Line on Baitcasters

[lunker-lander]

Hey guys, lunker again. Got a quick question about putting line on a baitcaster. On my two baitcasters, a Pflueger and a Shimano Citica, I have 12 pound P-Line 100% Pure Flourocarbon. But, it's only been on their for about 2 weeks and when i go to pull out someline, like after a cast or whatever, I noticed it has very many(20 plus) curls in it. Not large ones, very tight, about 1" curls. Any tips on line that won't curl so bad so quick.

BTW, if it helps, I use one rod for jigs and c-rigs and the other for crankbaits. Any suggestions?

-LL-

[JB]

You can get a can of kevin van dams reel spray or reel magic to relax the line, or try hooking on to a fence and walk back about 150 feet, letting line out, and give the rod a few gentle pulls to stretch the line a bit, then reel it back in. That works on mono, havent tried p line, but I assume it will work.

[lunker-lander]

Any line suggestions though?

ll

[Rebbasser]

Trilene Fluorocarbon. Best handling fluoro I have tried. A very close second is P-Line Floroclear. It is mono line with a fluoro coating. Both handle extremely well.

Second the KVD Line and Lure.

[islandbass]

That's a given with just about any mono, fluorocarbon, or co-polymer line.

Fortunately, as ugly as it looks, memory should not affect performance. You can use line coniditioner but it will always be a temporary fix. If you don't want any memory at all, then you will need to go with braid. It is the only line I know of that does not have memory.

With regard to mono, it has been my personal findings that Sufix Siege appears to resist memory the longest, if not the best.

[lunker-lander]

Does braid go well with crankbaits though? I heard you need strectch for crank fishin', which you cannot get from braid. Is this true? Also, does braid cast easily and far? I am just starting baitcasting and need something at a beginner/easy level.
Sorry for all the questions, I am a newb when it comes to braid.

-ll

[leroy]

If your using it for crankbaits I wouldn't worry about the "curls" The resistance of pulling the crankbait through the water a few times will cure it. And like mentioned above, it doesn't affect the performance of it.

[islandbass]

Contrary to popular belief, braid has a good trait when it comes to crankbait fishing. It's near zero stretch property, while potentially not ideal in the eyes of many cb anglers can definitely be overcome if one stays mindful of braid's near zero trait. First, the pluses:

1) Braid's diameter relative to its strength is much thinner that mono of the same strength as many of us already know. This thinner diameter provides less resistance than mono of the same strength, which can translate to enabling the crankbait to get down a little (albeit not too much more) deeper.

2) Braid's near zero trait will also enable you to really feel every wiggle, wobble, bump and stump. If you feel any feedback that is not the woggle, wobble, bump or stump, chances are very likely you have a fish on. A snag does not give you any feedback after the snag is set so you will quickly know it is not a fish.

This same near zero stretch is a detriment if and only if one donsn't make adjustments at the strike and hook set. So here are the things I do and with which I have never lost a fish on the hook set:

1) Use absolutely the sharpest trebles you can use. They are key when fishing crankbaits with braid. It will become clearer later.

2) Use a lightest drag setting you can get away with, just enough to retrieve the crank without slippage.

3) When you feel the take of the crankbait, DO NOT SET THE HOOK. Doing so greatly increases the likelihood that you will rip the cb right out of the fish's mouth. You'll have to trust me as I have learned from personal experience on this, face to face with a bass. My first near catch with braid and a crankbait I witnessed the bass flare its mouth open (yes, we were face to face, not even 8' from each other) and suck in the crankbait. It was my first time fishing with braid and I really didn't know what "near zero stretch" really meant but I soon found out. Thinking the deal was sealed, I pulled up to set the hook. What I wound up doing was ripping the lure out of the bass' mouth, even before its mouth had a chance to close. This was not a cross the eyes hook set either. If it were mono, I think I would have had her.)

Instead, let them take it. If the hooks are sharp enough, they will impale themselves and as the run away from you, the line will tighten you and they will complete the hook set on themselves. Now if they run toward you, you just need to reel up the slack they created.

