Line recommendation

[Jonnysig]

Been using 6lb P-line for dropshotting for a while now. Done real well with it and havent broken any off. just wanted some advice on wether switching to 8lb would be any different for the fish. I worry about fishing 6lb at Clear Lake or Delta or even Bullards where you have potential to catch a giant. will i still get the same amount of bites in clear water w/ 8lb that i would w/ 6lb??? Is it really that much of a difference. I feel like 6lb is just too weak for some places. Any recommendations? I would like to go 8lb all the way and just commit to it and say thats my drop shot line all year no matter where. What do you all use?

[acm95301]

You will get as many opinion as there are fishermen, and they will all have their points to make, but here is my experience:

I use a braid mainline(10lb power pro or diawa Samurai)
1. no line memory: my mainline will last at least a year.
a. the cost of multiple respools of flurocarbon covers any expense in braid
2. no stretch
a. I fish as deep as 65-75ft in the winter and i feel that on long casts or deep presentations braid just helps.
3. longer casts
a. braid cast a mile.
I use a 6-7 foot flurocarbon leader generally 6lb is fine, i have on several occasions dropped down to 4lb and it is very very strong. My line is attached using a double uni knot.

a smaller diameter line will on occassion dramatically outfish a larger diameter line.

[calfisher71]

Pline is very strong line and very abrasion resistant.

Pline tends to have a larger diamter than other brands,so your 6lb line may be as thick as some brands 8lb line now.
Hense why there 6lb line is very strong.

If you want to go stronger or bigger to 8/10lb test to be confident I recomend Berkley Trilene 100% flourocarbon.
Flouro is more invisible than mono and has a better sink rate and no stretch.

I have caught many big spotted bass on 6lb 100% flouro with no issues.

If Im at Clear Lake I use 8lb flouro due to all the pressure these fish receive.

If im flippin or flipshotting, i use 20lb flouro at the delta and clear lake.

Good Luck

[dockboy]

I spent years fishing straight flouro. Now all my spin rods are braid with a leader. I got sick of paying $20 every month or two to get new flouro on the spool. The benefits to braid were pretty well covered. I think about it this way:

I can put 15lb braid on once every 1 or 2 years, and buy a spool of flouro for leaders that I replace maybe 3 times a year. A 200 yard spool of flouro lasts a very long time when you are making 5 yard leaders out of it, especially when you compare the costs of straight flouro.

Also, braid allows you options up to your mainline rating, meaning I can throw 4lb up to 15lb leader on my dropshot so longer as I'm within the line rating of 15lbs. No changing the whole spool or filling a spare spool, just bring whatever leader you need. On the Delta, I use 8lb, but try to get away with something like 12lb if I can. On the lakes, I have no problems dropping down to 3lb if the fish are that spooky!

[elfish16]

Another thing I am going to start doing is just running about 3/4 spools of fluoro and having a mono backing. This will cut the cost of fluoro as its gets expensive and if you do this you can fill two reels roughly on a 200 yd spool of line.

I've been playing with the braid to fluoro leaders and LOVE it. Using a 15lb leader and 8lb leader and i've had NO breaks and its so sensitive too!

Either of those two methods are great and save a good deal of money!

[ACRon]

I am in the process of changing all spinning reels to braid with leaders. Just match the leader to the application. Gives you more versatility.

I keep a spare reel and a couple of spare spools loaded and ready to go in the boat, just in case something goes wrong. I only need to carry a couple of spools since my spinning reels are all the same, it makes it easy to swap out. I run 6 lb. leader most of the time but will upgrade to 8 lb. if water color is muddy or around vegetation. But I fish mostly foothill lakes.

[bassindon69]

Pline is very strong line and very abrasion resistant.

Pline tends to have a larger diamter than other brands,

FALSE!!! Ahhhh I use P-line (PF) and it is smaller then most, so I'm not sure what P-line you are talking about but my 25 and 30 lb PF I use is thinner than most. In fact I don't know of any as thin. Any that have been close are just that just close not much different at all. But with the PF you would be wrong with your statement other then it being strong.
You just don't see the PF on the shelf. Ever use it? I don't know many that do because it's the 1st they made and everyone likes change I'm stuck in my old ways
Check it for your self. Big game is pretty thin but PF beats it too.

[Jonnysig]

what about top water? should I still use the braid with a mono leader? or is 10-15lb braid strong enough for top water. Its gonna be on a spinning rod for my wife. She can throw poppers, small spooks, small buzzbaits and frogs. I like the idea of braid to a fluoro leader. seen it plenty of times just never thought about trying it. gonna try 15lb braid w/ a 6 and 8lb leaders depending on where i am. much cheaper to replace a leader instead of a spools worth. any recommendations for top water? Gonna be a 6'10 MedHvy Okuma C3 spinning rod w/ a BPS pro qualifier 20H spinning reel. Basically a rod for all applications. gonna throw some jigs, some drop shots, some senkos, some top water, etc...

[Chris N]

Braid to mono is great for topwater- braid floats the best and depending on the leader you get a little shock absorber in the mono that also tends to float- mono leader won't tangle in trebles as quick as the braid either. Give it a shot. Uni to uni has been good to me...
10-20 lb. powerpro w/ 6-8 lb. mono works really well

[danlee]

John, braid to fluoro is great. topwater use mono leader or straight braid. to save a little money i buy 150yd of braid put half on one spool and half on another. use a cheap mono as backing so your spool will fill up . after a year i take the braid off and put it back on with the unused end on the outside.

