What Line For Cranking?

[dtruesdell24]

I am probably going to get the BPS Crankin Stick come spring. It will be my first crainkbait rod so I am not exactly sure what I need as a set up. What strength and type of line do you guys use on your crainkbait rods? I fish around both rocks and weeds can I tie leaders where necessary. 

[Jrob78]

For a general cranking line, I like 12 lb fluoro.  I do sometimes use heavier line if I'm throwing sq bills in heavy cover or lighter line if I'm trying to get a bait as deep as possible.  If I could only pick one though, it would be 12 lb fluoro.

[JigMe]

14-20 lb Fluoro depends on the cover, but 14lb should work in most situations. 

[flyfisher]

i am in the braid crowd for cranking....8lb diameter gets the baits down deeper and more quickly than with flouro or mono in my experience.  I wouldn't use braid without a parabolic bending crank bait specific rod though as you need some additional shock in the system to keep those trebles hooked up.

[FD.]

I am not in the majority here, but for any bait with treble hooks, I use mono.  I like having the shock absorbing quality of mono to keep from tearing the hooks out.   I mostly use Berkely 12lb big game.

[Tywithay]

I use 12lb shooter for its lack of stretch and abrasion resistance. If you're using a glass or moderate rod, mono gets a bit too stretchy for me and it's hard to get a solid hookset. Braid and mono also float so they kind of drag on the lure.

[ww2farmer]

20lb braid with cranking specific rods, and flouro leaders ranging from 10-17lb depending on the cover, and/or type of cranking (lipless, deep, squarebill, etc...)

[WIGuide]

I'd suggest 12lb Berkley 100% Fluoro. If you're fishing around really heavy cover, you might want to bump that up a bit, but I find 12lb to be great all around.

[roadwarrior]

I am not in the majority here, but for any bait with treble hooks, I use mono.  I like having the shock absorbing quality of mono to keep from tearing the hooks out.   I mostly use Berkely 12lb big game.

 

I think you would like Sunline Super Natural, too.

[Fish Murderer 71]

12- 14 mono on a skeet reese cranking rod... revo stx 6.4.  catch a big fish, cut  the end and retie or lose the next big fish.  dont try to jerk set the hooks, you'll lose more than you land...  reel set the hook...  reel up the slack and simply lift the rod tip to 12 oclock and then back to the water to keep the bass from jumping.  consistency in reeling and drag are the key to landing lunkers.  reel to fast and when it gets to the boat it will spit the lure out at you. reel to slow and you may get the slack that loses the fish.  being able to adjust the drag while a fish is on the line it a must learn skill.  A tired fish is easier to get in the boat than a fish with a lot of fight left in it.  and remember, WE ALL HAVE LOST LOTS OF BIG FISH AT THE BOAT WITH CRANKBAITS! 

[roadwarrior]

...being able to adjust the drag while a fish is on the line it a must learn skill.   

 

Set your drag properly using a scale or free weights in a plastic grocery sack.

You will probably be surprised that 2 1/2 - 3 lbs of drag is all you need. Once

you know the feel of an actual setting, you can adjust your drag without a scale.

At any rate, I would NEVER adjust my drag when fighting a fish...NEVER!

 

 

 

 

[Teal]

Set your drag properly using a scale or free weights in a plastic grocery sack.

You will probably be surprised that 2 1/2 - 3 lbs of drag is all you need. Once

you know the feel of an actual setting, you can adjust your drag without a scale.

At any rate, I would NEVER adjust my drag when fighting a fish...NEVER!

I read where RW and Francho and several members talked about this last year and I tried it and I definitely found it worth the couple of hours it took to adust all of my reels.

Now I know what 3 and 4 lbs feels like and it is amazing how little drag you need. I seldom adust on the fly when a fish is on now. That said, on a couple rods and reels o have the drag nearly locked down but that is generally in super thick cover.

