# Giving fish too much credit



## loganlogan (May 8, 2020)

Does braid, mono, or flouro really make that much difference? All sorts of fisherman use all sorts of line and all have stories to tell. I'm not sure that a hungry fish cares.


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## William Odling (Jan 8, 2020)




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## karstopo (Nov 28, 2019)

Braid can get into fouling the hooks and split rings on topwater and slow twitch bait lures and can be holy heck to get free from some bottom obstruction since braid over 15 pounds is nightmare to break. Braid tends to wrap around rod tips and eyes on windy days causing problems. Knots finish differently with braid and some of the superslick braids present problems with getting certain knots cinched up securely. Hard it is to cut tag ends on braid without a very sharp knife. Braid will also cut you for sure. Nylon Mono doesn’t sink as fast as Fluorocarbon so that can alter the overall presentation, especially with lightweight flies.

I don’t know what the fish think other than fish get caught with them all, but they all handle differently, cast differently, wear differently, etc.


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## Rollbar (Oct 20, 2016)




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## Rollbar (Oct 20, 2016)

William Odling said:


> View attachment 155720


THAT ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^IS HILARIOUS !!!!


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## devrep (Feb 22, 2009)

honestly, I don't think fish see all that well. don't get me wrong, obviously they see well enough to get spooky but I suspect their vision is somewhat blurry moving in water. how else can you explain some of the crap they will hit? I also believe that young inexperienced fish cannot grasp the concept of artificial bait. if something is moving then they assume it is alive until they've been bit a few times. I do think they learn though.


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## jay.bush1434 (Dec 27, 2014)

It depends. Depends on a lot of factors but generally I think it does matter. I use 3' of 20lb fluoro carbon leader with a crazy alberto knot to 20lb braid on my conventional gear. If the water is really dirty it probably doesn't matter nor would it at night. I like that fluoro is easier to tie knots in than braid. My neighbor just ties braid directly to the lure and seems to do alright so there's that. YMMV so do what gives you confidence.


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## loganlogan (May 8, 2020)

karstopo said:


> Braid can get into fouling the hooks and split rings on topwater and slow twitch bait lures and can be holy heck to get free from some bottom obstruction since braid over 15 pounds is nightmare to break. Braid tends to wrap around rod tips and eyes on windy days causing problems. Knots finish differently with braid and some of the superslick braids present problems with getting certain knots cinched up securely. Hard it is to cut tag ends on braid without a very sharp knife. Braid will also cut you for sure. Nylon Mono doesn’t sink as fast as Fluorocarbon so that can alter the overall presentation, especially with lightweight flies.
> 
> I don’t know what the fish think other than fish get caught with them all, but they all handle differently, cast differently, wear differently, etc.


Agreed. Braid, even though I use it most often, is annoying at times.


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## loganlogan (May 8, 2020)

jay.bush1434 said:


> It depends. Depends on a lot of factors but generally I think it does matter. I use 3' of 20lb fluoro carbon leader with a crazy alberto knot to 20lb braid on my conventional gear. If the water is really dirty it probably doesn't matter nor would it at night. I like that fluoro is easier to tie knots in than braid. My neighbor just ties braid directly to the lure and seems to do alright so there's that. YMMV so do what gives you confidence.


I also tie braid directly to my lures, but I've been doing that for 25 years-ish. No one told me there were better ways, but it works. Your statement about confidence, I think is the key.


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## devrep (Feb 22, 2009)

I use 30lb Ande mono leader to 10lb diawa braid.


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

Each different type of line or leader - has both advantages and disadvantages.. All I've ever done is try to set myself up with the best advantage I can have - depending on circumstances and the gear at hand... 

As far as braid goes - many older reels don't do particularly well with it (and I usually had to learn the hard way about that one way or the other..). I find that braid works very well with modern reels - but unlike most I only want a hundred yard topshot of braid (with 2/3 of the reel loaded with mono underneath the braid using a very strong connection to splice the mono to the braid... That's the exact opposite of the way offshore types set up - they want their topshot to be mono with braid up underneath... 

