I've switched to braid on almost all my reels and lures. I only use #20 braid for crankbaits now. It's simple, I'm making longer cast and the crank bait dives deeper and quicker than with other lines. I'm in the strike zone longer and covering more ground which equals more fish. Only have to use half the force to cast nearly twice as far which means less work for me and less wear and tear on my reels and wrist. No problems at all with hooking or landing fish either. If you have sharp hooks and that bass even touches that crankbait, you've got him. No need to jerk and set the hook, just keep reeling. Matter of fact, I'm so tired of digging two treble hooks deep out of their mouths that I am going to switch to single hooks or break of a few hooks on the trebles of my cranks. You feel EVERYTHING with braid and the lure action is way better. On my lake they don't act like they see it. My catches have increased since switching to braid on cranks. I've fished the same cranks on braid side by side on the same day with mono or flouro on other reels and I catch more on the braid. Not to mention I don't have to worry about break offs and losing a nice fish or a favorite lure. I can't go back to mono or flouro now, there is no comparison.
Hey Randy, I love watching your videos and other anglers videos and listening to the thoughts and views on things by different anglers. I’m probably a good bit more advanced than most people that watch these types of videos, so I’m not really hear to learn how to do something. What I enjoy is hearing all of the different views anglers have on things and what works for them. It’s amazing how many contradicting views there are on about every aspect of bass fishing, even from the most experienced pros. What this has made me realize is that there is no right or wrong way to do things once you get to a certain level, and that you just have to figure out what works for you best. I’m to the point where I’m pretty much set in my ways on what I do because I have tried and experimented different ways of doing things and figured out what I do best with, and always keep an open mind when I’m watching videos like this to see if there’s a better way I may not have tried to do something yet. I watch some of your videos and end up going through the comments because I know there’s going to be people that disagree with you, and it amazes me on how closed minded people are, and will tell you that you are wrong. The funny thing is, they tell you you’re wrong and just repeat what they watched another angler say in a different video, and probably have little to no real experience with that application. If there’s any anglers that are reading this I’ll give you a great tip. Keep your ears and mind open, and your mouth closed. This mans been around a long time and been successful at what he does, so how can you tell him he’s wrong? I do the same as Randy with these baits with the exception of the walking bait. But I’m not going to tell him he’s wrong about that, because I accomplish the same thing he’s doing with the mono, but I change other things to get that way, and my conditions are different than most of the country. I mainly fish blueback herring lakes. I throw an ima little stick most of the time which is very heavy and I have to make extremely long cast when the fish come up schooling. If I use mono line while doing this I will sometimes cast off a bait because they are so heavy and I have to put everything I have into a cast to reach those fish sometimes. If I go up in line size with mono, I lose distance. And when I can reach them on the long cast with mono “I” feel like I lose more fish due to not always getting a good hook in the fish due to the line stretch. I’ve found that if I use braid, I can’t get the distance, strength, and hook set with braid. To get the give I need to keep from losing fish, I use a 7’3 heavy moderate action rod that was actually designed for chatterbaits. I would be willing to bet that my setup on that is different than about 99.9% of fisherman with that bait, but I have played with a ton of different setups and that’s what I feel like I have the most success at landing fish with. So you can’t tell me I’m wrong. Thanks for the content Randy! I always enjoy watching even if I don’t always do things the same as you!
I love braid for crank baits and top water, and braid to leader On jerk baits. Using the right rod is more important than using the line as a shock absorber, I haven’t lost but one or two crank bait bass using a cranking rod, even though I used to throw them on less suitable rods with mono or Fluorocarbon. If I fished clear water often, I’d probably switch for cranking, but David Fritz cranks with braid.
I agree! The right rod with walking topwater baits is key. Braid to mono leader with a soft tip rod have Always given me the best hook up ratio. Not to mention high landing percentage.
@@lilhito9498 100 percent agree, if you're having success using something, don't change everything up just because a pro says so. Even if it's unconventional, if it's helping you have success, don't change it.
Hey Randy, I am new to Bass fishing and really enjoying the learning process. Seen many many U tube channels and to be perfectly honest, your videos are tops. They straight forward, brief and informative. Keep up the good work and I will support your channel.!
I agree with you, but I’m still going to use braided line regardless, because im confidence in the line and my expensive lure not going snap off hahaha
I've never had a problem fishing Braided Line in Stained Water. In Clear Water situations I think that it would Definitely Matter. Thanks Randy for sharing your Experience & Thoughts.
Great tip! I agree 100%. I use braid for punching mats, throwing a hollow body frog over vegetation and have recently started using high vis braid to flouro on spinning rods for drop shot and occasionally a small shaky head.
I definitely get way more bites on the clear lines. And I fished with someone using braid and I was using clear line, and had such a distinct advantage catching fish, that they switched to clear line and started catching fish. And this has happened several times. So just from my experience, clear line minus the braid, seems to definitely get more bites and catch more fish. Great advice....!
