Line selection summarized

The single most important aspect of your tackle providing that vital link between yourself and your catch. What's everyone's favorites and why? Come on in and find out!
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hungry_cow
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Line selection summarized

Post by hungry_cow » Mon Jul 23, 2018 4:23 pm

Here is my personal summary of line types, their characteristics, and when to use each one. Of course the right line also depends on personal fishing style, individual hook set, etc, but here is a general guide that may help.

BRAID Characteristics
-No stretch
-Floats
-High visibility
-High strength per diameter
-Easy casting
-Great tight line sensitivity, poor slack line sensativity

Good Applications
-Great for heavy cover, especially vegetation where strength is important and visibility is not
-Great with leader for long distance topwater applications as it casts far, floats, and lack of stretch makes working topwaters
easy
-Good if you prefer lighter rods than normal as it adds a good half power to the overall setup
-Good if you have weak hook sets, sit down, etc as lack of stretch adds power to setup

Bad Applications
-Bad for moving baits in general as lack of stretch doesn't allow bass to fully inhale the bait, really bad for treble hook
moving baits as lack of stretch prevents fish from inhaling bait and also makes treble hooks come out MUCH easier
-Can be bad for clear water finesse situations if used without leader
-Floating characteritic can hinder certain sinking baits

MONO Characteristics
-Medium visiblity, less than braid, more than flouro
-High stretch
-Floats
-Not as abrasion resistant
-Easy casting

-Good applications
-High stretch helps keep small treble hooks pinned and allows fish to fully enhale bait
-Good for top waters at closer distance
-Lack of sensitivity and stretch can help with moving baits if you tend to set the hook to soon or too hard
-If you like using heavier powered rods per application additional stretch can help compensate, lowers over setup by a good
half power

-Bad Applications
-Applications requiring sensitivity such as bottom contact
-Applications where you don't want stretch, long casts, frogging, flipping with heavy hooks, etc

FLOURO Characterstics
-Lowest visiblity
-High abrasion resistance
-Sinks, which gives greater depth and slack line sensitivity
-Controlled stretch
-Very expensive to get easy casting versions such as Tatsu that still don't cast quite as easy as mono and braid

-Good applications
-Clear water, finesse
-Bottom contact, good slack line and in contact sensitivity
-Crankbaits, sinking helps get greater depth and controlled stretch keeps bass pinned with proper rod
-Single hook moving baits, spinnerbait, chatterbait, swim jig, etc. Controlled stretch allows solid hookset and absorbs surges
to keep fish pinned

Bad applications
-Topwater, sinking characteristic can hinder action of most topwater baits
-Heavy vegetation, strength and thinness of braid cuts through much better

DenhamBruce
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Re: Line selection summarized

Post by DenhamBruce » Tue Jul 24, 2018 9:58 pm

Cool write up! That would serve as the perfect buyers guide to people looking to try out a new line.

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Hogsticker2
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Re: Line selection summarized

Post by Hogsticker2 » Tue Jul 24, 2018 11:52 pm

Somebody was bored :lol:
I lost an 8 lb smallie last weekend that was digging in the rocks, and was probably laughing at me because my 8 lb fluoro wasn't so abrasion resistant :crying:
Worst feeling in my life. Never gonna get over this one. I may need therapy 8-[..... Or anger management :x

hungry_cow
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Re: Line selection summarized

Post by hungry_cow » Wed Jul 25, 2018 12:33 pm

Line diameter is another key factor. Thinner diameter obviously has less breaking strength but it is also more quickly affected by abrasion.

-Thinner diameter = faster fall rate per given weight and bulk of bait
-Thicker diameter = slower fall rate

-Thinner diameter = shallower depth in crankbaits and all moving baits
-Thicker diameter = greater depth in crankbaits and all moving baits

-Thinner diameter = greater stretch for given mono or flouro
-Thicker diameter = less stretch for given mono or flouro
-Important factor to consider with action of jerk baits, hook setting power, selecting hook diameter for ideal hookset

Thinner diameter = Slightly more bait action, the more finesse the bait the greater the difference
Thicker diameter = slightly less bait action

Thinner diameter = Easier castability and greater casting distance, more pronounced with ligher or poor casting baits
Thicker diameter = Lower castability and shorter casting distance, less pronounced with heavier or easy casting baits

-All of these evaluations are assuming the same line type and brand. For example thicker mono could still cast further than thinner flouro, and thinner flouro could have less stretch than thicker mono, etc.

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slipperybob
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Re: Line selection summarized

Post by slipperybob » Wed Jul 25, 2018 1:59 pm

When talking about stretch...just some tidbit of info.

Braid/superline fibers will stretch up to about 4%. Depending upon the weave, the lines may often flatten/ribbon out on the stretch.

Mono/nylon lines will stretch with elasticity to line breakage and basically come back.

Flourocarbon lines will stretch, but when it approaches the upper range, they often deform into a type of segmentation. Depending particular lines, it may appear as rings throughout the line or actual bands of stretched out line. The deformity on flourocarbon lines are permanent.

In generalization braid has the least stretch feel, flourocarbon has some stretch feel, nylon lines has the most stretch feel.
slip bobbing is the laziest way to fish

Bronzeye
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Re: Line selection summarized

Post by Bronzeye » Wed Jul 25, 2018 7:40 pm

hungry_cow wrote:
-Thinner diameter = shallower depth in crankbaits and all moving baits
-Thicker diameter = greater depth in crankbaits and all moving baits
A good list, but these two are backwards.

bpettus2
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Re: Line selection summarized

Post by bpettus2 » Thu Aug 02, 2018 7:00 am

Good write up I feel your pain 8lb smallie ouch

poisonokie
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Re: Line selection summarized

Post by poisonokie » Fri Aug 24, 2018 7:46 am

Braid doesn't float. It suspends. And it's the bee's knees for moving baits, including those with trebles, when used with glass rods. Just sayin'.
This is the way.

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Re: Line selection summarized

Post by Dalleinf » Fri Aug 24, 2018 9:24 pm

^^^also great with regular/moderate action carbon fiber rods and treble hook moving baits.

Nice write-up.

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Obz
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Re: Line selection summarized

Post by Obz » Tue Jan 08, 2019 12:59 pm

I would say the characteristics of flourocarbon can fluctuate the most. Better handling flourocarbon lines stretch more, are less sensitive, and have less abrasion resistance than their harder, denser, more difficult to manage counterparts. I like softer flouro like invisx for moving baits and harder stuff like shooter for bottom contact. Sounds like your tatsu betrayed you Hogsticker :lol:

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