Thread: What do you guys think about braided lines for crappie fishing?

I like braid when fishing small crank baits or road runners but mono will out fish braid like bingo said. braid sux when the cottonwood is putting off it gets on the line and wont come off

The reason why I ask about heavy braided line is because I have caught a lot of bass dock shooting and they will just pull my line out and it will eventually get caught on a dock post. I want something in heavy pound in small diameter so I can pull those bass out if I ever get them hooked on.

Originally Posted by Crestliner08

I'm curious about why you folks use such a heavy pound test braid? I've caught 5 lb. smallies on my 4# test Fireline rig, with never a loss due to line failure. Caught an 8 lb. Northern on the same rig several years ago. You have to admit, that casting with a 4# braid is much better (for distance) than 10# braid in any case. I use a 4' leader of 4# test XL put on the main line with an Alberto knot. Have used this set-up for many years with no problems.

Just ordered a SHSS 9' rod & matching Pflueger President. Going to be filling it with 2# Fireline to try out! First time with this light a braid. (I did try 2# Nanofil, which was a total disaster.) Should be an interesting experiment. I'll let you know how it turns out. I have several spool of 2# test XL which I know works just fine for casting light jigs.

Originally Posted by Crestliner08

Not sure what kind of hooks you are using, but I mold my own jig heads and loose a lot each season. So what? They are so inexpensive it seems silly to me (just speaking for myself here) to consider sacrificing casting distance, presentation and performance to save a single jig head.

I've seen times when crappie got so finicky that you couldn't buy a bite unless you went down to 2# test mono and slow crawled a jig over the bottom. But more importantly, line size gives you two important presentation controls:
depth and speed. Maybe I just like to over-think it, but that's what I like to do. If some of you folks feel more comfortable with 10# test braid, more power to you. I meant no criticism; more an observational question.

It's all relative to where and how you fish. Undoubtedly you fish really clear obstruction free waters. Down here where I fish we have stained water, standing timber, pulling cranks, spider rigging and single pole jigging in a lot of brush and stake beds. 2 lb wouldn't last very long where and how we fish. And I would say our fish are larger on average than the fish you see up there. Plus we catch a lot of cats that will wind up and cut your line with their fins along with the occasional big drum or white bass.

I agree with you cray, the water we fish here is not particularly cluttered with obstacles to have to worry about. And the water is very clear on most lakes. However, I have taken some pretty big fish on 2# mono and I would have no problem targeting bass with my 4# Fireline rig either. BTW, 4# test Fireline is a heck of lot stronger than just 4#! It would be interesting to experiment with actual breaking strengths of the new super lines.

I mostly use Power Pro 10# and use it most of the time. If for some reason I get to thinking they are getting line shy I will either go to mono or add a kind of long mono or Fluorocarbon leader tied to the braid. Also last year I tried the kind of new Power Pro Super Slick and love that stuff!

Originally Posted by Crestliner08

It would be interesting to experiment with actual breaking strengths of the new super lines.

Just like with mono, they're far stronger than what's printed on the box.