David Fritts, who knows a little something about crankbait fishing, may disagree. I started using braid after listening to him talk about it and never looked back.
Great video, It makes me feel good that you aren’t a big fan of braid. My buddies poked fun at me but for years I’ve only ever had one rod with braid reserved for punching and heavy cover frogging. Funny how they are now switching to flouro and mono, it’s just better that way!
I’m in Florida & I use braid on all my lures. Lots of hydrilla here . Have not problem catching them. 15 to 20 lb on spinning and 30 to 65 on bait casters
I went to almost all FC this year and I'm happy I did. I felt I've landed more fish overall due to the low visibility of FC especially with a texas rig.
Thanks Randy. I must say the varied opinions about lines is a never ending source of chagrin and confusion. I am continually tossed to and fro about the right line. I get frustrated every time I see a video about what lines to use. It is very complicated with many variables and very frustrating! So much difference of opinion on this subject!!! How about braid with a rod length or longer of fluorocarbon leader? Fish can’t see it and I would think the lure action would not be very much impaired, and feel is maintained. Braid offers me the best sensitivity. Feeling the lure is very important to me, as is seeing my line when jig or worm fishing. I used to use Stren Blue Florescent mono because I could see it. It was called “the linewatcher’s line”. I got away from that because longer casting distances seemed to me to kill the feel. I need to see my line when jig or worm fishing. So I am trying a higher visibility braid with a fluorocarbon leader for jig and worm fishing. I do use fluorocarbon for crank baits. I must say most of my fishing is in low visibility water here in Kansas. I’m not sure line makes any difference in such low visibility. I tend to opt for feel control over everything, but seeing the line is a close second for jigs and worms. So this is where I’m at: it seems right to use braid plus a fluorocarbon leader for jig and worms, fluorocarbon for crank baits and spinnerbaits, and generally braid plus a fluorocarbon leader for top waters. Not that any of these are right, but this is what I have gleaned and deemed to be the best at this point. Do they make fluorescent fluorocarbon line? This might be great if they make it!
I watched a video where David Fritts was explaining that he had started throwing his crankbaits on braid......mostly because he was trying not to have to retie so often.
I understand this is a braid lesson but have a question on florocarbon. Everybody scales down to 8-10 lb line. I figure if it’s invisible why not go with 20 lb? That’s what I have been trying and haven’t seen any different on bites.
Crankbait agree, jerkbait agree, topwater (excluding frogs) agree, swimbait agree but I consider the dark sleeper a jig so braid to fluro, Texas rig disagree braid to fluro sometimes. Not mentiond. Spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, swimjigs, fluro, mono or copolymer. Just my opinion. Thanks for the vids.
Good stuff Randy! I agree with not using it for walking baits but what about braid for buzz baits? Main reason I use braid for my buzz bait is because I'm throwing it behind docks with cables and chains and through thick cover.
I know this an old video, but I think the rod you are using also heavily impacts line choice. For instance I use a much softer rod than most while fishing topwater walking baits and also straight braid. The parabolic action of the rod gives me a similar cushion factor as using monofilament would.
My only reason to use braided line is when I want that line to last. Feel like I replace too much of the other stuff dur to the memory it holds. Pulled my grandma's 20' cane pole down from the cellar with power pro 10lb from years ago, besides the dust it's always new as you used it. Shoulda hearnd her rip those gills right in the boat like a machine, that cane pole was still singing!!! Crap stays tight unlike that spider wire crap. mhmm.... But I do not know about a entire spool of anything but braid I reckon.
Well, i have to agree with you on the hard baits. If it has treble hooks on it stay away from braid is the usual rule of thumb. I personally use mostly fluorocarbon and monofilament for al applications except heavy cover.
Lee Livesay did alright on lake fork with braid on a walking bait. Just need to match your bait to the line and rod. Jerkbaits can also work great on braid with a leader. Again though if your using the wrong rod you'll pull allot of hooks.
Fish lots of 50lb braid to Xlb flouro for Texas rigs (grass, lay downs, hard cover), but never really thought about the stretch. Do I actually get any stretch with main line braid to Fluorocarbon leader connection or is it minimal? Could it be hurting the bite to landed fish ratio? For anything under 1 ounce Texas rigs, assuming you’d prefer fluorocarbon main line? Learning a lot of this channel and its proved itself on the water, thank you!
I'm getting ready to hook-up with Curtis on Table Rock next week. I'm anxious to see if he agrees with you on line selection. Personally, I don't have an opinion either way, since I don't have the experience you and all the respondents have. I'll do whatever I'm told is best. :-}
What lb and type line are you using for these baits then?! I use braided line all the time with medium rods for the hard lures so the tip is giving the flex . I'm happy to change... To what? I watch everything you put up.. Thanks from Zimbabwe
Just out of curiosity, did the baitcaster have a rubber piece to tie it to? If not did you use electrical tape? If the answer to both questions is no, I am told that you will have problem when you hook into a fish. People say the line will slip. It has never happened to me personally. I fish with mono usually just because I hate tying braided line, but I do love how it casts.
