To Braid or Not to Braid
Hey guys, just got a new Lew's baitcaster and am wondering how you guys feel about line type.
This isn't my first baitcaster (it's actually my third), and I've always used mono. Casts on my Curado were never super impressive with the mono. I restrung it once and that helped me reduce backlashes, but now I've upgraded to a new reel I'm wondering if I should go with braid for the lighter line and better casting folks tend to report.
I mostly fish from the kayak, in a pretty slow river (the Colorado east of Bastrop), and prefer to throw jerkbaits and chatter baits with my baitcaster. I also carry a spinning rod for soft plastics and when I get tired of de-birdsnesting my baitcaster.
We're heading out for a 2 nighter this weekend, so I need to prep all my gear this week.
So, what do you guys think? Given the above, would you load up 15lb braid or 8-12lb mono? If you go with braid, do you add a mono leader for your treble hook lures?
Thanks in advance for the advice!
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by abstractdenial
If you go braid go 30 or 40 to avoid dig in. And you probably want to use a mono shock leader for treble baits but I personally never do cuz I'm lazy.
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by Tehmadpanda
Sounds about right to me. Thanks for the advice. What kind of lures do you fish with?
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by abstractdenial
Mostly swim jigs and chatterbaits. Besides that, frogs, dropshots, punch rigs.
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by Tehmadpanda
Nice! Thanks again
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by abstractdenial
Braid, 20lb or more. Mono leader if needed.
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by leorada
I have tried both on my casting rod many times and every time I go to mono it last 1 maybe 2 trips then I go straight back to braid..the mono just seems to get loose on the spool to easy like if you nest it 1 time you have to either pull a ton of line off to get back down to where it's still tight or just hope you don't beat again and make it worse but I'd say go with 10 or 15 braid and I don't use a leader but that's up to u ..i fist jerk and crank baits
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by koskyad209
Agree with the guys saying to go 40-50lb braid to avoid dig in. Braid is much smaller in diameter. 30lb braid = 8lb mono, 40lb braid = 12lb mono, 50lb braid = 15lb mono
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by Fishfinger138
So, my only concern with going to braid that heavy, is that if I were to get hung up underwater, while the river is pushing me downstream, is it going to spin the kayak and tump me over before it breaks off?
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by abstractdenial
Oh yea, you could anchor with it in a pinch lol. But unless you’re frogging etc, you’ll prob have about 6ft of 8ish lb mono leader on there that will snap off.
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by Fishfinger138
That's true. That's man!
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by abstractdenial
I only use braid on my baitcasters. If you have backlash issues, you want at least 25lb braid, preferably 30-40. 10-15lb braid will be a nightmare. Backlashes will be a nightmare to pick out, and hook sets or snags or backlashes will cause that super thin line to dig in and bury itself in the spool, which is going to cause more and worse backlashes. 25+ lb braid is thick enough to avoid most of this digging issue. Unless you are running a dedicated BFS setup, do not use 10-12lb braid like the one guy said to.
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by GrayCustomKnives
I had to look up BFS, and while that looks cool, is not what I'm fishing. Thanks for the advice!
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by abstractdenial
Went from mono to braid this year (30 pound) and have been having a blast. Only issue is now tying leaders but it does cast better and the sensitivity is just so much better. Gonna get another and spool with fluoro for even more fun baitcasting so I don’t have to swap between mono and fluoro leaders.
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by Sugarloafer1991
20lb braid with 8-12lb mono depending on size of fish you are going for.
If you were to use 15lb mono as leader for the fish you are going for. I would use 30lb braid.
It seems I try to use the 2:1 rule. Whatever size leader I am using, I should have twice the lb braid.
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by Thisiswrong11
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