Braid In Clear Water

[JGBassinAL]

I really want to know you guys' opinion on this topic. I fish Pickwick Lake, Wilson Lake, and Guntersville. Now I have a couple of punchin setups for Guntersville with braid on them, but Gville is a whole different beast than Pickwick and Wilson. Pickwick and Wilson are very clear, and while there is some grass on Pickwick, I do not fish it. I throw 3/4 oz jigs or a carolina rig 90% of the time on ledges (these are both ledge lakes), so I was wondering how using straight braid would affect the amount of bites I get. I would switch my rods up and start throwing these on medium heavy rods probably, because of the braid. I know I could use a leader, but that is not what I am asking. I already use braid with a fluoro leader on my spinning setups. I just really want to know your experiences in deep water on a clear lake with straight braid. Thanks!

[Kevin22]

On the c-rig it won't matter, just run a fluoro leader to the bait. Unless of course you are using carolina keepers, then I would suggest you run a leader attached to the braid. Braid as leader for c-rigs doesn't work well in my experience. 

 

I have fished braid in clear water, and had mixed results. One place I fish its clear, but not very pressured so the fish aren't that spooky. The other places are highly pressured and the fish will not come within 20 feet of your lure if you have braid. Switch to fluoro (or fluoro leader) and they come right over and eat it. 

 

So, if you do not want to use leaders then don't. Try straight braid for a bit and see what happens. If you don't get bit or think you should be getting bit more, try a leader and see what happens. 

[JGBassinAL]

I wasn't planning on using it for carolina rig, just mentioning that I throw that a lot haha. I use fluoro and then mono on the other end of my swivel. Pickwick is highly pressured and that's why I was asking this question. I don't think it would be a good idea for me to throw straight braid, but I know that some people say it doesn't matter (but I believe it does). Thanks for the response Kevin!

[Raul]

I fish crystal clear wáter on a regular basis, I do have a couple of reels with braided line and fish with them, there´s nothing written, there are days the fish care and there are days they don´t care at all. One thing I never do is to fish with straight braid, I always tie a leader.

[BassinLou]

I tie a leader with my braid when I fish crystal clear lakes. A place I  fish has clear water and the bass are really line shy. I have watched how they see my bait from quite a distance approach and do a complete u-turn once they see the line. On sunny days especially, it can be a little frustrating. 

[War Eagle 44]

I fish the lakes a little south of you; Lay, Mitchell (95% of my fishing), and Jordan. I'm a big braid guy having switched every reel I have to braid except my cranking reels. I've been using mostly braid for a little over 2 years, if I'm fishing shallow say 10 feet or less then I feel my chances are better running a fluoro leader. However I'm not convinced that it makes a huge difference in the number of bites I get when fishing say 20 feet or deeper.

 

I'm not sure what the difference in water clarity is between the lakes you're fishing and the ones I'm referring to but all three that I'm fishing can get pretty clear at times. Of course they always have a green tint so I'm not sure if that's enough to make a difference or not. I catch plenty of fish using 50# straight braid on football jigs and t-rigged plastics all summer long as long as I'm fishing at least 20 feet deep.  

 

Take it for what it's worth, could be that I just think I'm doing ok but I might actually catch twice as many fish if I weren't using the braid. Good luck to you either way.

[Kevin22]

I wasn't planning on using it for carolina rig, just mentioning that I throw that a lot haha. I use fluoro and then mono on the other end of my swivel. Pickwick is highly pressured and that's why I was asking this question. I don't think it would be a good idea for me to throw straight braid, but I know that some people say it doesn't matter (but I believe it does). Thanks for the response Kevin!

 

 

You answered your own question right there. If you believe it makes a difference then by all means go with what you believe. Fishing is about confidence! If you fish all day thinking the fish are seeing your line, you won't have a very productive day! 

 

Put a leader on! 

[F14A-B]

I know what one guy who fishes that pickwick a lot would say..... Braid... forget it on pick.... Florocarbon is the meal ticket or a line like Yozuri

[bigfishbk86]

I tie a leader with my braid when I fish crystal clear lakes. A place I  fish has clear water and the bass are really line shy. I have watched how they see my bait from quite a distance approach and do a complete u-turn once they see the line. On sunny days especially, it can be a little frustrating. 

Wow....i mean, you might as well have said they saw the hook and turned away....or your knot.  Comical.

 

I only fish lakes with 5-25ft of visibility and i can assure you if you aren't getting bites it isn't because the fish can see your line.  I've put on serious clinics on the bay of green bay in 30 boat packs using straight braid while EVERYONE around me was using flouro.

 

As others have stated, a leader can be useful with braid in rocky conditions as such, but don't ever think you need a leader for visibility issues.

[BassinLou]

Wow....i mean, you might as well have said they saw the hook and turned away....or your knot.  Comical.