See good points for ALL, except top water. Braid, with short mono leader, can not be beat. Baits are more responsive, but for me, ease of setting the hook at the end of a 60-70 yd cast, is everything. I also tend to use braid/leader for all my larger (8-10") swimbaits.
what ever happened to co polymers.fine tuning a presentation may require using balanced rod line an reel .distance would be a great consideration.I build all my rods for 55 years and find matching rod blank to a presentation will allow me to land more .to be a step ahead of the crowd .
I use braid on all my reels (20 pound braid tied to a fluoro leader 17 pounds). Would you advise against this as well. My leader is normally rje lenght of my rod. All my rods, with the exeption of 2( medium) are medium heavy because of all the grass in most of the dams we fish here where i live in South Africa. Works for me but i love your advice because it made me a far better angler than what i was before.
I would suggest going with 40-50 lb braid just to match the diameter size. Think about it the closer you get those diameters the better the knot will be
With any topwater that has trebles braid is def a no no I use copoly for my topwater treble baits an its work very well an I use the floro coated one just to give me a little more stealth with the line floating on water but. I def agree with all these and I use floro for my dark sleepers an it never failed me.
Disagree: Cranks: moving bait visibility doesn’t matter, proper rod let’s fish inhale it and fight Jerkbait: better, crisper action with braid to leader, proper rod let’s fish eat it and fight Topwater: longer casts with braid, slack in the line anyways allows them to inhale it Swimbait: moving bait visibility doesn’t matter, better hook penetration with braid T-rig: better hook penetration with braid but I agree with everything else you mentioned
Crankbaits and swimbaits the visibility matters. But there's places where braid to leader works well. 20lb braid is much thinner than 8lb fluoro. Throw a 12lb fluoro leader on 20lb braid and you'll get 1-2' extra depth from the crank, and if you're using pauses in your retrieve, the bait will actually pause because there's no stretch. Jerkbaits I'm 100% with you.
Agree for crankbaits and jerkbaits. Don’t agree on topwater, down here in Florida we fish topwater over submerged vegetation and we need that braid to get them out or keep them out. We fish Texas rigs in heavy vegetation all the time as well as swim baits so we always use braid. The tanic water hides the braid without issue. If I didn’t fish exclusively down here in Florida I’d agree with you completely but where I fish there are no boat docks, riprap, etc. if you’re not fishing around vegetation you’re not around fish ...
It’s hard to believe anything anymore. Last year I tried braid -FC with small jerkbait and one day in the spring I got on a school and landed 25-30 bass in 1.5 hour. If they didn’t like braid I wouldn’t have caught so many. This year I’m switching more rods to braid-FC. Plus FC is so overpriced nowadays it’s ridiculous.
How many times does a fish have to be caught before he learns no to bite something when he see braided line. Also what kind of testing did you do to come to the conclusion that you have to have stretch with a jerkbait or crankbait?
I honestly don't like braid. I use it only when absolutely necessary. Most of my setups use either yo-zuri hybrid or CXX. I think too many guys mindlessly use braid on everything, simply out of a lack of knowledge or experience with other lines.
I saw some recently that really jumped out at me. A lot of difference of opinion on which line to use and not use. But a fairly common theme across most information is line being visible and scaring fish away.. what about the hooks? Do the fish not see the big bulky hook sticking out the bait?
Good information. Definitely crank baits and anything with treble hooks braid not a good idea. As to Texas rigged worms and a lot of single hook stuff braid to a leader of florocarbon or monofilament seems ok. I’m not a pro and I’ve switched a lot based off pro suggestions so jury still out for mr on some uses. I hate floro memory.
To all the leader guys if you are not getting hit exactly at the leader knot or if your knot doesnt leave the spool of course you are getting that stretch. I dont let my leader knot leave the spool thru the eyelets
@@montuckyman4982 call it what you may i see no written rule i just dont need a knot constantly going thru my eyelets something could get pressured into breaking 🤷🏾♂️
This is all true accounting for the stiff broomsticks that most bass guys fill their rod locker with. All your problems using braid will go away when you go to a med - med/light rod.
If it's a bad ideal with crank baits how come the number one crankbaiter uses braid on them? The jerkbait I can see that. Topwater braid is a 100% better than any other line. Swimbaits some of the best swimbaits angler's use 80 to 100 pound braid for big swimbaits and like the Texas rig or flipping again braid is way better even in brush piles haven't ever had a issue with braid.