I have not lost a braid/crankbait bass since then.

So yes, briad does go well with crankbaits, but some adjustments will have to be made. To your second question, braid can be used as I outlined above. To your other questions, 30# braid will cast with the same ease as 8# mono.

Since you are a newbie to braid, I would highly recommend going with at least 40# braid and if you are daring, 30# like I use. Do NOT go with anything less than 30# braid. As a newbie to baitcasting as you pointed out, going with 20# braid (it has a mono equivalent diameter of about 6# test) will most likely hinder your learning curve. Unlike mono, braid isn't cheap and as a result, you can blow your entire spool of braid with one cast.

I would actually learn with anywhere from 10-14# mono first since it is more economical. Now if money is no issue for you, then go with braid, but like I said, one can easily blow $30 worth of braid in less than 10 casts without experience.

One last thing about braid. Unlike other lines, it is opaque and not transparent not translucent. This means that the fish can easily see this line. However, it has also been my experience that except for the most spooky of conditions and high fishing pressure, many times the fish could care less about seeing the line. If they want your offering badly enough, they will take it.

Since you are new to baitcasting, here are a couple things I like to keep in mind when using a bc reel:

IB Bait Cast Tips:

Here are some tips that I put together based on my experience on learning how to use a baitcast reel to minimize backlashes. Assuming that the reel has been properly set for the intended lure and extremely windy conditions are not present, the tips should come in handy.

Keep these two things in mind when you are learning:

1) It's all in thumb and it is the key. The adage is quite cliché BUT it is the only thing that will stop a backlash from happening. At the start of the cast, your thumb is on the spool, then it lets go of the spool. . .

Now, here is the catch... No matter what happens, your thumb MUST either feather the spool to a stop OR stop the spool cold BEFORE the lure hits ANYTHING*: be it the water, be it the ground, or be it a shrub.

Failure to do so will result in a minor overrun at the very least and at worst, a nasty nest.

If you feel or sense something wrong during your cast, STOP YOUR CAST DEAD COLD (IMMEDIATELY) with your thumb and start over. This will prevent or at least minimize the occurrence of backlashes.

2) The release time with a baitcast reel is somewhat earlier than with a spinning reel. I am willing to bet your first few overhand casts with a bc reel are going to go straight into the ground.

That is all I told my daughter who is six and she can handle a bc reel quite well. Also, in one outing a while ago, I took my buddy fishing and he never used a bc reel in his life. I told him the two things above and he did NOT encounter a single bird's nest through 4 hours of fishing.

Thirdly, check out this site:

http://pages.infinit.net/fishing/page7.html

It will give you some solid fundamentals to get you started.

* This does not apply to casting into a strong wind. Casting into a strong wind is an entirely different ball game.

When you grasp the basics, you will ask yourself why you took so long to discover the joy and awesomeness fishing with bait cast reels. I still like and use spinning reels and to me, both reel types are tools to me to help me get the job done.


Other Minor Tips:

Practice with cheap Mono in at least 10# test, with 12 or 14# being even better for practicing. The thicker diameter of the latter two lines helps to make untangling easier (somewhat) and casts more manageable. In addition, creating bird’s nests will be a given so there is no point in wasting good money on more expensive line for the purpose of practicing.

A half-ounce weight is ideal for practicing. Pencil lead or a bass casting weight are good choices because both are cheap, remove hooks from the equation, and will keep your lures intact. Until a novice gets a firm grasp of the mechanics, using less than a half-ounce weight greatly increases the potential for trouble for a novice.

Good luck!

-ib

[lunker-lander]

WOW IB, thanks for all this useful info!! Matter of fact, I just printed 'er out and she's goin' in the fishin' file. .
What braids do you reccommend for me if I choose to use one? Also, I need to line my C-Rig/Jig rod too, will braid work well on these?

[BigBassin144]

Mono Is my first choice for crankbaits. I haven't tried just fluoro for cranks yet, butI use Stren Original Mono and have had no memory problems.

For Jigs, I use 30# braid where there are not many weeds, and in weeds probably 40#.

I use a fluoro leader on by braided line as well.

