Pro-Staff Question

[Guest]

Bought a new Midwest walleye rod and a new G-Loomis Imx and Iam wondering what kind of line to use for pulling spinners with bottom bouncers for eyes? Have been using fireline 8# as there is no stretch,thinking that will let me pick up every little bite. On my ice fishing rigs I am using P-Line and it has worked out very well. If I put P-Line on my summer eyes pole for pulling blades,will the stretch in this line take away sensitivity versus the no stretch Fireline?

[Deitz Dittrich]

Lee,

The short answer is yes, you will loose sensitivity. The long answer is a little more complicated. Loosing a little sesitivity isn't all bad... Remember, everytime that you feel a fish, the fish probably feels you. Sensitivity runs both ways. If you are pulling rigs in deep water, then yes braids are a deffinate advantage, the smaller line diam of braids will cut threw the water better allowing you to use a smaller sinker which in fact will get hung up less.... In shallow water this is actually not a good thing, as I like to get my bait a little further back from the boat. Mono with a larger diam will help in this.

I would say that more often than not, I use mono... but that is just me.

[Borch]

When pulling spinners I like using the braids and a softer action rod. When using mono you do lose some sensitivity, but in most cases this isn't an issue when pulling spinners. I like the braids because I often pulling spinners in and around weeds. This lets know if I've picked up even a small amount of weeds as I can feel the spinner turn if it's running free.

[Surface Tension]

Its a matter of preference and think you'll get a ton of different opinions. I use mono and with a decent rod have no problem with sensitivity. I throw jigs quite a bit and troll spinners as well and am very confident I'm not missing out using mono. I have sat in a boat with some guys throwing jigs and can say some guys just don't have what it takes no matter what line or rod they're using to feel a strike, bottom or whatever. A braid may have less stretch but I feel in the lighter LB tests creates more drag which is contrary to what manufactures claim. If you look at mono and braids under a microscope you'll see which line offers less drag.

I also don't buy into claims of equivalents such as 2LB dia and 10lb strength. I just spooled with 2/10 Power Pro and in my opinion its quite a bit larger then the claimed 2 lb diameter. When jigging Lake Trout with the PP the first thing I noticed was that the resitance on the rise and on the drop. That came off and I went back to 10 lb mono and was happy again.

In the heavy test braids there is a distinct advantage over mono with the diameters closer to the claims of manufacturers and the resistance starts to become less over mono but I rarely use a line over 8 lb test so thats one reason I stick with mono.

When I troll Superior thats another matter.

A braid in higher lb test will give you less resistance over mono. How this comes in handy is when you run dipsy rods and even more of a plus when you run 2 dipsy rods of the same side of the boat, one with mono and one with a braid. Because of the varying resistance in the lines and the belly from the dispy's you can get your get your lines spread out further.

[Chris Haley]

Another thing to keep in mind is that spinner fishing is a more aggressive bite than live baiting. Because of this you can get away with the braid, and the argument that the fish also feels you. It's closer to a crankbait type bite than a live "feed em line" bite. Stay with the Fireline in my opinion.

[Captain B.R.K]

I have never used a fireline on my summer rigs just because if you are fishing with spinners and your rig gets caught up (happens more times than we like), you better not try to snap that line or your rod normally gets the brunt end of the deal(snapped rod tip).

Also I don't believe you will lose much sensitivity w/the different lines because typically spinner fishing you are targeting those active or more aggressive fish. The biggest key to my success with mono is that I leave the bail open when spinner fishing and hold the line on my index finger. If I feel any bump, I let that line go and give it a count depending on how light of a bump I get. Flip the bail, reel down until I feel a little tension and set the hook.

Great gear can only get you so far. It's the technique that you have to get down and the feeling for what the fish feels like with a bump on the hook before you will get it down pat.

That's my 2cents and I'm stickin to it! Fireline is great in certain situations, but for lindy's- don't waste your money.

[Guest]

Thanks guys

[Northlander]

Trolling spinners on bottom bouncers I run 10 or 12# Trilene XT. Im not too worried about sensitivity because Im usually pulling 3 oz. bouncers and the rods are more often than not in my rod holders. If Im deep water fishing Lake Superior I go to Power Pro in the 10# strength for spinners.

A good rod for pulling spinners is more important to me than the line. Superlines will also pull out more hooks if you dont have the drag set properly. I do love Power Pro for jigging though. You can feel a fish fart with that and that midwest rod.