-]

I had to vote 10+. We don't have any smallies down here and the LM are usually knee deep in mats so I use either 17-20 Flouro or 50-65 braid. When I get a hook up I want to make sure she's coming out of the slop. I really don't do any finesse fishing so I don't have anything set up for the lighter lines.

Joe

[coldfront]

10-12 mono for topwater baits...
14-17 mono for pitch/flip, all purpose


clear water for me is 'two feet of vis'...

[Baron49]

Personally found this to be a little misleading.  Who uses just one line size to fish?  For my purposes I use from 6 to 12 lb mono/co-poly, 8 to 20 Fluoro for leaders, 10 to 20 lb Fireline (fused line), and 30 to 65 lb test in braided line.

[20inchbass]

I understand what you are saying Baron49. I'm probably the only one who uses the same size line. I use 2 rods at a time and usually always fish crankbaits or soft plastics so I just use 8 lb. test. Plus we fish in almost completely clear lakes where you can see 20 or so feet down so clear line is a must.

[Baron49]

I fish in the crystal clear waters of Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence river.  You can see the bottom in 25+ feet, there are rock piles, stumps and trees in the water and of course hydrilla, milfoil, pads and various other water weeds.  For most of my fishing I use 50 lb Power Pro tied directly to my lures it has a diameter of 17 lb mono.  If anything I have seen an increase in hooked fish due to the extra sensitivity.  Granted in clear water devoid of cover I will drop to 10 or 14 lb Fireline (fused superline) diameters of 2 lb and 8 lb respectively for shaky head fishing, drop-shotting, and soft stick baits.  These superlines are thinner then most fluoro, mono, and co-poly lines of the same lb test and with the no-stretch feature allow for much greater sensitivity. You may want to try one rod and reel with braid or fused line to see if you like it.

[coldfront]

I fish in the crystal clear waters of Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence river.  You can see the bottom in 25+ feet, there are rock piles, stumps and trees in the water and of course hydrilla, milfoil, pads and various other water weeds.  For most of my fishing I use 50 lb Power Pro tied directly to my lures it has a diameter of 17 lb mono.  If anything I have seen an increase in hooked fish due to the extra sensitivity.  Granted in clear water devoid of cover I will drop to 10 or 14 lb Fireline (fused superline) diameters of 2 lb and 8 lb respectively for shaky head fishing, drop-shotting, and soft stick baits.  These superlines are thinner then most fluoro, mono, and co-poly lines of the same lb test and with the no-stretch feature allow for much greater sensitivity. You may want to try one rod and reel with braid or fused line to see if you like it.

baron, I going to ask for your opinion...since I expect you'll already have thought a lot about this...

do you think that you actually get the same amount of bites with the braid in those clear waters?  or just now able to detect 'more of the ones you get'?

Knowing as we all do just how softly those little fish can actually bite...

[dave0943]

In Northern MI we have both species of bass. I fish the river for smallies in which I use both 8 and 10 mono or flouro. I use 8lb in deeper water, 10 lb in shallow areas with rock and wood. This would be for spinning rigs. I do use 8 lb dia. braid as well. For LM, I head to local lakes. With spinning gear, I use 10 lb mono/ flouro for deeper water techniques. I use 8 lb dia braid with casting gear for most applications. So what I guess I'm saying is I use both 8 and 10 lb. I use 50 lb braid and 12/14 lb mono and floro for casting rigs. I will on occasion use 6 lb for shaky finesse situations.
I still tend to lean towards mono over flouro. Most of my flouro use is for leaders. I just don't like the memory and stiffness issues. If I was told I could use one type and weight of line, NOT INCLUDING BRAID, it would have to be Trilene 10 lb XL. If forced to, I could get away with this line for all my applications in a not so perfect world.

[Camden]

as of late i for some reason i wont go any lighter than 12lb test.

[pawpaw]

I use 12 lb. mono for crankbaits,spinnerbaits, topwater and vibrashocks, 15 lb, mono. for worms and jigs, 15 lb, floro for sencos and flukes , 50 lb. braid for Carolina rig, and 10 and 6 lb. mono for spinning rigs.

[20inchbass]

hey Baron, that is good info. Honestly though, I tried braid for the first half of this year. I wasn't having much luck, so I changed back to mono. My dad is still using the braid, and, while fishing mostly crankbaits, there is a huge difference in bites. I've gotten many more bites and hookups then him. And when using the same lures, there really isn't much else to say why it isn't working for him.

[Camden]

you definitely dont wanna use braid on cranks. not enough stretch and you will lose alot of hookups over mono

[Baron49]

baron, I going to ask for your opinion...since I expect you'll already have thought a lot about this...
do you think that you actually get the same amount of bites with the braid in those clear waters?  or just now able to detect 'more of the ones you get'?
Knowing as we all do just how softly those little fish can actually bite...