I would love to be able to use mono, but it coils and twists every time!! Always have problems with mono. I will pay any amount of money if I can find a GOOD mono, help
Ahh, Mr. Blaukat. Love your stuff. Not a hater. But not in agreement with your imherent bias against braid. I'm way up north. We have no big impounded reservoirs. So, brush is not a cover we see much. Wood is less prevalent unless you're going into backcountry lakes. Grass is abundant. Started using braid cranking years ago, on the advice of Mr. Fritts. Nuff said. Always used braid on jerkbaits, not a big player for me though. I used to run mono on walking baits and lost more than a few tanks at the end of long casts... couldn't set the hooks well at distance... which imho is monos main drawback. Let me relate a story from the 2011 Bassmania Classic on Big Rideau Lake: On day 2 we needed a big sack to make the cut. Decided to go after smallmouth on the big lake. Super spook, 17lb mono, stiff MH rod. Bombing casts. I missed at least 6 or 7 smallies in the 4 to 7 lb range. Saw them breech. Knocking my bait around. Uber tanks. Some of the biggest smallies I ever set eyes on. Couldn't get hooks in them at the end of a long cast. Heartbreaking. Couldn't approach any closer without spooking them. Couldn't get them to hit any follow-up baits. We probably would have finished day 2 in the lead if I'd put hooks in even half of those fish. I switched to braid and now I don't have that problem. I know about your bias. I know you hate a connecting knot. But imho if you power down on the rod, perhaps slow down on the reel ratio, braid can be an excellent substite for mono and fluoro in many, many circumstances. I fish all my T-rigs on braid... most of my jigs too. Grass is prevalent. I camofluage my line. I don't think I miss out on a lot of bites. In your impoundments fishung brush and ledges, ok. But keep an open mind brother. Braid isn't the devil. For me it's a fantastic tool. My big fish of 2020 was a 6lb northern largie, on a walking bait and 40lb braid. 2 cents. Ps- Keep the great content coming mate. Love it.
Personally have fluorocarbon or mono leader to braid as the way go but definitely my drag have gone way looser than with straight fluoro. I notice I'm far more in tune with my lure and the amount of fish( not just bass) that nip and end up catching vs. never feeling/knowing a fish was even there. The only downside I can notice from switching to primarily braid to leader line set ups is that I naturally fish most lures too fast regardless of the reels retrieve rate. Good video. Definitely will try to keep a straight fluorocarbon set up in the car.
STRONGLY disagree with the no braid on the walking topwater. I use braid to a mono leader. Bait is tremendously responsive. Paired with a rod with correct action, I lose few, if any, fish.
Haha back to this subject again Randy...First of all I hope your dad is doing well mate... Secondly there is a whole country of sport fishermen residing in Australia who would argue the point with you about using braided lines on differing lures... Now I do agree with the topwater side of things as I use monofilament lines straight through to present them...However crankbaits and braided lines tied in conjunction with flurocarbon leader attached over a soft tipped rod will not lose you fish...Now I well respect the fact that this is your page and your entitled to express your views but I guess we are going to just have to agree to disagree on this subject...I only wish we could share a boat together one day and fish your ideas and techniques on your local fish then fish here in Australia on our bass with you using your techniques and me using mine...Then see who loses fish or not...By the way now I am not attacking you mate just offering my reply with my opinion only on this subject...best regards B.J.
I have to agree. It’s been my experience that the people losing fish over a lack of stretch in the line are throwing a rod with to heavy of an action. As long as there is give somewhere you should be okay. Different people get it different ways.
I use braid on everything, straight braid! I catch more fish with braid and land more than I ever did with fluorocarbon. Don't give fish too much credit. Tight lines everyone!
I've switched to braid on almost all my reels and lures. I only use #20 braid for crankbaits now. It's simple, I'm making longer cast and the crank bait dives deeper and quicker than with other lines. I'm in the strike zone longer and covering more ground which equals more fish. Only have to use half the force to cast nearly twice as far which means less work for me and less wear and tear on my reels and wrist. No problems at all with hooking or landing fish either. If you have sharp hooks and that bass even touches that crankbait, you've got him. No need to jerk and set the hook, just keep reeling. Matter of fact, I'm so tired of digging two treble hooks deep out of their mouths that I am going to switch to single hooks or break of a few hooks on the trebles of my cranks. You feel EVERYTHING with braid and the lure action is way better. On my lake they don't act like they see it. My catches have increased since switching to braid on cranks. I've fished the same cranks on braid side by side on the same day with mono or flouro on other reels and I catch more on the braid. Not to mention I don't have to worry about break offs and losing a nice fish or a favorite lure. I can't go back to mono or flouro now, there is no comparison.
There are braided fishing lines you can buy that are translucent. Such as the some of the spiderwire braids.
