best line for open water panfish

[CALVINIST]

I want to know what the panfish experts are using for line, so I can best determine what to spool up with. I have 2 ultralight rigs. I won't be fishing rocks or heavy cover, and plan to fish in both clear and stained water. I want a monofiliment, something with low memory. I plan on jigging, and casting small crankbait. I an weighing 2lb-vs-4lb line. Also, there are a number of high vis. lines on the market; Are you using these? What effect does high vis line have in clear water...does it spook tthe fish?

Thanks!

[Corey Bechtold]

If I were you I would go with 4lb mono. Berkley Sensation is a good choice. I like to stick to the clear or green lines for panfish. If you are looking for a line that shows up well for detecting bites I would look at Berkley Transition. This line will be great because it is Gold when the sun hits it and it is invisible under water! I can't wait to try Transition this year. I hope this helps you a little.

Good Luck,

Corey Bechtold

[Oldtyme]

Thanks Corey on the heads up on the Transition. I think I'll have to add it to my list of things to get.

Since we're talking line.... Say you have a 250 yard spool & want to put 125 on two reels. Is there an easy way to make sure you get equal lengths on both reels? (I've tried a line counter but it wouldn't work with small line(?))

[SteveWilson]

The Tica reel I use on my ultra-light came with two spools. I use 2lb Sensation on one and 4lb on the other.

[CrappieJohn]

I use two different lines for my fishing. If I plan to use a set-up with a float, I have the rods spooled with 4 pound Trilene XL, clear. If my plans are to cast/retrieve, the rod will carry 4 pound Trilene Vanish, clear. When cast/retrieving it is not uncommon to find two pound Vanish on the reel....way better casting distance.

The XL is a superb utility line where sensitivity is not an issue....the float takes care of that. It is durable in snags and wood. It stays strong for quite a while and is very inexpensive.

Like all fluorocarbon lines, it sinks, making its use under a float almost worthless (the belly in the line between the rod tip and lure will sink making it very hard to get a solid hookset while float fishing). In a cast/retrieve situation where nothing is on the line between the lure and rod tip between, fluoros will simply out fish the others. It is limp for the light poundage, stronger than the label says, and the sensitivity is outstanding.

I have seen the Transition in use three times. All three instances provided me with enough insight that it will not be found on any of my reels. 6 pound was used in two of these instances and I saw more headaches with the stuff than productive fishing. It appeared as being way too stiff and full of memory for the weight being used. The only way to get the coiling out of the line when it was in the water was to step up to heavier jigs or to maintain constant tension. Maybe it was the cold, who knows. But if I am looking for visibility I use a float. When sensitivity is key, I rely on the rod's charcteristics in addition to a sensitive line that hasn't got a half a mile of coiling in it. I was not too impressed with Tranisitions glowing gold color either....panfish and crappies are sight feeders and it is my feeling that the line should be gin-clear to avoid possible detection. At about four feet one day with sun, the transition was still very visible to the eye.

[Matt Johnson]

I stick to 4 pound test for open water pannies. Usually Trilene of some sort. I'm always changing out my gear I haven't used the Transition yet so this spring might be the tester. I usually stay away from all out Flourocarbon during open water for pannies except for casting situaitons like Tom mentioned. 4 pound clear mono is how I usually rig up.

Good Fishin,

Matt Johnson

[delmuts]

i used 2# and 4# xt for my open water fishing. may try some 2# braid this year for in and around the brush?

[CALVINIST]

Guys,

Thanks for the input ! I am going to spool one rig with 2 lb. Triline, and the other with 2 lb. Vanish...which is hard to find in stores in 2 lb. I guess if I can't get that, I'll go with the 4 lb. Never used 2 lb anything in my life, and can't wait to try this stuff out.

Another line question...

What is the best mono for a spincasting reel. It's not like these are my favorite reels types, but I have to give my 5 year-old boy Lucas something he can handle.

[CrappieJohn]

Cal....If you are referring to the push button reels, you need to be sure thatthe drag is working VERY well before putting anything under 8 pound test on those. I have a reel which has six pound on it for Ma and another that was used for ice fishing that has 2 on it, but both reels were dismantled and the drags studied closely to see if any thing needed cleaning or fine tuning. They both were dinged with a bit , cleaned of grease and got HotSauce. They bot work nicely with these lines, but again I emphasize that the reels got attention before putting this light line on them.

For the most part, I feel that six is as light as most factory reels will handle unless they cost more than the norm. The extra cost will probably be in the drag.

[cabin boy]

Calvinist-Start your boy on a spinning rig as early as possible it'll make both you and your boy's fishing experience better!

[CALVINIST]

Cabin Boy,

I was thinking the same thing. probably get him through the summer on the spincasting rig though.

Crappie Tom,

I was fishing for pannies saturday with 2lb. test mono, and I had an awful time with it. The fingers just aren't used to working with such fine line, especially under cold weather conditions. I did find the Vanish in 2lb. today...sure is pricy stuff. Just wondering, does flourocarbon last longer than mono?

[CrappieJohn]

Cabin....Any and all monos are susceptable to degredation by uv light...aka sunlight. I keep my rods in a travel bag when not being used and can get a couple years out of my line.. Here's a trick that lots of people use: Fill the first one-half of your spool with some old line, 4-6 whatever. Then tie in your floro and fill to fishing quantity is reached. At the beginning of the next season, I walk all the floro off the spool, go back to where I start removing it and tie that end on the heavier line and re-spool. Done this way you basically have new line on the reel. BUT, it will have memory, so I take all the spools when the line has been reversed and toss them in a pan of very hot water and leave them in it until the water is cold. Dry the spools off. Now dis-assemble, re-lube and re-assemble the drag (this cleaning should be done at this time of year anyway.