 

I only fish lakes with 5-25ft of visibility and i can assure you if you aren't getting bites it isn't because the fish can see your line.  I've put on serious clinics on the bay of green bay in 30 boat packs using straight braid while EVERYONE around me was using flouro.

 

As others have stated, a leader can be useful with braid in rocky conditions as such, but don't ever think you need a leader for visibility issues.

 

 I applaud you catching fish in the masses while you put on clinics in front of others. Your comment has been noted, and I respectfully disagree. Certain conditions and situations calls for a very stealthy approach. If the presentation is not right and the fish notices something isn't right, like dark braided line attached to a bait, its game over. 

[FishTank]

It has been a few years but I used to fish a bunch of strip pits that had crystal clear water and a few of them had a depth of 50-70 feet just a few feet away from the bank.  I never had much luck with braid but FC and mono never failed to work well.

[iceintheveins]

I prefer a straight mono on a C rig because the bait floats up behind the sinker easier. With braid in clear water I ALWAYS use a fluoro leader, unless I'm frogging in which i use a mono leader.

[bigfishbk86]

Mono leader on a frog?  Jeez, i really have heard it all now.

 

My point about catching them in packs of boats in water with visibility to 20ft was not to toot my own horn but to prove a point about water clarity and highly pressured fish.  Did not mean for that to come off as snobby.

 

I'm not going to change you're mind and you won't change mine which is fine, but for the sake of argument, i just have a hard time understanding the train of thought here.  You're bait (no matter what you're using) does not look natural.  It also has at least one hook that's at least 10x the diameter of your line hanging off of it, and said hook(s) are probably shiny.  Either way, our un-natural looking baits have very visible hooks on them, so i don't see the line argument.  In my mind, if fish didn't like .01" diameter dark green braided line, they would be absolutely petrified of any weed bed, scared s%#less of lily pad fields, and wouldn't hide under a dock if their life depended on it.  Before you let me have it i understand all my examples are ambush points for bass.

 

In any event, in 16 years of fishing crystal clear great lakes waters, never did using flouro get fish to bite that would hit not hit the same bait on braid.  Do i use flouro and copoly on some rods because the line doesn't float and the presentation calls for it? Of course i do!  But to say a fish wouldn't hit because it could see your line....must be hard for some to believe people even caught fish in clear water before flouro 

 

I would love to hear anyone's opinion on this, as i seem to be in the vast minority on this board of those who will speak up on behalf of not believing in line visibility.  Hopefully i didn't ruffle too many feathers!

[Code54]

Mono leader on a frog?  Jeez, i really have heard it all now.

 

My point about catching them in packs of boats in water with visibility to 20ft was not to toot my own horn but to prove a point about water clarity and highly pressured fish.  Did not mean for that to come off as snobby.

 

I'm not going to change you're mind and you won't change mine which is fine, but for the sake of argument, i just have a hard time understanding the train of thought here.  You're bait (no matter what you're using) does not look natural.  It also has at least one hook that's at least 10x the diameter of your line hanging off of it, and said hook(s) are probably shiny.  Either way, our un-natural looking baits have very visible hooks on them, so i don't see the line argument.  In my mind, if fish didn't like .01" diameter dark green braided line, they would be absolutely petrified of any weed bed, scared s%#less of lily pad fields, and wouldn't hide under a dock if their life depended on it.  Before you let me have it i understand all my examples are ambush points for bass.

 

In any event, in 16 years of fishing crystal clear great lakes waters, never did using flouro get fish to bite that would hit not hit the same bait on braid.  Do i use flouro and copoly on some rods because the line doesn't float and the presentation calls for it? Of course i do!  But to say a fish wouldn't hit because it could see your line....must be hard for some to believe people even caught fish in clear water before flouro 

 

I would love to hear anyone's opinion on this, as i seem to be in the vast minority on this board of those who will speak up on behalf of not believing in line visibility.  Hopefully i didn't ruffle too many feathers!

I am just learning but I do have to admit you have some good points there!

We were fishing clear water over the weekend -wife had mono on, I had green braid - and we had the same number of hits and catches with both lines.  FAR from scientific but was interesting to me.  I honestly didn't even know some used a leader so I guess not having one didn't sway my confidence....

[QUAKEnSHAKE]

I agree with you. Heck Id think I would never catch a fish with the "rules" I break. Ive got plenty of bass 2'-20' from me, spring fed tap water clear gravel/sand pits even wearing a bright yellow shirt using 10-20# (gasp) braid on a bc reel. By all accounts I shouldnt even be able to cast let alone actually catch a fish.

[jignfule]

One of my fishing partner rarely out fishes me, but when he does it is usually because I am stubbornly hanging on to my straight braid, while he has a fluoro leader tied to his identical bait. Sometimes it does make a difference, I'm confienced of that.

