Braid for shallow cranking ??

[IAFrogger]

I am thinking pretty seriously about trying to use braid for all my shallow cranking this upcoming season. Virtually all the lakes I fish here in Iowa are generally stained or somewhat off color.

I was thinking of trying the new Power Pro 8 Super Slick braided line. Anyone have any experience using braid for shallow cranking? ... Pros and cons?... was thinking of using around 30lb..... my primary reason is for strength of removing snags and better feel of my bait....

[Bassboss]

Sounds like a good idea to me! If you do go with braid, I'd suggest a softer more parabolic rod to make up for the lack of stretch in the braid!

[keithdog]

I have a spinning rod with 20 pound braid that I occationally use for light weight shallow crankbaits around cover. It works very well for me, but remember, braid does not stretch. Or at least very minimal stretch. Thats the drawback for using braid with crankbaits. If you do try it, be sure to dial back your drag to reduce the sudden shock when a bass hits your crankbait. Otherwise you'll be loosing a lot of fish.

[Marty]

I use braid almost exclusively for bass fishing, so that includes shallow cranking. My experience is with 15# PowerPro. I'm probably too unsophisticated a fisherman to notice the subtleties, but it doesn't seem much different to me than my experience with other lines. Nothing has happened that made me think that I shouldn't be using braid for this technique.