Any two pound test line will take some getting used to. The bottom line though is that your hook-up percentage is going to take one heck of an up-ward leap when you do accustom yourself to it and some awful big fish fall to the light stuff every year. Give it some time and patience

[Thomas]

I use 10# power pro, which is same diameter as 2# mono, works great.

[CALVINIST]

So if I spool up with the fluorocarbon, I shouldn't have to change it out till next spring?

[Corey Bechtold]

It all depends on how often you fish. I usually will fish hard and when the line starts to show wear I peel off about 50 feet and keep using the same stuff. I had a chance to try the Berkley Transition and I think that stuff is great. I know that you are thinking about 2lb for Panfish but since florocarbon lines are invisible underwater I would choose the 4lb. I have tangled with some large toothty fish while fishing Crappies and Sunfish and having the 4lb gives you a better chance to land the fish. If you have any other questions let me know and I'll see if I can help you out.

Good Luck,

Corey Bechtold

[CALVINIST]

Thanks Tom and Corey. I'll let you all,know how it goes once the water opens up.

[CALVINIST]

I almost forgot to tell you all who gave me input...I outfitted my two ultralight rigs with 2lb line...one has Triline XL, the other Vanish. I love using 2lb line! It is sensitive, and it casts a mile. The Vanish hasen't been tested in alot of cast/retrieve situations, but am confident it will be awesome.

Thanks guys!

[CALVINIST]

O.k. I'm recpitulating on the line. I lost two decent crappies on 2lb line last night right by the boat, and I am sickened that these fish probably still have jigs in their mouths . I hope they don't croak because of this. I think I am going to stay with the Vanish for cast/retrieve situations, and the Trilene for jig/bobber combos, but try working 4lb instead. I know part of the problem lies in the fact that I don't like netting crappies with a big, honkin' landing net, I will hoist the smaller ones (which is dumb, I know) and grab the bigger ones; it is when I am messing with the bigger ones that my line breaks. (Yes, I usually retie after catching a few fish). I think I have a solution for this problem. I have a "pond skimmer" which I use for cleaning out my water garden. It has a small 10-12 diameter hoop just like a landing net, except that instead of a net, it has a fine mesh screen on it; this forms a shallow 2-3" depression that collects all the pond junk. This is on about a 6 foot long pole. I'll bring that along next time I go fishing (tonight ), so when I get a crappie, if I can just get her boatside, guide her onto that depression, and bring her in! It works in theory, I will just have to test this out on the water.

What do you pro's do to get your panfish in the boat when using thin diameter line?

[protrapper]

I use 4 pound only. Switched to P-Line Floroclear 2 years ago and love it.

[delmuts]

cal. you may want to take a look at walmart too. i bought a smalll landing net,( looks like a trout net with finer mess , i think about 3- 4 bucks) i use it to take fish out of my live well. and yes with two pound breakage can be a problem on big fish! del

[cybermuskie]

Cabela's actually has there own line of fishing line. I have used it for 2 years now. It's good quality line, and it's cheap in price and you get alot of line per spool. The 4lb is something like 6.99 for 2500yds. It's all I use for mono anymore.

[fuzzyray]

I finally broke down and got a smaller net for landing panfish. It is actually a trout net. It's very classy, all wood and a shallow softer net. I believe these trout nets are designed to do the least amount of damage to a fish when landing it which is really nice when you want to release some of those bigger panfish. I have even used it to land some small pike and bass (picked up while panfishing). I think it cost me about $10-12. It even had a nice cord with a clip on it to protect my investment from flying out of my boat! Hard to go wrong, less fish lost at the boat, less damage to the released ones.

[CALVINIST]

I finally broke down and got a small net too. I tried my pond scooper thingee, and it just didn't work like I planned. Oh well. The net I bought was about ten bucks. It has a longer handle, which is what I want; no bending down, just rod in one hand and net with a big ol' crappie in the other! One thing I didn't want is to get everything all tangled up in the netting. This net has a very fine mesh. Strange, I had never seen one like that before. It looks a little flimsy, I just hope it doesn't "rip". If it does it's only ten bucks right? And btw, the 4lb line gives me better confidence with bigger fish (like today's 17" bass) but it sure doesn't fly like the 2lb stuff.

[delmuts]

there is a noticable difference in casting between the 2# and the 4#. but ? i took a couple of guys fishing this last week. i finally had to take the 2# on the reel that i had them using and put the 4# on. it seemed they would break it about every 4 or 5 fish.i don't have as big of a problem with the bass breaking me off with the solar xt, but can't get away most of the time when i tried the xl. i took my uncle fishing last thurs. gees! it was worse than when my kids were little! i couldn't get him to pull the line snug on the spool before he would start reeling. he would constantly close the bail by reeling. i spent alot of my time undoing tangles,twisted snarls. but he caught crappies and had a good time.( he's 70 and has cancer) soooo ! it was worth it!

[buzzsaw]

I switched both of my ultralightsout and am now using the 4# "Transition" line. I had great luck with it on Tonka and "accidentilly" landed two Bass that were over 3 lbs each with no breakage. So far, so good!