Hey Randy, I love watching your videos and other anglers videos and listening to the thoughts and views on things by different anglers. I’m probably a good bit more advanced than most people that watch these types of videos, so I’m not really hear to learn how to do something. What I enjoy is hearing all of the different views anglers have on things and what works for them. It’s amazing how many contradicting views there are on about every aspect of bass fishing, even from the most experienced pros. What this has made me realize is that there is no right or wrong way to do things once you get to a certain level, and that you just have to figure out what works for you best. I’m to the point where I’m pretty much set in my ways on what I do because I have tried and experimented different ways of doing things and figured out what I do best with, and always keep an open mind when I’m watching videos like this to see if there’s a better way I may not have tried to do something yet. I watch some of your videos and end up going through the comments because I know there’s going to be people that disagree with you, and it amazes me on how closed minded people are, and will tell you that you are wrong. The funny thing is, they tell you you’re wrong and just repeat what they watched another angler say in a different video, and probably have little to no real experience with that application. If there’s any anglers that are reading this I’ll give you a great tip. Keep your ears and mind open, and your mouth closed. This mans been around a long time and been successful at what he does, so how can you tell him he’s wrong? I do the same as Randy with these baits with the exception of the walking bait. But I’m not going to tell him he’s wrong about that, because I accomplish the same thing he’s doing with the mono, but I change other things to get that way, and my conditions are different than most of the country. I mainly fish blueback herring lakes. I throw an ima little stick most of the time which is very heavy and I have to make extremely long cast when the fish come up schooling. If I use mono line while doing this I will sometimes cast off a bait because they are so heavy and I have to put everything I have into a cast to reach those fish sometimes. If I go up in line size with mono, I lose distance. And when I can reach them on the long cast with mono “I” feel like I lose more fish due to not always getting a good hook in the fish due to the line stretch. I’ve found that if I use braid, I can’t get the distance, strength, and hook set with braid. To get the give I need to keep from losing fish, I use a 7’3 heavy moderate action rod that was actually designed for chatterbaits. I would be willing to bet that my setup on that is different than about 99.9% of fisherman with that bait, but I have played with a ton of different setups and that’s what I feel like I have the most success at landing fish with. So you can’t tell me I’m wrong. Thanks for the content Randy! I always enjoy watching even if I don’t always do things the same as you!
I love braid for crank baits and top water, and braid to leader On jerk baits. Using the right rod is more important than using the line as a shock absorber, I haven’t lost but one or two crank bait bass using a cranking rod, even though I used to throw them on less suitable rods with mono or Fluorocarbon.
If I fished clear water often, I’d probably switch for cranking, but David Fritz cranks with braid.
I agree! The right rod with walking topwater baits is key. Braid to mono leader with a soft tip rod have Always given me the best hook up ratio. Not to mention high landing percentage.
That must be something new. I fished with him on Lake Eufaula and surprised me by fishing monofilament.
Honestly it’s all just personal preference, just use what you have confidence in and are comfortable with!!!
@@lilhito9498 100 percent agree, if you're having success using something, don't change everything up just because a pro says so. Even if it's unconventional, if it's helping you have success, don't change it.
Hey Randy, I am new to Bass fishing and really enjoying the learning process. Seen many many U tube channels and to be perfectly honest, your videos are tops. They straight forward, brief and informative. Keep up the good work and I will support your channel.!
I agree with you, but I’m still going to use braided line regardless, because im confidence in the line and my expensive lure not going snap off hahaha
Loving the lucky Hat!!!Come on 75k😁Loving the tips,insights,stories and opinions🤓Thanks Randy!!!
Thanks Daniel, I’ve got a long way to go to hit 75,000!
I've never had a problem fishing Braided Line in Stained Water. In Clear Water situations I think that it would Definitely Matter.
Thanks Randy for sharing your Experience & Thoughts.
Great tip! I agree 100%. I use braid for punching mats, throwing a hollow body frog over vegetation and have recently started using high vis braid to flouro on spinning rods for drop shot and occasionally a small shaky head.
Great info that I have never heard from anyone else, but have wondered by my lack of results with lack of bites or no hookset. Thanks Randy!
This subject has been reoccurring on the channel and it always leaves me second guessing.
I definitely get way more bites on the clear lines. And I fished with someone using braid and I was using clear line, and had such a distinct advantage catching fish, that they switched to clear line and started catching fish. And this has happened several times. So just from my experience, clear line minus the braid, seems to definitely get more bites and catch more fish. Great advice....!
great video and tips. Love the to the point approach in this video.
David Fritts, who knows a little something about crankbait fishing, may disagree. I started using braid after listening to him talk about it and never looked back.
Great video, It makes me feel good that you aren’t a big fan of braid. My buddies poked fun at me but for years I’ve only ever had one rod with braid reserved for punching and heavy cover frogging. Funny how they are now switching to flouro and mono, it’s just better that way!
Braid with 6 foot fluro leader ???? Pros cons???? Haven’t had any issues so far best fishing year ever so far
Same here.
@@tagg946 exactly I’ll cut that leader off and tie frogs I still use a leader with spooks
I’m in Florida & I use braid on all my lures. Lots of hydrilla here . Have not problem catching them. 15 to 20 lb on spinning and 30 to 65 on bait casters
Lol thanks for your input, John. I'd bet my savings account that I'd out fish you on your home water with fluoro.
