Line for Bass Setups

[Down to Earth]

Right now the set ups I would use for bass have flourocarbon line on them from jigging for walleyes. Do you recommend switching it out for mono instead or will the Flouro work just as well? THanks.

Andy

[Ray Esboldt]

I myself am not a big fan of attempting to cast flourocarbon. The stuff I've used is just to stiff. I still use 8 lb. green XT mono on spinning rods. I've tried braids on small baits like a jigworm and it hasn't worked out. I set the hook too hard and straighten out the hook or rip the bait free. Mono would be my first choice.

[Lost]

I'm a fan of the Yozuri Hybrid line. It's a combination of mono and fluorocarbon. This year they have and "Ultra Soft" line. Gonna give it a try. Their first stuff was awesome for bigger fish but it was stiff.

[andy j]

Florocarbin line is a good line for bass and I know a few pros that only use florocarbin, it sinks fast, It is very abrasion resistant, and of coarse is invisible underwater. It is a high memory line (stiff) but no worse then Berkley XT. Berkley XL has less memory, but you loose your abrasion resistance and low stretch. If you are looking at braid try Power Pro. It is a great line. No line memory, casts great and is really strong even with the smaller diameters. Good Luck

[Ray Esboldt]

Andy J,

What brand of flourocarbon have you found that performs as well as 8lb. XT mono? I have not run across that brand, but admit to giving up on this stuff after trying only a couple brands.

I honestly don't see much of advantage to fishing flourocarbon over mono for bass. Walleyes, yes. Ice fishing, yes. Bass in weeds, no.

[Deitz Dittrich]

I would leave the floro on and give it a try. I have quite a few rods rigged with floro for bass. My jig worm rods, dropshot rods and a couple of crankbait rods. I have not had the casting issues that Ray has talked about, I totally respect his opinion as he is an awesome hook. Floro can be a bit stiffer and you have to adjust for that. Ray, I use P-line Floroclear... Give it a shot.

The advantages Floro has over mono is that its less visable in water for finess situations, and that it sinks. So you can get smaller lures down quicker. I usually use floro for finess situations.. I use it for some cranks because I can get a little deeper with some cranks with the floro.

[andy j]

Ray,

I have used the Berkley Vanish, and I grew up fishing with Berkley Triliene XT. I would rate them similar when it comes to line memory(High)I have not used the Vanish alot and the stuff I have used has been lighter 8 lb. and under. Maybe the heavier stuff is harder to work with. Are you using it on spinning or baitcasting?

[Daze Off]

With regard to the flourocarbon debate, I have heard of two issues that I have not seen mentioned yet - knots and breaking strength. As for knots - it is easier to damage the line if you do not wet the line before snugging it down and I have heawrd that if you have a really strong hookset that flouro will be more likely to break.

All that said, I will use it this year on a couple spinning outfits (even though it tends to jump off the reel if you are not careful) and one baitcaster that I use for dropshotting/finnese.

As for jig fishing, the visibility should not matter since it is the lure that fish will encounter first for the most part.

My 2 cents....

Daze Off

[Ray Esboldt]

I've used the 8lb Vanish on spinning outfits. I did not like it at all for casting. If I was vertical jigging with it, it was fine. What was the other stuff, Seagaur (something like that). That stuff broke while casting. I'll try the P-Line.

I'm not against the concept of low vis line. I just don't think it's all that advantageous in the type of fishing I do. If you're fishing very clear water minus weeds, OK, I could justify it there. Give me some examples of why it should be used.

[Deitz Dittrich]

Ray, your probably right in that it really doesn't make that big a difference. For me its a confidence issue. A Lake where I feel it makes a differece on is WBL, Big Marine, the eastern part of Lake Minnetonka. Lakes in which you are fishing clear water. I expecially like it for drop shotting, and jig worming. But the dropshot is where it excels. The stiffness actually helps in that situation!

[sami0115]

i will be mainly using Berkely Vanish Transition on my rods that don't have Power Pro on them. i used Berkely Vanish last year on my jig'n rod and liked it. it seemed to hold up well and did not coil too bad. i think the new Transition will work great for being able to see the line above water.

[Superduty]

I'm interested in the Transition line also. Like the concept of visible above water invisible below. I heard it takes a few seconds for the color transition to take place however. If I'm flipping clear shallow water, will my line be in the "visible" stage as it enters the strike zone? If so, I might as well use a flourescent mono or even braid. Most of the time, the fish hit within a few seconds of the bait hitting the water.(flipping situation) Maybe Transition would be better used in a cast and retrieve presentation.

[sami0115]

if you are doing a lot of pitching, it may be spending most of its time in water after you have done it for a while. only after the rod has been sitting on the deck for a while would i think that would be the case.

[HawgTide]

I tried the Transition out this weekend and I was impressed. It really turns Bright Orange fast in sunlight, and takes only a couple of seconds to turn clear again. But I couldn't take the twist on the spinning reel, so I took it off and put it on a baitcaster.

I agree with you Sami, PowerPro on everything but a couple of reels with FC.

[sami0115]

glad to hear you liked it. i will be going out this weekend so i will get a chance to try it also.

make sure you cinch the knot wet and do it slow, the heat build up really causes the line to weaken.

i don't have it on my spinning reels either, i use regular Trilene XL on those.