fishing line

[KCMO CRAPPIESLAYER]

Hello fellow slabhunters. I was kind of curious what kind of fishing line people use mainly for casting when crappie fishing. I like using 6lb test and it works great for me, but since i've gotten more serious about my crappie fish'n the last 3 or 4 years i seem to have a problem with my line twisting. i do a lot of flipp'n with my 7 ft ultra lite and use an open face reel. i do all the tricks, run my line out constantly in the water with nothing on the end to help untwist it, i manually flip the bail over on my reel, bill dance says that, and i have a better end reel that has that anti twist or whatever but nothing seems to work really. i buy it were there is a good turnover of line so hopefully getting newer line. i started with trilene XL and my dad with stren and tried out different lines strictly crappie fishing with them only over the last couple years and he went back to stren and i went back to trilene. i tried using the 10 and 12 pound test when fishing a lot of timber but with a 16 oz jig its tough for me. anyone ever used that tangle free juice cabelas sells, wonder if that would help at all. anyone have any advice or tricks that help. don't get me wrong, i do fine and don't mind the kinds of line i use. just curious what other people have to say cuz it's been kind of an ongoing joke with me and my dad about what fishing line is best for ultralites. on another note man how about this weather all around. i live in missouri and man iv'e had to stick with the farm ponds. have'nt hardly been able to get my 15 lowe with 15 horsepower on the lakes, geez, plus the fishing has been tough anyway. just joined the site and have already learned a lot, i'm on it regulary, love it. only have one other buddy around here that is as die hard crappie guy as me, keep up the good work everyone. good fish'n to all

jeff the crappieslayer

[Buckhorn]

I also share your thoughts on fishing line for casting to crappie . I have been in this crappie fishing game for more years than I care to admit . My favorite line for casting to crappie is Triline XL 6# in in the Low Vis Green color . It has always performed the job it was intended to do . Cast without much line twist on a ultra lite spinning reel. Yes I have fished some of the new super mono's and braids . But if we are talking CASTING line here the Triline XL is hard to beat in my no count opinion . I cast weedless slider jigs in some heavy cover and a few Roadrunners also . The Triline works for me . But with that said I fish a Bn'M 11 footer with a bucktail jig about 80 percent of the time, during the spawn. I use Fireline and Power Pro Hi Vis yellow on these rods . The visiabality of the Hi Vis yellow is good for old eyes like mine. And the no stretch hook set of the lines will set a #2 hook and head a good one away from the brush . Getting off the subject here a bit . The Triline works good for me as a casting line on a ultra lite rig . Thanks

[Cliff]

I am with Buckhorn on the Power Pro Hi Vis yellow, The more I use it the better I like it. I would suggest giving it a try it impressed me.

[kc outdoorsman]

Ed
I am trying Spiderwire Ultra cast braid right now and so far it works well. I have been using Rapala 6 lb line and liked it but wanted to try a braid. You might try regularly spraying on some Blakemore Reel & line magic, it really does work wonders and allows takes a lot of the memory out of the line also casts farther too.

[CrappiePappy]

Hello fellow slabhunters. I was kind of curious what kind of fishing line people use mainly for casting when crappie fishing. I like using 6lb test and it works great for me, but since i've gotten more serious about my crappie fish'n the last 3 or 4 years i seem to have a problem with my line twisting. i do a lot of flipp'n with my 7 ft ultra lite and use an open face reel. i do all the tricks, run my line out constantly in the water with nothing on the end to help untwist it, i manually flip the bail over on my reel, bill dance says that, and i have a better end reel that has that anti twist or whatever but nothing seems to work really. i buy it were there is a good turnover of line so hopefully getting newer line. i started with trilene XL and my dad with stren and tried out different lines strictly crappie fishing with them only over the last couple years and he went back to stren and i went back to trilene. i tried using the 10 and 12 pound test when fishing a lot of timber but with a 16 oz jig its tough for me. anyone ever used that tangle free juice cabelas sells, wonder if that would help at all. anyone have any advice or tricks that help. don't get me wrong, i do fine and don't mind the kinds of line i use. just curious what other people have to say cuz it's been kind of an ongoing joke with me and my dad about what fishing line is best for ultralites. on another note man how about this weather all around. i live in missouri and man iv'e had to stick with the farm ponds. have'nt hardly been able to get my 15 lowe with 15 horsepower on the lakes, geez, plus the fishing has been tough anyway. just joined the site and have already learned a lot, i'm on it regulary, love it. only have one other buddy around here that is as die hard crappie guy as me, keep up the good work everyone. good fish'n to all

jeff the crappieslayer

Berkley (the Trilene company) now owns Stren :p (though I doubt either line has been changed because of it)