I do like fluorocarbon for leader material with lures (and when I'm using it the usual rigging is less than 24" of fluoro mated to about two or three feet of doubled line for casting purposes).... For live baiting, I still prefer a rod's length of heavier mono - usually 80lb but will go down to 60lb at times if appropriate... Remember now, all of this is inshore not offshore... Offshore is a completely different world with different requirements...

You can say the same about hook styles, sizes, and strengths... At times you need the stoutest hook you can use -other times a very light thin wire hook will produce much better... There's been a big push for circle hooks in recent years - but in my experience they don't work well at all for some species/situations (I prefer circle hooks for live or dead baiting tarpon - but don't like them at all for big snook...).

"Be a hero... take a kid fishing"


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## loganlogan (May 8, 2020)

lemaymiami said:


> Each different type of line or leader - has both advantages and disadvantages.. All I've ever done is try to set myself up with the best advantage I can have - depending on circumstances and the gear at hand...
> 
> As far as braid goes - many older reels don't do particularly well with it (and I usually had to learn the hard way about that one way or the other..). I find that braid works very well with modern reels - but unlike most I only want a hundred yard topshot of braid (with 2/3 of the reel loaded with mono underneath the braid using a very strong connection to splice the mono to the braid... That's the exact opposite of the way offshore types set up - they want their topshot to be mono with braid up underneath...
> 
> ...


All great insight from a captain. Maybe I don't need the results that you get as a business. Maybe my results aren't what they could be. I used to catch bass and bluegills with safety pins. I used 15 pound xl trilene mono in the early 90's. Then gorilla braid or spiderwire. Now green braid. I have reasonable results with the wide gap cheap hooks. Maybe, I'll put some of your ideas to practice and see if I can get better results. I'm a simple guy, and I usually like "less is more."


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## Zika (Aug 6, 2015)

My experience...
I don't have a single reel still spooled with monofilament line. I probably would load some on a trip to the Keys for bonefish and permit, though. I started using braid while guiding and continue to do so for personal use. It's thin and super sensitive so I can feel the slightest tick. I'm using modern Shimano reels and Loomis/St. Croix rods with Kigan or Fuji K guides so wind knots are a rarity. Braid is also durable; I normally only change it out once or twice a year. One thing to keep in mind is braid typically over-tests, so 8-pound is probably more like 12+.

Most of my fishing is in clear to slightly stained water and I do believe visibility is a factor. My normal set-up is 8- or 10-pound braid with about 20 inches of 20-pound fluoro leader connected with a double-uni. I tried the FG knot, but the double uni is easier/quicker to tie and with the diameter of lines I'm using the knot is very small and goes through the guides easily. If you're fishing in stained or muddy water, a quality mono leader does fine but it is less dense than fluorocarbon so it doesn't sink as fast.


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## Tautog166 (Jul 7, 2018)

I don’t like braid on my baitcasting setups. Don’t know why, but it’s mono or fluoro on them.


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## Thtguyrobb (Nov 1, 2019)

Tautog166 said:


> I don’t like braid on my baitcasting setups. Don’t know why, but it’s mono or fluoro on them.


Braid on a baitcaster is very dependant upon line diameter. Most 20lb braids have a diameter of roughly 4-6lb mono equivalent. That doesnt work well on a baitcaster, because of how the spool is, too small of a diameter line will tend to bury in itself on hooksets, snags, fish running, etc etc. you really need that 10-12 lb mono diameter line on a baitcaster which transfers to roughly 40-50lb braid...which to a lot of guys sounds crazy for fishing inshore...but thats what the reels like. Also the small diameter line makes digging out a backlash a hugeeeee pain in the ass.


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## Zika (Aug 6, 2015)

Fishing 10-pound Power Pro Super Slick 8 version 2 on my Shimano Chronarchs without issue. But they are all lefties, so maybe that's the difference.


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## Thtguyrobb (Nov 1, 2019)

Zika said:


> But they are all lefties, so maybe that's the difference.



Lol could be, lefty baitcast reels are an entity unto themselves!

In all fairness that was when bass fishing consumed my life and i hadnt converted to the long rod religion. The newer braids could have solved that issue for sure.


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## blueeye (Sep 12, 2012)

I've always thought braid casts better and certainly lasts longer. Other than out of boredom I don't even know why I ever change braid on my reels. It hardly ever seems bad just faded. Good to hear there are some fellow bait casters out there.


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