As for line on a cranking rod, it depends, I like a heavier fluoro for one of my reels for shallow cranks, rattle traps, and some wake baits. 16 lb sniper

But for my general purpose cranking rods I use 10 lb Sniper.

On jerkbaits and topwaters I still like mono.. 10 lb sunline super natural

Those line are good for the lakes I fish, you need to access what you are comfortable casting and what type of cover if any you will be cranking through.

[thehooligan]

20lb braid is my line of choice.

[guitarkid]

http://www.basspro.com/Bass-Pro-Shops-Excel-Monofilament-Line-1-lb-Spool/product/12083105165014/

 

 

-gk

[tholmes]

i am in the braid crowd for cranking....8lb diameter gets the baits down deeper and more quickly than with flouro or mono in my experience.  I wouldn't use braid without a parabolic bending crank bait specific rod though as you need some additional shock in the system to keep those trebles hooked up.

 

I also prefer mono for cranking. I generally use 10 lb. Big Game. 

 

Tom

[Nick49]

For shallow and medium depth cranking I will utilize mono.  I love my Skeet Reese cranking rod, but use a M 7' Falcon for traps and light cranks. 

[primetime]

I Like to throw Braid (30lb Suffix 832 or Power Pro Plus) on a Crankbait Rod that has plenty of give as the braid will not stretch at all and if you have a rod that is too stiff, losing fish starts to get frustrating.....I often keep a spare crankin rod ready spooled up with some 12lb Yo-zuri Hybrid Copolymer as I find straight Fluoro a bit stiff for casting gear and I have had issues with fluoro but I think that is due to some confidence Issues I have with Flurocarbons....I will use a fluoro leader however, sometimes no leader, and if using mono or a Co-polymer, I skip the leader all together and love having just one Knot.

 

I had issues with the First Fluorocarbon I ever tried..Berkely Vanish, and as many have referenced, I watched alot of lures and fish Vanish at the same time. I then tried Stren Fluorocast and did not have much better luck...However, I was throwing my buddies crankbait set up the other day and I really liked the action of the crankbait & ease of casting/reeling & when he told me it was 12lb Fluoro which was Berkley 100% I have to say that the Flourocarbon on the market today is much nicer and user friendly than a few years ago....

 

Overall....Remember that any line will work to get strikes, Braid and Fluoro will help you get your baits down deeper in many occassions, but as others mentioned, Drag, Drag, Drag is key, and make sure you set it using either a scale, or by actually setting the hook and feel the drag from the end of the rod, don't just do the drag pull from the reel like so many of my buddies tend to do, and they are always telling the story about the "10lb fish that got away"....If a fish is green, let her peel line, unless she is heading toward cover, and that is when Braid comes in handy as you can button down the hatch if needed at times.

 

Hope that helps. but all good answers as always on this site. Really not a wrong answer on line, fighting fish with trebles on cranks out of the box can be an issue and Ill save that one for another day.

[Hooligan]

Deep cranks up to 6xd or BDS8 20-25 foot baits of one ounce range and down to 1/4 ounce are all fished on 10lb Tatsu, regardless of cover and structure. Squarebills can be fished on anything from 10-25lb fluoro, sometimes on a copolymer but not often. 10xd and Big LC cranks are fished on 15lb Abrazx.

[tomustang]

Mine is simple. 12lb for almost everything, 15lb for 10XD's

[Bankbeater]

I like 15 mono.  Usually Big Game.

[Crankinstein]

For a general cranking line, I like 12 lb fluoro.  I do sometimes use heavier line if I'm throwing sq bills in heavy cover or lighter line if I'm trying to get a bait as deep as possible.  If I could only pick one though, it would be 12 lb fluoro.

 

+1

[mac_hine]

+1

+2 for 12lb Flouro for most of my cranking needs, and 15lb Flouro for square bills, even 17lb if needed. For regular crankbaits I use my 7' skeet reese cranking rod with 12lb Seagaur InvisX, def my favorite Flouro of all the ones I've tried.