[Jonnysig]

Thanks Dan. As a matter of fact i always remember seeing you with braid/fluoro on your spinning rods. Just never got around to trying it. Gonna have to now. Floro is just too expensive. Alright Dan nice to hear from you. Any interest in coming back to the club????? We miss you buddy. Happy New Year.

[Gary Dobyns]

I don't know how you guys fish deep with braid to floro....it sinks so damn slow, I can't stand it. I also feel like i get a lot more drag in the water with the braid. I know lots of guys use it, but I perfer straight P-Line Floro and really like the Halo. Neither way is right or wrong, just what works better for you. I use mostly 8lb floro but 6lb test CXX is very good too. It's the only 6lb I will use.

[Jonnysig]

Thanks Gary. Would you use 8lb at clear lake? and would you use that same 8lb at bullards? Basically I am a little confused as to whether 8lb will be too much for those tough bite finesse days in the clear water reservoirs. And I am worried about using 6lb at clear lake. Trying to find that perfrect number. I am also trying to save money and line and I want a good number I can use in most lakes. Its for my wife dropshotting, small jigs, senkos, etc

[Oldschool]

Match the line size (# test/diameter) to the hook size (wire diameter) for best results. If you are fishing a light wire size 1 to 4 drop shot hook, then 4# to 8# FC or premium mono works good. 1/0 to 4/0 standard wire wacky rig hooks go up to 10# to 14# FC or mono. The line size should not bother the bass, they are rarely line shy; it only affects the anglers mind set.
Look at 8# line as being 25% stronger than 6#, more when considering knot strength.
It has always amazed me when bass anglers worry over using too heavy of line; should of used 5# instead of 6#, then they believe they would have caught more. On the same lakes , the same day I'm fishing 14# FC casting1/2 oz jigs in clear open water areas and doing very well on larger more wary bass.
The goal is to put bass in the boat; use the line that you are successful with.
Happy New Year.
Tom

[Jonnysig]

Thanks man. I also throw 1/2 or 3/4 oz jigs on 14lb line and dont have a problem. guess i get caught up in the hype i hear about downsizing.

[RipnRog]

Thanks Gary. Would you use 8lb at clear lake? and would you use that same 8lb at bullards? Basically I am a little confused as to whether 8lb will be too much for those tough bite finesse days in the clear water reservoirs. And I am worried about using 6lb at clear lake. Trying to find that perfrect number. I am also trying to save money and line and I want a good number I can use in most lakes. Its for my wife dropshotting, small jigs, senkos, etc

I have been bass fishing for many years. way before fluorocarbon came out. in the old days all I used was maxima green in 8 pound.. in fact I have never used 6 pound line ever. I actually do not even use fluoro now. I use a Copolymer Fishing Line... after trying the fluorocarbon lines and not being happy with there strength I tried this and have not had any problems getting bit and putting fish in the boat. The price is awesome for the 600 yard spools... give it a try... oh and no I am not sponsored by them by them. I have told many of my friends about this line and those that have tried it love it... Here is a link to a board sponsor that carries it.

http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Yo-Zuri_ ... ZHFLC.html

[Gary Dobyns]

[quote="Jonnysig"]Thanks Gary. Would you use 8lb at clear lake? and would you use that same 8lb at bullards? Basically I am a little confused as to whether 8lb will be too much for those tough bite finesse days in the clear water reservoirs. And I am worried about using 6lb at clear lake. Trying to find that perfrect number. I am also trying to save money and line and I want a good number I can use in most lakes. Its for my wife dropshotting, small jigs, senkos, etc[/quote]

I have caught a lot of fish on 8lb at Clear lake. I do like to up size when I can. I almost never drop below 8 lb test. It gets bit fine. Bullards for sure I'd use at least 8 lb, no worries there. In fact the only body of water that worries me a bit about 8 lb test is Shasta. That lake the last few years is so clear, it scares me and last year I did drop to 6 lb. I am going back to 8 lb this year at Shasta. I hate 6 lb myself. You will find 8 lb works great in most situations. I try and use bigger when I can. It just works for me. Many anglers use 6 lb and ever down to 4 lb test. I'm a nervous wreck doing it

[ASD]

I use 8lb Tahatsu on my DS rods. I have two Dobyns 701's and two Dobyns 702's. One of each is straight fluoro an the other 2 are 15lb Power Pro Supper Slick with a 10' 8lb Tahatsu leader. If fishing less then 40' I use the combo. If over 40' I like the straight fluoro as I think you get less of an arch in it if your boat moves or if the waters moving and it sinks WAY faster. If you are trying to save a copple $$ just use a cheap backer as their is no real need to have 300' of high doller line on your reel. In most cases Bass do not "take line". So if you want to run straight Fluoro on you Ds rig an you are fishing in 40' if you have 50' of Fluoro on a cheap backer you will never "See" it

[yjjustforme]

power pro for my mainline on every single rod i own, then a 7ft fluoro leader.

punching 80lb
topwater 65lb
frogging 65lb
cranking 40lb, 15lb floro leader
buzzbait topwater 40lb
worming 30lb, 10lb floro leader

all using a blood knot to attach lines