[lunker-lander]

Alright, I am finally starting to figure this "braid" thing out. But, is PP or Fireline Crystal really worth 13.99+ dollars for all the bells and whistles that come with it?

[Rebbasser]

I can't say regarding Fireline, but Powerpro sure is as far as I am concerned.

[islandbass]

Power pro for me. I use 30# Green. I want to try Sufix but it is too pricey and I am not yet willing to bite for the current price.

[lunker-lander]

What about the new "Stren Microfuse" that FlyBoy got his panties all up in a bunch about. Worth 25.00?

[BigBassin144]

Stren Microfuse would be worth it if you are going to use it how it was design to be used. If you want to fish braid at night with a UV lamp, then yeah, it's worth it. But if your like me and can't stand those freakin' mosquitos, and only fish during the day, I wouldn't suggest it. The reason for that is you can already see your braid fine during the day, why would you need it to "glow"

Anyways, I haven't tried PP myself yet, going to get some tomarrow, but I have used BPS Excel Braid with no problems. It also has a special coating on it that helps it float. It gives it a little more memory than other braid AT FIRST. But after a while it'll go away.

[islandbass]

Originally Posted by lunker-lander

What about the new "Stren Microfuse" that FlyBoy got his panties all up in a bunch about. Worth 25.00?

If you are as new as you say you are, I say no. That is awfully pricey for a line at your level of experience. One bad cast could lead to the bird's nest of a life time which in some cases means a complete replacement of the line on the spool. It will be the fastest $25 you will have ever spent.

The no is for that reason only. If $$ is no object, then by all means proceed.

A couple of things you can do to make it more economical is to fill your spool with backing of mono maybe 1/2 to 2/3 full or such a capacity that you will have 50 yds. of braid on top. More on this later.

Use the Uni to Uni or albright knot to join the mono (I fill it will a mono with about the same diameter as the braid) to the braid and fill the spool up to about 1/8 from the spool's top.

This helps to save you braid. Most braid filler spools come wit 150 yds(except stren which is why I won't buy it). When braid starts to get low on your reel's spool, you can add the next 50 yds. of braid. As you can see, by doing this, you allow yourself the chance to use up the entire filler spool of braid. Had you filled your reel with braid completely, depending on the size of the reel's spool, it could hold more than 150 yds. which mean you could get the reel to full capacity without another filler spool of braid. That makes it get pricier!

The other downside of a reel's spool completely filled with braid is that if you get down to say even 65% capacity, you will already have affected the reel's line recovery rate and the reel's ability to make optimum casts. What's worse, the braid on the spool is never going to see any use ever. Double whammy.

Filling the spool with enough mono backing helps you to keep your spool closer to optimum capacity which helps make longer casts easier, helps to keep the line recovery rate close to where it should be and helps you to use all of the braid.

You will need a backing of mono of at least 3 ft anyway. Attaching braid to the spool without a backing could make the braid slip.

One last thing. What I wrote above pertains to bass fishing only. If you are targetting larger species like salmon or steelhead, this method should either not be used or you will need to adjust the mono and braid ratio. Why? The bigger boys like salmon on their own can spool a 200 sized curado. As such, they can easily take your first 50 yrds and the rest of the line too. For them I would prefer to go full braid.

Practice with mono

[lunker-lander]

Thanks IB, you've really been a great help these past few days!! Hang in there and there won't be no more dickin' around with me anymore -- with all this info, I'll become pro!!!!!

[islandbass]

You're welcome, LL! I had a hard time learning on my own at first and almost quit on the bc reel until I started practicing with focus instead of making mindless casts in the yard. Many folks through posts such as these have also helped me so I am doing the same.

[lunker-lander]

Yeah, thanks for everything...

[BigBassin144]

As IB said, about he mono backing, it's a good idea. I do that too, although I only have one reel with braided on it at the moment. Another thing is, unless you plan to let enough line out to get to the mono backing, you rearely have to replace it. Just keep cutting iff your braid when you respool and tie on new braid.

[islandbass]

Amen, BigBassin and well said!