Grew To Hate Monofilament, But Need To Spool Up A Dedicated Cranking Reel.

[the reel ess]

I stick with the mono because my crankin' and my topwater baitcast rods are one in the same. But, honestly, where I fish, big cranks are rarely used-too weedy.

 

I have another 7' M-mod-fast spinning combo that I use for small treble lures like jerkbaits that's spooled with 20# Power Pro braid. Its action is forgiving enough for subduing a bass trying to throw trebles at the boat. I landed a 5lb 3oz on a Rat L Trap with it, no problem.

[Logan S]

 I don't like mono/nylon for cranking, I use flouro.  I like flouro because I have better feel on my bait, stretch doesn't really factor for me.  

 

The reasoning behind the 'specialized' setups for cranking (and treble hooks in general) is that you want to keep an even and steady pressure on the hooks so they can't come loose.  Even when the fish runs, jumps, head-shakes, etc...IMO the key piece here is the rod.  The rod is the shock absorber, and the key is that it works in both directions -  It flexes toward the fish and also rebounds when pressure is backed off.  It helps prevent both too much and too little pressure.

 

Drag only goes one way - out, so it does nothing to help when there is too little pressure on the hooks.  Line stretch movement is actually very minimal, even with mono/nylon, at the pressures during a typical bass fight.  Also, before either of these actually happen the rod will need to flex...So it all comes back to the rod.  Just my opinion based on my personal logic/reasoning and a lot of time on the water .  

 

 

But...Even after having said all that, I don't think any of it is as vitally important as many people do.  For example I use Extra-Fast rods for all my jerkbait fishing and also a Heavy/Extra-Fast rod for squarebills, while using the traditional Moderate actions for 'regular' cranking.  I don't think I would ever use braid but that's just me (If I were to use it, I wouldn't worry too much as long as I had a Mod. action rod).

[Jaw1]

I mainly fish p-line cxx for my cranking with a little flouro added in sometimes. Only use braid for frogging. The yozuri hybrids pretty good as well but I'm a p- line fan and seagar for my flouro needs

[Raul]

You don´t need to fish crank baits with NYLON if you don´t want to, what you gotta do is back down the drag, there you go, problem solved.

[desmobob]

1. What is the average casting distance you make using braid?

2. What rod are you using?

3. How much force is required to stretch 15 lb test big Game?

1A. Casting deep diving crankbait require long cast to achieve maximum diving depth, at 100'.

2A. Crankbait rods are moderate action, usually heavy for big deep divers, MH for smaller deep divers.

3A. A heavy moderate action crankbait rod can apply about 4 lbs of force before it bottoms out of power. 15 lb big game yield strength is greater than 5 lbs before it can begin to stretch.

What many anglers think is line stretch is more than likely line drag coefficient going through the water do to it's larger diameter and higher drag pressure creating a bow in the line.

I used 12 lb Big Game mono for years on crankbaits, works great, casts very well and is inexpensive enough to change it often.

Tom

 

Good food for thought, Tom.  I think you hit the nail on the head with line bow.  I was using an old reel on the new cranking rod until a new reel arrives, and I'm not sure what pound-test mono was on it.  I'm betting it may have been heavier than I need for cranking and thicker line means more bowing.    

 

I'll try some 12 lb. mono, co-polymer or fluoro.  I've been given plenty of recommendations for products to try by the good folks here on the forums.  Thanks for all the advice!  I hope it get a chance to try out a few lines before the water freezes up here in the northeast!

 

Tight lines,

Bob

[hatrix]

My knowledge on the matter is solely limited to internet research, but I do have a new cranking rod coming with a reel already in my possession, and I plan to use P-Line CXX co-polymer. From what I've read it seems like a good compromise; a little stretchier than braid, but not as much as mono, and not as prone to memory problems as fluorocarbon.