Casting, or flipping, of jigs ... will produce twist, due to the fact that the jig will occasionally "spin" while traveling thru the air. Continuing to reel in your line, while the drag is working (fish pulling back, jig hung up), will add more twists to the line. Closing the bail by turning the handle, will not add twist to the line ... but, what it will do, is wrap loose loops of line around the spool head ... outside frame of the spool ... or wrap the line very loose over the spooled line (creating a chance of a birdsnest, or twisty tangles of line getting hung in the eyes, on the following cast). This is "my" primary reasoning for hand closing the bail

The larger diameter/heavier pound test line will retain more "memory" coils, thus making it more difficult to throw lighter baits. I use 4lb & 6lb mono's for jig casting/shooting ... on 5ft to 8ft rods. My hooksets are more "speed" than "power". (I use both, Stren and Trilene monos :p ... and this year I will be trying out some Mr Crappie mono) I like to cast to downed timber, standing timber, brush piles, or shoot a jig under a dock ... and drag the jig over/around/thru the cover ... hence, I use a weedless jighead/plastic body .... therefore, I encounter far less hang-up situations. And, no, the weedguard does not seem to be a factor in whether or not a fish will hit the jig - nor does it interfere with the hookup of the fish. It can, in some circumstances, be a postive factor in that regard ... especially on lip hooked fish ... by helping keep the jig from coming off.

The diameter of the line spool on your reel, is also a contributing factor in line twist & memory coils ... the bigger/wider the better. Limp and soft mono will tend to retain less memory coils ... line conditioners/softeners and silicone sprays will help with casting distance (by making the line slick, and relaxing the line coils ... to a degree). Blakemore Real Magic is one product that seems to work well, in this regard, plus it has some UV blocking agents ... to help decrease line deterioration, from Sun exposure.

You're already doing the "untwisting" trick, of dragging the loose line thru the water, to reduce the number of twists in your line ... so that's one tip you're already aware of, and use. Spinning reels will twist your line, it just the nature of the beast. But, one thing you could try, to lessen the "spin" of the lure (especially if you "cast" a lot) ... is to "shoot" the jig to your targeted spot. Less lure spin is created, by this method, than by "casting". If you are truely "flipp'n" (reel engaged, measured length of line out, held/controlled by your hand) ... then you should not be experiencing much line twist, due to this method. On the other hand, if you are actually "flip casting" (reel disengaged, underhand casting, then engaging reel) ... you stand a chance of imparting twist to your line, due to lure spin.

.......... Welcome to Crappie.com !! ....... luck2ya ... cp

[GRIZZ]

What reel are you using? Some spinning reels are better at controlling twist than others.

This is what I do when my line gets twisty. I cast out and run a cast or 2 back between my fingers with nearly enough pressure to pull loose a light drag setting. This pulls the twists out without having to remove your lure, untwists the line and straightens it. One of the other advantages of untwisting your line this way is that you find weak or abraided sections and wind knots in the line while running it through your fingers.

I suggest trying some of the new limp hi tech lines. I suggest Gamma for limpness. Its the limpest mono I've ever used and is as strong and abrasion resistant as my favorite line, sufix promix. This last week I had some berkley fireline crystal in my hands. I couldn't believe how strong the 2lb test line was and how thin it was. Calling it clear is a stretch but it sure is an improvement over other super lines. It looked white to me. The 2lb test was strong enough that it was hard to break without hurting my hands. Thats strong 2lb test. In other words it isn't 2lb test. It felt more like 10 lb or better. Pretty amazing stuff. I will probably end up trying it.