[BadBassWV]

IMO a person who has confidence that a Flouro leader will catch more fish than straight braid, will out fish the normal person using straight braid with less confidence.

Dang thats deep!!!!! LOL

[stk]

I got this article through mysterytacklebox and it makes some sense.  Take from it what you want, or not. 

 

http://www.fix.com/blog/view-from-below-lures-underwater/

[Fisher-O-men]

The advent of the Alabama rig did much to put tthe kibash on the line visibility issue, at least for reaction baits.  Those wires would be hard for a fish to miss!  However, slower presentations of plastics seems to be a different story.  I have seen 6lb mono get more bites than 8lb mono.

 

I would love to think that I could drop shot braid in gin-clear water and catch as many fish, but my experience tells me otherwise.

 

BTW, no leader on frogs!

[BobP]

I think it's difficult to draw a conclusion that's always right on the braid with leader/no leader question.  When fishing the Great Lakes or an isolated farm pond, how many of the bass are educated by having been caught recently?  Not many I suspect.  But if you're on a public reservoir that gets considerable fishing pressure, the bass will probably have PhD's in lure and line recognition.  Personally, I think that it CAN matter so ALWAYS use a leader on braid except when fishing heavy grass.
 

[Paul s]

Mono leader on a frog?  Jeez, i really have heard it all now.

 

My point about catching them in packs of boats in water with visibility to 20ft was not to toot my own horn but to prove a point about water clarity and highly pressured fish.  Did not mean for that to come off as snobby.

 

I'm not going to change you're mind and you won't change mine which is fine, but for the sake of argument, i just have a hard time understanding the train of thought here.  You're bait (no matter what you're using) does not look natural.  It also has at least one hook that's at least 10x the diameter of your line hanging off of it, and said hook(s) are probably shiny.  Either way, our un-natural looking baits have very visible hooks on them, so i don't see the line argument.  In my mind, if fish didn't like .01" diameter dark green braided line, they would be absolutely petrified of any weed bed, scared s%#less of lily pad fields, and wouldn't hide under a dock if their life depended on it.  Before you let me have it i understand all my examples are ambush points for bass.

 

In any event, in 16 years of fishing crystal clear great lakes waters, never did using flouro get fish to bite that would hit not hit the same bait on braid.  Do i use flouro and copoly on some rods because the line doesn't float and the presentation calls for it? Of course i do!  But to say a fish wouldn't hit because it could see your line....must be hard for some to believe people even caught fish in clear water before flouro 

 

I would love to hear anyone's opinion on this, as i seem to be in the vast minority on this board of those who will speak up on behalf of not believing in line visibility.  Hopefully i didn't ruffle too many feathers!

im going to have to agree 100%, baits dont look that naturel especially with the GIANT shiny hooks that are hanging out of the baits we all use, so I would have to say it doesnt matter if you use a leader or not imho.

[BassinLou]

Both sides of the leader and no leader discussion have valid points. Bigblock, you made some very valid points. Others that use leaders have also brought up valid points. We use what we think and feel will work for us in the situations that come up and the water's that "we" fish in. This topic will always bring with it agreements and disagreements. But, at the end of the day if we accomplished and caught the fish that we were after, we all succeeded.

[thehooligan]

When fishing clear water, i typically only add a leader when finesse fishing. Topwater, cranks. and jerks get straight braid.

 

I do fish a very clear quarry that gets no pressure and have caught numerous bass on straight yellow braid. Didnt add a leader out of pure laziness and was still getting bit. 

 

So typically it comes down to where im fishing. If its a heavily pressured lake, you better believe ill have a leader tied on.

[CDobber]

I am no expert either, but here is my two cents.  

 

I have 3 different kinds of braid on my three spinning rigs.  Moss green spiderwire (50 lb, 12 lb test dia) on my ultralight rig that is set up for t-rig (doesn't get used often, have been told on here that its not nearly enough backbone for the method), smoke Fireline 20 lb/8 lb test dia on my dropshot rig and white Sufix 832 of unknown test on my main rig.  They all, for me, give me confidence that I'll lose less tackle from shore in snags or fish in dense cover.  I have tried leaders and so far have been unimpressed, either with the quality of the hold in the knot....flouro seems to slip right through... (yes, user error probably plays into it some) as well as experiencing popping/breaking of line in casting with torque.  I have had far more hookups this year than my previous two years in bass fishing, and would classify my water as either clear or stained in most applications.   I feel its entirely possible that I'm losing fish to visibility, but the line strength seems to outweigh this.  I hate losing lures.

 

The Fireline is by far the hardest of the three to work with in terms of knot tying....it just seems stiffer/slipperier when cinching down.  The Spiderwire quickly fades from dark/moss green to pea soup green, so there's a bit more color transference on hands and such.  The Sufix normally performs well for me in various applications, though I have had that line snap on casting lately as well, twice on Wednesday alone.