@@garywest2250 always that guy. Guarentee you wouldn't outfish anyone with the only difference being line.
@@garywest2250 you probablywould. I fish Headwaters lake ., Roland Martin just last week got a 12.7 there. That’s why we all use heavy braid there.
Florida is notorious for stained water. Braid is much less visible in stained or muddy water.
I went to almost all FC this year and I'm happy I did. I felt I've landed more fish overall due to the low visibility of FC especially with a texas rig.
Thanks Randy. I must say the varied opinions about lines is a never ending source of chagrin and confusion. I am continually tossed to and fro about the right line. I get frustrated every time I see a video about what lines to use. It is very complicated with many variables and very frustrating! So much difference of opinion on this subject!!! How about braid with a rod length or longer of fluorocarbon leader? Fish can’t see it and I would think the lure action would not be very much impaired, and feel is maintained. Braid offers me the best sensitivity. Feeling the lure is very important to me, as is seeing my line when jig or worm fishing. I used to use Stren Blue Florescent mono because I could see it. It was called “the linewatcher’s line”. I got away from that because longer casting distances seemed to me to kill the feel. I need to see my line when jig or worm fishing. So I am trying a higher visibility braid with a fluorocarbon leader for jig and worm fishing. I do use fluorocarbon for crank baits. I must say most of my fishing is in low visibility water here in Kansas. I’m not sure line makes any difference in such low visibility. I tend to opt for feel control over everything, but seeing the line is a close second for jigs and worms.
So this is where I’m at: it seems right to use braid plus a fluorocarbon leader for jig and worms, fluorocarbon for crank baits and spinnerbaits, and generally braid plus a fluorocarbon leader for top waters. Not that any of these are right, but this is what I have gleaned and deemed to be the best at this point. Do they make fluorescent fluorocarbon line? This might be great if they make it!
I watched a video where David Fritts was explaining that he had started throwing his crankbaits on braid......mostly because he was trying not to have to retie so often.
Hey Randy, how about a video on the Dark Sleeper? The how's, where's and when's would be great!
Don
he has one on it
I agree with you 100%. Totally on board
I understand this is a braid lesson but have a question on florocarbon. Everybody scales down to 8-10 lb line. I figure if it’s invisible why not go with 20 lb? That’s what I have been trying and haven’t seen any different on bites.
I fish 15-17 lb fluoro on my dropshot in cover. No difference in size or number of bites
Crankbait agree, jerkbait agree, topwater (excluding frogs) agree, swimbait agree but I consider the dark sleeper a jig so braid to fluro, Texas rig disagree braid to fluro sometimes. Not mentiond. Spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, swimjigs, fluro, mono or copolymer. Just my opinion. Thanks for the vids.
Good stuff Randy! I agree with not using it for walking baits but what about braid for buzz baits? Main reason I use braid for my buzz bait is because I'm throwing it behind docks with cables and chains and through thick cover.
I know this an old video, but I think the rod you are using also heavily impacts line choice. For instance I use a much softer rod than most while fishing topwater walking baits and also straight braid. The parabolic action of the rod gives me a similar cushion factor as using monofilament would.
I like my braided line with a fluorocarbon leader. 30lb braided with a 20lb leader. But, that's my preference.
I live in florida, Randy. Does this still go?
My only reason to use braided line is when I want that line to last. Feel like I replace too much of the other stuff dur to the memory it holds. Pulled my grandma's 20' cane pole down from the cellar with power pro 10lb from years ago, besides the dust it's always new as you used it. Shoulda hearnd her rip those gills right in the boat like a machine, that cane pole was still singing!!! Crap stays tight unlike that spider wire crap. mhmm.... But I do not know about a entire spool of anything but braid I reckon.
Interesting about swim baits. I lose so many fish on mono I hate fishing them. Was about to switch to braid.
Well, i have to agree with you on the hard baits. If it has treble hooks on it stay away from braid is the usual rule of thumb. I personally use mostly fluorocarbon and monofilament for al applications except heavy cover.
Good Advice Randy.
I mostly agree but David fritts cranks with braid and hes definitely a decent cranker!
Lee Livesay did alright on lake fork with braid on a walking bait. Just need to match your bait to the line and rod. Jerkbaits can also work great on braid with a leader. Again though if your using the wrong rod you'll pull allot of hooks.
Fish lots of 50lb braid to Xlb flouro for Texas rigs (grass, lay downs, hard cover), but never really thought about the stretch. Do I actually get any stretch with main line braid to Fluorocarbon leader connection or is it minimal? Could it be hurting the bite to landed fish ratio? For anything under 1 ounce Texas rigs, assuming you’d prefer fluorocarbon main line? Learning a lot of this channel and its proved itself on the water, thank you!
I'm getting ready to hook-up with Curtis on Table Rock next week. I'm anxious to see if he agrees with you on line selection. Personally, I don't have an opinion either way, since I don't have the experience you and all the respondents have. I'll do whatever I'm told is best. :-}
What lb and type line are you using for these baits then?!
