Bass Fishing–how Do I Choose What Line To Use?
i have one light spinning set-up thats designated for light tackle fishing
i have one baitcaster..thinking about getting another one
with two baitcasters, how should i go about deciding what line to put on them, im fairly new to bass fishing and dont really know the difference between mono, braid, and flurocarbon
any help would be appreciated
For a casual fisherman like yourself, you’ll be OK to stick with mono line on all reels. The only exception will be if you fish area thats dingy water or has heavy cover or vegetation, then use either braid or flourocarbon line.
As far as line size, go with 12-14 pound line for the baitcaster, about 8-10 for the spinner.
I have 2 reels with braid…one for worming the other for jigs. The other reels I have mono, 12-16 pound line. My spinning rod has 10 pound line on it, but will put 8 pound flourocarbon line on it before my next tournament next month.
Simple quick explanation
Braid= more expensive, as its name suggests its braided cloth, its thinner than most mono with 20lb breaking strain being the thickness of 6lb monofilament
Monofilament =Standard line, it will strech, is cheap to buy and also can be bulky, most common of all lines.
Co-polymer= better than monofilament, it has just enough strech yet it is supple and easy to knot and not as easily visible in water and is stronger, reasonably priced lines like stren gold etc
Flourocarbon= invisible (virtually) to fish in water, i use it as a tippet for fly fishing. It can be expensive however i often just use it as a leader to braided or co-polymer line sto help get better takes. If you have the cash invest in some braid by berkleyhttp://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templa…
Add a leader to this like berkley vanishhttp://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templa…
If you dont have much cash or dont feel as though you dont want to use braid then try something like thishttp://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templa…
If I were you I would load the first baitcaster with a braided line like Power Pro or Berkley Fireline which are tough and sensative and can easily be pulled through weeds. Its downside is a high in water visibility, but most people use a mono leader with it. Flourocarbon lines have a low visibility coating or are made based on special polymers that make them less visible in the water, but they generally don’t last as long and bleach badly. I don’t use flourocarbon at all, but the newer stuff like Berkley Vanish is pretty good if you are fishing in mostly very clear water. Mono is the classic it has a relatively low in water visibility is strong and generally fairly durable. The downside is the weakness of the line especially lower tests. Mono and Flouro both have the problem of thin being very weak which is why braided line is probably the best choice.
If I had 3 rods, (1 light-tackle Spinning & 2 baitcaster outfits) I would do this:
1. Light-Tackle Spinning: Def a Braid. Spinning outfits work well with low diameter line under 12 LB. 6/20 Power Pro , (or similar), would be excellent.
2. Baitcaster 1: A good 14LB Mono would be ideal. 14LB mono “rides high” in the water and is ideal for shallow water Spinnerbait (6-8ft), Topwater & Buzzbait. (Spinnerbait/Buzzbait fishing are driven by “reaction strikes”. You don’t really need flurocarbon for any reaction strike fishing!)
3. Baitcaster 2: 12-14LB flurocarbon line (like Berkley “Vanish”) would be ideal for this outfit. You would want to use this outfit for “Worming/Soft Plastic”, “Senko/Dead-sticking” & “Swimming Jigs”.
Basic Bass/Inshore Saltwater rules for lines: Baitcasters perform MUCH better with line diameters of 14LB and UP!
Spinnning outfits work better with lines 14LB and DOWN.
Hope this helps ya? Good luck!
UPDATE: I just noticed all the “thumbs down”. Whats up with that sh*t?!!! All these answers are excellent!
Hey Black out,
I too have been new to some of the lines that are on the market today. I’ve used mono, braid and flurocarbon and I have all three on three different rods for different lures.
Mono I use while flipping, and on my spinning rods. Mono does have some memory but not as bad as flurocarbon. Mono will float more then flurocarbon but less then braid. Mono stretches more then flurocarbon and braid has no stretch at all. Flurocarbon has more abrasion resistance then mono but less then braid.
Flurocarbon is great line, expensive but good line. Mono is less expensive. I will use flurocarbon on my jigs and senkos becasue the flurocarbon sinks faster and disapears under the water. You will get more bites using flurocarbon then mono while using lures like a jig, senko, and other plastics that are worked on the bottom. Crankbaits will go a little deeper as well. Overall flurocarbon is a great new line on the market. The draw backs are on spinning rods your line will twist and get knots in your line easier then mono. Also I have noticed while using flurocarbon on my bait casters the line will knot some and wrap around my eyes at times. Again remember you will get more bites on flurocarbon then mono.
Braided line I will use with my top water baits and spinner baits. I will NOT use mono on buzz baits just because you need to let the bass take the bait longer then most other top water baits. Frogs, spooks, and the big swimbait lures I always use braided line. You will have more hook ups on braided line and less missed bites then mono or flurocarbon line while using top water baits. Make sure you get a black marker and mark about ten feet of line after your lure. Braided line floats better then mono and is more visible then any other line on the market. With a frog I will use a flipping stick rod but with other top water baits I use a glass rod for some give this will help you with less loss fish at the boat while fighting the fish. The rod will give and with braided line you need a little give because braided line has no give at all.
I would recommend experimenting with all three lines. You will see that mono works well with all lures but braid only works well with certain lures like top water baits. Flurocarbon works good with lures that dive deep and compared to mono flurocarbon has very little strecth and more feel. Since you have three rods now I would rig your spinnig rod with mono. Then one of your baitcasters with flurocarbon and one with braid. Remember braided line will cast father easier then flurocarbon and mono but if you get a bad back lash you might need a knife to get it out. Remember to cast smoothly with braid then mono or flurocarbon, I’ve found this out the hard way.
Put a jig on the flurocarbon bait caster rod then a spook on the other bait caster with braid. Your spinning rod put mono and a worm. Start here and you’ll see that if you change lures onto other lines you’ll see how much difference it makes. It all comes down to what you like the best. Experiment.
Tight lines
John
Mostly fishing lines is like anything else about fishing. We all have our favorites and generally disagree on what is best out there on the market.
There is several of name brands out there that are superb. Finding one to what you feel is best will come from trial and error. Choose the line by type of fishing your doing and weight strength of your needs.