I assume that I am getting the same amount of bites as before, just detecting them better and getting better hooksets.  Where I found it to be the most no ticable was with the really light lines.  I started drop-shotting and shaky head fishing with co-poly and then fluorocarbon line in 6-8 and 10 lb test.  Did not take long to get tired of the line twist and the lost fish due to poor hook sets.  Switched to Fireline 10 lb test, with the diameter of 2 lb test mono and have never looked back.  I use the same rods and the sensitivity and hooksets have increased dramatically.  Slowly switched over most of my baitcasting tackle to Power Pro braided line in 30 to 65 lb after experimenting with various baits and over all feel braid is the way to go for most of my bass fishing.

[Baron49]

hey Baron, that is good info. Honestly though, I tried braid for the first half of this year. I wasn't having much luck, so I changed back to mono. My dad is still using the braid, and, while fishing mostly crankbaits, there is a huge difference in bites. I've gotten many more bites and hookups then him. And when using the same lures, there really isn't much else to say why it isn't working for him.

Still experimenting with braid for crankbaits and can't really give a good opinion right now other then to say braid may be too sensitive.  I may be pulling the bait away from fish when they hit it due to the increased sensitivity. To be honest I fish most of my crankbaits with PLine FluoroClear 12 lb test and have for years.  It is a co-poly with a fluoro coating and has the same diameter as most 10 lb test mono lines.

I like braid when I need to "feel" what the bait is doing on the bottom.  I can tell with a jig if I am on a hard of soft bottom, rocks from sand etc. Plus I like the durability of braid over any other line.  I have some reels with braided line that are spooled up from last year that are still quite usable where with mono and especially fluoro I would have changed lines several times by now.

One major thing to remember when using braid is to use the same diameter braid as you would mono.  For example I use more 50 lb braid then any other, it has a 12 lb test mono diameter.  In a lot of thick weeds and heavy cover 65 lb braid with a 17 lb test mono diameter get used.  In more open water I drop to 30 lb braid with it's 8 lb mono diameter.

Hope this helps and gives you some ideas as to how to use braid and when.

[coldfront]

Still experimenting with braid for crankbaits and can't really give a good opinion right now other then to say braid may be too sensitive.  I may be pulling the bait away from fish when they hit it due to the increased sensitivity.

Baron, you know I ask more questions than a two-year old...

so, just wondering...I know fishing cranks I am most successful letting the rod load up before I sweep set the hook (10# flouro on a 7 foot medium action graphite rod)....

so my thought process on braid would be that I'd keep 'dragging/cranking' until the rod loaded before I set the hook...but shouldn't a gentle sweep/reel set, even on braid be enough?

Or is it just the tendency of competive folks to react with cat-like, trigger reflexes?   

[Baron49]

Sound like you are fishing with heavy stuff. 

My normal crankbait rod for 1/4 to 3/8 oz shallow and medium runners is a American Rodsmiths graphite 7' ML with a slow action, 5.1 reel with 12 lb Pline Fluoro clear line which has around the same diameter as most 10 lb monos.  By the time I feel the rod load up a little bit of a side sweep is all I need.  Tried doing this with 10 lb Fireline and braid and most of the fish were barely hooked, while with the Pline they engulfed the bait.  My assumption was the stretch in the line, and the less sensitivity allowed the bass to get the bait deeper into it's mouth before I swept the rod.

With 1/2 oz crankbaits and medium deep runners I am still using a BPS 7'6'' M crankbait rod with a slow action I bought back in the 80's.  The rod is more like a ML after all these years, but works perfectly, Tried some 30 lb Power Pro and while I did catch fish and the sensitivity increased dramatically I felt I missed a lot of fish too due to reacting too quickly. 

Conclusion:  Completive folks that react with cat-like, trigger reflexes (like me )....use a slow action rod and mono to let the stretch in the line and the slowness in the action of the rod do most of the work with crankbaits.

[coldfront]

so...I have an advantage fishing my set up due to my NON-cat-like and NON-hair trigger reflexes?   

thanks Baron...and glad you're doing better...

[20inchbass]

Still experimenting with braid for crankbaits and can't really give a good opinion right now other then to say braid may be too sensitive.  I may be pulling the bait away from fish when they hit it due to the increased sensitivity. To be honest I fish most of my crankbaits with PLine FluoroClear 12 lb test and have for years.  It is a co-poly with a fluoro coating and has the same diameter as most 10 lb test mono lines.

I like braid when I need to "feel" what the bait is doing on the bottom.  I can tell with a jig if I am on a hard of soft bottom, rocks from sand etc. Plus I like the durability of braid over any other line.  I have some reels with braided line that are spooled up from last year that are still quite usable where with mono and especially fluoro I would have changed lines several times by now.

One major thing to remember when using braid is to use the same diameter braid as you would mono.  For example I use more 50 lb braid then any other, it has a 12 lb test mono diameter.  In a lot of thick weeds and heavy cover 65 lb braid with a 17 lb test mono diameter get used.  In more open water I drop to 30 lb braid with it's 8 lb mono diameter.

Hope this helps and gives you some ideas as to how to use braid and when.

that is some reallly good info, I guess I shouldn't count braid out just yet.