I use braided line all the time with medium rods for the hard lures so the tip is giving the flex .
I'm happy to change... To what?
I watch everything you put up..
Thanks from Zimbabwe
I have always used mono, but did buy my first ever spool of braid and have spooled it on a baitcaster but have not used it yet.
Just out of curiosity, did the baitcaster have a rubber piece to tie it to? If not did you use electrical tape?
If the answer to both questions is no, I am told that you will have problem when you hook into a fish. People say the line will slip.
It has never happened to me personally. I fish with mono usually just because I hate tying braided line, but I do love how it casts.
Monofilament line low-vis green and clear. Which do you believe is less visible to the fish?
Good to know. Thanks.
See good points for ALL, except top water. Braid, with short mono leader, can not be beat. Baits are more responsive, but for me, ease of setting the hook at the end of a 60-70 yd cast, is everything. I also tend to use braid/leader for all my larger (8-10") swimbaits.
what ever happened to co polymers.fine tuning a presentation may require using balanced rod line an reel .distance would be a great consideration.I build all my rods for 55 years and find matching rod blank to a presentation will allow me to land more .to be a step ahead of the crowd .
I'll disagree on the last three. Never had problems with braid on those categories.
I use braid on all my reels (20 pound braid tied to a fluoro leader 17 pounds). Would you advise against this as well. My leader is normally rje lenght of my rod. All my rods, with the exeption of 2( medium) are medium heavy because of all the grass in most of the dams we fish here where i live in South Africa. Works for me but i love your advice because it made me a far better angler than what i was before.
I would suggest going with 40-50 lb braid just to match the diameter size. Think about it the closer you get those diameters the better the knot will be
With any topwater that has trebles braid is def a no no I use copoly for my topwater treble baits an its work very well an I use the floro coated one just to give me a little more stealth with the line floating on water but. I def agree with all these and I use floro for my dark sleepers an it never failed me.
Disagree:
Cranks: moving bait visibility doesn’t matter, proper rod let’s fish inhale it and fight
Jerkbait: better, crisper action with braid to leader, proper rod let’s fish eat it and fight
Topwater: longer casts with braid, slack in the line anyways allows them to inhale it
Swimbait: moving bait visibility doesn’t matter, better hook penetration with braid
T-rig: better hook penetration with braid but I agree with everything else you mentioned
Crankbaits and swimbaits the visibility matters. But there's places where braid to leader works well. 20lb braid is much thinner than 8lb fluoro. Throw a 12lb fluoro leader on 20lb braid and you'll get 1-2' extra depth from the crank, and if you're using pauses in your retrieve, the bait will actually pause because there's no stretch.
Jerkbaits I'm 100% with you.
I agree 100%. Good video.
I run braid to leader on almost all my setups. I don't find that I have any disadvantages or lose fish.
Agree for crankbaits and jerkbaits. Don’t agree on topwater, down here in Florida we fish topwater over submerged vegetation and we need that braid to get them out or keep them out. We fish Texas rigs in heavy vegetation all the time as well as swim baits so we always use braid. The tanic water hides the braid without issue. If I didn’t fish exclusively down here in Florida I’d agree with you completely but where I fish there are no boat docks, riprap, etc. if you’re not fishing around vegetation you’re not around fish ...
It’s hard to believe anything anymore. Last year I tried braid -FC with small jerkbait and one day in the spring I got on a school and landed 25-30 bass in 1.5 hour. If they didn’t like braid I wouldn’t have caught so many. This year I’m switching more rods to braid-FC. Plus FC is so overpriced nowadays it’s ridiculous.
How many times does a fish have to be caught before he learns no to bite something when he see braided line. Also what kind of testing did you do to come to the conclusion that you have to have stretch with a jerkbait or crankbait?
I honestly don't like braid. I use it only when absolutely necessary. Most of my setups use either yo-zuri hybrid or CXX. I think too many guys mindlessly use braid on everything, simply out of a lack of knowledge or experience with other lines.
I saw some recently that really jumped out at me. A lot of difference of opinion on which line to use and not use. But a fairly common theme across most information is line being visible and scaring fish away.. what about the hooks? Do the fish not see the big bulky hook sticking out the bait?
Great question
I think the hooks look like fins to the fish.
Hey thanks Randy, I'll go to a leader
Good information. Definitely crank baits and anything with treble hooks braid not a good idea. As to Texas rigged worms and a lot of single hook stuff braid to a leader of florocarbon or monofilament seems ok. I’m not a pro and I’ve switched a lot based off pro suggestions so jury still out for mr on some uses. I hate floro memory.
does this apply to us that use braid to leader on everything? im running braid for all of these but with 10ft+ mono or flouro leaders
Me to
I catch fish with no problems
Going to be interesting on the comments about braid and walking baits.
