fishing line advice for pokegamia and bass

[apegs]

Hey guys I need some input on fishing line for these two lakes located in grand rapids. I have a tourney in a few weeks and I won't be able to pre fish it. Some of these big lakes get pretty thick. Im bringing 2 baitcasters and 2 spinning rods and wondering if I should put braid on all of them. I know it depends on what type of fishing I'm doing but just want to know if it has some real thick stuff.

[PerchJerker]

Lots of bull rushes and lots of bass in the rushes, and lots of deep water. And clear water. I'd go with braid and a flouro leader. Maybe 12 lbs if you're going to fish weedlines, 20 lb if you're going to get up in the rushes.

[Kettle]

I know it is for a tournament, but if you have time after try Hill Lake south of rapids about 15 minutes. I grew up fishing this lake and it became a poor walleye lake but the bass population has exploded! I caught 2-23'' bass there this winter, I guess if I was a bass fisherman I would be pumped. If you are looking for a good bass lake sometime other than your tournament try there!!

Kettle

[Fever]

Personally I have Power Pro Braid, Stren super braid, Suffix braid on every one of my 12 baitcasters and three of my 4 spinning reels. If it is clearer water I'd tie a blood knot or a back to back uni knot to 14 - 20 lb Flourocarbon. The lowest pound test I have is 8 on a spinning rod and I have a couple baitcasters with 65lb power pro. If you dont want to lose fish in the tourney when money is on the line don't go too light. I'd go 50 lb on your baitcasters and 10-20 on your spinning. Rushes can really do a number on your knots and knick up your line. When moneys on the line and every bite counts you don't want your equipment to fail you. There are too many variables involved in Bass'n the way it is if you can control a few more you'll be better off. Just my 2 cents. Good luck.

[HellaBass]

Depends where you fish, if you go up the river on Pokegama, some very nasty thick cover, the main lake has some slop & reeds as well, but also a lot of weedline fishing in clear water.

I am sure Bass has a mix as well

[RK]

Hiya -

If it were me bringing 4 rods, I'd split the difference between braid and other line. One heavy baitcaster with 50# braid for fishing rushes with plastics or spoons, one with #17 fluoro for weedlines or light pitching duty (go lighter if you're into crankbaits maybe), one spinning rod with 15 or 20 braid for docks, weightless plastics, jerkbaits or topwaters like WTD or poppers, and crankbaits, and one with 8# fluoro for jigworms, tubes, drop shotting, jigworms, etc.

Seems to me you'd have your bases fairly well covered with those four.

That, of course, begs the question "why do I have 17 combos in my boat, then?"

Good luck on Pokie. Cool body of water...

Cheers,

Rob Kimm

[dfv87]

Love POkie... summered there for 3 years and do I miss that clear water. I used to always use Power pro with out flouro leader when throwing Crayfish colored rattle traps/raps (hint) but used a flouro leader when Tx rigging the outside weed edge. Make sure you have enough strength as soem of those piggies are tough...

[apegs]

I have never used a flouro leader before. The whole thing seems a bit wierd for me. I don't understand how using a flouro leader would be any diferent than using a reel spooled with flouro. Wouldn't the weakest part be the knot and flouro leader ? Is it still stonger using braid with a flouro leader than just using flouro ? I am not trying to discredit anyone as I have never used one, just got alot of questions regarding this set up.

[apegs]

Hiya -

If it were me bringing 4 rods, I'd split the difference between braid and other line. One heavy baitcaster with 50# braid for fishing rushes with plastics or spoons, one with #17 fluoro for weedlines or light pitching duty (go lighter if you're into crankbaits maybe), one spinning rod with 15 or 20 braid for docks, weightless plastics, jerkbaits or topwaters like WTD or poppers, and crankbaits, and one with 8# fluoro for jigworms, tubes, drop shotting, jigworms, etc.

I am a non boater and still 4 rods is not enough.

Seems to me you'd have your bases fairly well covered with those four.

That, of course, begs the question "why do I have 17 combos in my boat, then?"

Good luck on Pokie. Cool body of water...

Cheers,

Rob Kimm

[Craigums]

You get the No-Stretch benefit of braid with the visibility benefit of Flouro. Just make sure your knot is good and check it often and your in good shape.

[PerchJerker]

A spinning reel full of flouro is pretty much a spinning reel full of trouble ..... it's stiff and springy and doesn't work well on spinning reels.

It works better on baitcasters and I have one baitcaster spooled with flouro, but flouro has some properties that aren't always desirable ....... it's not as sensitive or as strong as a braid, and it sinks.

I use flouro leaders on my braid in clear water and for some applications ---- in dark water and other applications I take the flouro leader off and go straight braid.

A flouro leader really gives you a lot of options, flexibility, and good performance. A reel spooled with flouro will be great in a few situations but not the best choice in many other situations.

[Gekhang]

have you tried the new berkley nanofill. its a new kind of line that has no stretch at all but is made for spinning reels only. No line twists at all(well it twists but but doesnt tangle at all like mono). ultra thin line helps you cast farther on lighter baits, but down fall is the price as well as being limited to only 12lbs max. So wont really help with heavy brushes. i use it on mine and tied mine on a 14lb flouro leader and it has worked tremendously.

[kt]

I use flourocarbon on at least 75% of my reels. I have a few with braid and one or two with mono, but other than that the rest are spooled with flourocarbon, including 4 spinning reels. Flourocarbon on spinning reels can be a pain to deal with if you are running 12 lb test and above. I have two reels spooled with 8 lb, one with 6, and one with 10 and they all handle very well. I use berkely 100% flouro and sunline fc sniper. They are both pretty expensive but well worth it in my opinion. I like to use cheap mono backing on all my reels to maximize each spool of line.