CXX not having as much memory as fluro is not true. It is super hard and dense and will develop crazy memory. It is still my most used line as it has very minimal stretch and amazing sensitivity. I do plan to eventually switch to mostly Tatsu at some point though.

[DaleGribble]

I would recommend copolymer line for cranking. I'm sure braid would work fine with the right rod, but I like using copolymer like pline floroclear or Cx. Not much stretch on either but really easy to cast. I would not recommend CXX because it is very dense and has bad memory.

[Evan K]

CXX not having as much memory as fluro is not true. It is super hard and dense and will develop crazy memory. It is still my most used line as it has very minimal stretch and amazing sensitivity. I do plan to eventually switch to mostly Tatsu at some point though.

 

Interesting, I wasn't aware of that. I guess I will spool it up and see how it performs.

[blckshirt98]

I use 20lb Sniper FC for my crankbaits, works like a charm, same stuff one of the guys at the local tackle store uses and he fishes crankbaits almost exclusively.

[Catt]

Paul Elias, Mark Davis, & David Fritts all use 12# mono & 5.1:1 gear ratio!

[gulfcaptain]

I crank with either 20 or 30lb braid.  Depending on what I want from my bait I'll put a leader on it.  If I want a deeper bait, 12lb fc, if it it's going to be shallower, then 12lb mono.  If I'm going to be throwing a trap style bait or a squarebill into cover I bump it up to 15 or 17lb fc.  Think it was said before, just back the drag off and I use moderate to Moderate fast rods.  I don't use straight mono or fc on anything anymore.

[gulfcaptain]

Something I'm trying to understand better:

 

Rod action, drag, and line stretch -- most advice i see about recommendations for particular lures or techniques (especially crankbaits and other treble lures) seem to treat these three factors as compensating for each other. That is, while they are not the same thing (they originate from properties of the rod, reel and line, respectively) they are treated as having similar practical effects on hooking and fighting fish. So i hear: "braid is fine for crankbaits if I loosen the drag and use a moderate action rod." Or, "a faster action rods is fine for cranking as long as there's some stretch in the line and looser drag." I hear this sort of compensatory argument a lot -- is it really the case that these three factors are as interchangeable as they are made out to be? 

 

I'm skeptical of that, although I do treat them that way -- for crankbaits I most often use braid on a mod-fast rod with the drag pretty loose, and the rest of the time mono on a fast action rod with the drag a little tighter but still somewhat loose. Many people seem to express a preference for softer action in the rod, rather than looser drag or using stretchier line, but I can't tell if that's a true preference based on Reasons, or if it's the downstream effect of a very effective marketing campaign to get me to buy a shiny new moderate action cranking rod.

I have a few dedicated crankbait rods that are moderate action and I use braid. I do like you do, have a lighter drag setting, but the main benefit I find in the moderate action rod is that on that first strike it absorbs the brunt of the impact and then the constant pressure applied to the fish.  A fast action rod doesn't have the same flex which IMO could result in ripping hooks out even with a soft drag. I used to fish my A-rigs on a MH 7'6" Fast action rod and I would end up pulling fish off.  Switched to a 7'6" MH crankbait rod with the softer action and my lose ratio when down by over 80%. Same reel, same drag, same baits.  That observation right there opened my eyes to the benefits of a "cranking" set up. I'd rather use the right rod/tool ment to crank then try and make something else work.  Just my opinion.  Hope that kinda helps explain.

[scaleface]

I've tried braid and floro its mono 100 percent of the time for me .Berkely xl , xt or Big game .

[desmobob]

Well, I just rummaged through my tackle and found a new spool of 12-lb. Trilene XL.  I just spooled up a new Orra 2 Winch and put it on my Kistler KLX 7' MHMod.Fast cranking rod.  Hopefull, I'll get a chance to try it out this weekend.  I'll stock up with a better selection of lines so I can make some comparisons in the future.

 

Thanks again very much for all the insights and advice.  I appreciate it!

 

Tight lines,

Bob