[Ken Kinser]

I like the BPS excel lne in Green its 9.95 for 1,800 yards i use 4-6-8 lb test. seems the same to me as berkley and stren lines and alot cheaper just my 2cents worth

[KCMO CRAPPIESLAYER]

hello and happy easter to all. this is the first easter weekend i hav'nt been down fishing at truman in almost 20 years. been stick'n with farm ponds cuz of the weather. i know it's cheat'n a little with those farm ponds but my buddy and i braved the 30 mph wind and 20 chind chill and managed to catch 17 keepers, smallest was 12 biggest was 14 1/2. nice mess of fish and well deserved as our buddies told us as they were up in the heated shed fart'n around and drink'n beer, watch'n racing and staying warm. also managed to find my first mushroom too. so that was cool. sorry off the subject. just had to share my wind burnt blistering cold day real quick. thanks for all the great info on fishing line and twist. my dad is fishing the big pond in the sky now so i can't tell him all the stuff i've learned already from this forum but if i could see the look on his face with what you can find out on the computer these days, it would amaze him. he'd be proud of me get'n out yesterday even though my friends and own brother said i were crazy! but i love it and darnit it's april, waited long enough. gonna hit a local lake today, only suppose to be 5 mph wind. heck it will feel like 80 degrees to me, just wait'n a bit until it reaches 30 hopefully here in a couple of hours. sorry back to the line, the reel i use 80% of the time is a quantum pti energy, i love it!. and yes i do flip cast, i guess it's not truly flipp'n. and think'n about it now i could see how that really coils up my line. i'm going to take everyone's advice, think i'll try the gamma (gold, gett'n tougher for these 32 year old eyes) and bps excel first and see what i think, have'nt tried either yet. hav'nt seen that berkley fireline crystal but prolly check that out as well. if i need to i'll check out the power pro hi vis too but $25 for 300 yds, ouch. don't get me wrong i'm not a cheapskate at all but as much as i go through line fish'n truman and all that lovely timber, i would have to get a second job to keep up my fishing line habit .i do use the reel magic but prolly don't apply it as much as i should. i'm on a mission for my pop's and me now. well time to go get my boat and gear ready, gonna go tough it out by myself and keep the easter day fish'n tradition go'n. i'm hop'n he'll help me out with the sun stay'n out and wind. look'n forward to mak'n some friends on the site and good fish'n to all. ONE thing i have learned is that u can't catch a fish from the couch in your family room, well at least i can't.

jeff the crappieslayer

[stinkies daddy]

2 words............. POWER PRO
Next time ure in wally world open a box and just try to make it twist

[CrappiePappy]

2 words............. POWER PRO
Next time ure in wally world open a box and just try to make it twist

It won't "COIL" ... but, it will definitely twist !! The thing is, even twisted, it still casts better than mono. Twists in PowerPro will help produce wind knots ... so I recommend using the same "untwisting" tactics, as used for twisted mono.
The bright yellow color will fade, also .... but, even then, it's still easier to see than clear/blu mono :D

And KCMO ... if you read this ... you don't need 300yds of PowerPro unless you've got a lot of reels to put it on !! :D
Fill the spool about 3/4 full of old monofilament, tie on the PowerPro, and finish filling the spool (to within about 1/8" of the spool lip/rim) or around 30-50yds worth (depending on reel's spool capacity). And get you a pair of Childrens Fiskar Scissors - for cutting PowerPro. The scissors make a nice blunt tag end cut, no fraying ( fraying makes it difficult to thread the braid thru the jighead eye). And get you a 6-8" long piece of 1" dowel rod ... and use that to wrap your PowerPro around, to pull free from snags. You're more likely to bend the hook open, than break the PowerPro !! But, beware of using your hands, or cork/foam rod handles, to wrap it around ... it'll cut right thru all of them !! I know that for a fact :p
My suggestions on "accessories" (scissors/dowel), while using PowerPro braid, do have suitable substitutes ... but, my point is that these accessories are necessary, for safety and convenience of use.
I use the 10/2 Hi-vis Yellow PowerPro ... mainly for casting 1/16oz Roadrunners ... and I can straighten out its hook, or pull it free from snags!!

...... cp