To all the leader guys if you are not getting hit exactly at the leader knot or if your knot doesnt leave the spool of course you are getting that stretch. I dont let my leader knot leave the spool thru the eyelets
That's not really a leader if the only thing leaving your spool is the "leader" now is it? That's just having a ton of backing👍😁
@@montuckyman4982 call it what you may i see no written rule i just dont need a knot constantly going thru my eyelets something could get pressured into breaking 🤷🏾♂️
KVD would beg to differ on the walking bait.
This is all true accounting for the stiff broomsticks that most bass guys fill their rod locker with.
All your problems using braid will go away when you go to a med - med/light rod.
I'm a straight mono man!
12 or 14 lb test!
If it's a bad ideal with crank baits how come the number one crankbaiter uses braid on them? The jerkbait I can see that. Topwater braid is a 100% better than any other line. Swimbaits some of the best swimbaits angler's use 80 to 100 pound braid for big swimbaits and like the Texas rig or flipping again braid is way better even in brush piles haven't ever had a issue with braid.
I would love to be able to use mono, but it coils and twists every time!! Always have problems with mono. I will pay any amount of money if I can find a GOOD mono, help
Sunline Supernatural is the best I've found. I hate mono for the same reasons. I only have 2 spools of it and it rarely gets used.
Ahh, Mr. Blaukat. Love your stuff. Not a hater. But not in agreement with your imherent bias against braid. I'm way up north. We have no big impounded reservoirs. So, brush is not a cover we see much. Wood is less prevalent unless you're going into backcountry lakes. Grass is abundant.
Started using braid cranking years ago, on the advice of Mr. Fritts. Nuff said.
Always used braid on jerkbaits, not a big player for me though.
I used to run mono on walking baits and lost more than a few tanks at the end of long casts... couldn't set the hooks well at distance... which imho is monos main drawback.
Let me relate a story from the 2011 Bassmania Classic on Big Rideau Lake: On day 2 we needed a big sack to make the cut. Decided to go after smallmouth on the big lake. Super spook, 17lb mono, stiff MH rod. Bombing casts. I missed at least 6 or 7 smallies in the 4 to 7 lb range. Saw them breech. Knocking my bait around. Uber tanks. Some of the biggest smallies I ever set eyes on. Couldn't get hooks in them at the end of a long cast. Heartbreaking. Couldn't approach any closer without spooking them. Couldn't get them to hit any follow-up baits. We probably would have finished day 2 in the lead if I'd put hooks in even half of those fish. I switched to braid and now I don't have that problem.
I know about your bias. I know you hate a connecting knot. But imho if you power down on the rod, perhaps slow down on the reel ratio, braid can be an excellent substite for mono and fluoro in many, many circumstances.
I fish all my T-rigs on braid... most of my jigs too. Grass is prevalent. I camofluage my line. I don't think I miss out on a lot of bites. In your impoundments fishung brush and ledges, ok.
But keep an open mind brother. Braid isn't the devil. For me it's a fantastic tool. My big fish of 2020 was a 6lb northern largie, on a walking bait and 40lb braid. 2 cents.
Ps- Keep the great content coming mate. Love it.
Personally have fluorocarbon or mono leader to braid as the way go but definitely my drag have gone way looser than with straight fluoro. I notice I'm far more in tune with my lure and the amount of fish( not just bass) that nip and end up catching vs. never feeling/knowing a fish was even there. The only downside I can notice from switching to primarily braid to leader line set ups is that I naturally fish most lures too fast regardless of the reels retrieve rate. Good video. Definitely will try to keep a straight fluorocarbon set up in the car.
What do you use braided line for?
STRONGLY disagree with the no braid on the walking topwater. I use braid to a mono leader. Bait is tremendously responsive. Paired with a rod with correct action, I lose few, if any, fish.
Mono for life!
This video sponsored by.... Mega bass lures.
Haha back to this subject again Randy...First of all I hope your dad is doing well mate...
Secondly there is a whole country of sport fishermen residing in Australia who would argue the point with you about using braided lines on differing lures... Now I do agree with the topwater side of things as I use monofilament lines straight through to present them...However crankbaits and braided lines tied in conjunction with flurocarbon leader attached over a soft tipped rod will not lose you fish...Now I well respect the fact that this is your page and your entitled to express your views but I guess we are going to just have to agree to disagree on this subject...I only wish we could share a boat together one day and fish your ideas and techniques on your local fish then fish here in Australia on our bass with you using your techniques and me using mine...Then see who loses fish or not...By the way now I am not attacking you mate just offering my reply with my opinion only on this subject...best regards B.J.
I have to agree. It’s been my experience that the people losing fish over a lack of stretch in the line are throwing a rod with to heavy of an action. As long as there is give somewhere you should be okay. Different people get it different ways.
Like#407
I use braid on everything, straight braid! I catch more fish with braid and land more than I ever did with fluorocarbon. Don't give fish too much credit. Tight lines everyone!