Is mono the answer?

[bendem]

Hi - So I've been fishing for a few months using spinning gear (medium and ML rods, size 25 and 35 Pflueger Trion reels). Mainly Ned Rig and similar finesse-y stuff. I'd appreciate some insight into line selection.

 

I've been primarily using my Trion size 35 reel with 10# PP braid and a leader of 8# Yo-Zuri Hybrid. That's worked OK, but as a bank angler, I got fed up with wind picking up the light braided line and blowing it into nearby trees and shrubs. 

 

So ... I thought I'd try 6# Yo-Zuri Hybrid as my main line. I tried it on my size 25 reel and was surprised at how bad its memory was. Seeing there's been a lot of love for YZH paired with KVD Line and Lure, I thought I'd pick up the KVD L&L and use it to respool with 6# YZH. So I applied the L&L on a microfiber towel as I spooled the reel, and when done I gave the reel several squirts before letting it dry overnight. The next day, I took some line off the spool to run it through the guides and tie a jig on, and again the line was showing lots of memory. For what it's worth: My reel spins counter-clockwise, so I made sure the line was coming off the line spool counter-clockwise when adding it to my reel (think that's correct).

 

Am thinking these are my options:

• Stay with the size 25 reel size but try mono instead (less memory and wind issues), maybe with a cheap fluoro leader to help the lure sink better and reduce visibility?
• Stay with the size 25 reel but try fluoro with KVD L&L (does Invizx have less memory than YZH)?
• Move up from size 25 reel to size 35 (wider spool = less memory problems) and stick with YZH plus KVD L&L?

 

What do you suggest? Thanks!

 

[Team9nine]

Personally, I'd just stick with the braid main line and then adjust by either keeping your rod tip pointed down/lower most times to minimize wind effects (Ned writes about this quite a bit), and/or shorten your casts so there's less line for the wind to grab. That said, if you'd prefer to switch, look for an easier handling line in either nylon (basic Stren, Trilene XL, etc.) or fluoro (InvizX, or any of the newer "finesse" lines now coming out on the market) - but still consider keeping rod tips lower and casts shorter as good practice when possible.

 

-T9

[Raul]

I have absolutely no idea about how big or small or wide a 25 size reel is, I have never owned a Pflueger spinning reel, all I can say is that 8 lb Yo-Zuri Hybrid works fine on a 2000 size Daiwa reel, and I don't use line conditioner.

[bendem]

27 minutes ago, Team9nine said:

Personally, I'd just stick with the braid main line and then adjust by either keeping your rod tip pointed down/lower most times to minimize wind effects (Ned writes about this quite a bit), and/or shorten your casts so there's less line for the wind to grab. That said, if you'd prefer to switch, look for an easier handling line in either nylon (basic Stren, Trilene XL, etc.) or fluoro (InvizX, or any of the newer "finesse" lines now coming out on the market) - but still consider keeping rod tips lower and casts shorter as good practice when possible.

 

-T9

Thanks much for the feedback. I've seen a bit of guidance from Ned regarding wind -- think he was talking about how it's seemingly always windy out there -- and at the time I wasn't noticing my own problems with braid and wind. I'll track down these suggestions and look to implement them.

[Oklahoma Mike]

Yes. 

 

If if you are just starting out, mono is probably your best bet. It is very manageable on any type of reel, you won't need to worry about tying leaders, and it will work fine for all the presentations you're going to throw. 

 

Once you have gotten a little experience and feel confident with the mono, then maybe try out a braid or copoly. 

[bendem]

25 minutes ago, Raul said:

I have absolutely no idea about how big or small or wide a 25 size reel is, I have never owned a Pflueger spinning reel, all I can say is that 8 lb Yo-Zuri Hybrid works fine on a 2000 size Daiwa reel, and I don't use line conditioner.

Thanks for your feedback. It looks like the Daiwa Exceler 2000, for example, has capacity for 8#/160 yards mono while the Pflueger Trion 25 maxes out at 6#/90 yards. 

[bendem]

32 minutes ago, Oklahoma Mike said:

Yes. 

 

If if you are just starting out, mono is probably your best bet. It is very manageable on any type of reel, you won't need to worry about tying leaders, and it will work fine for all the presentations you're going to throw. 

 

Once you have gotten a little experience and feel confident with the mono, then maybe try out a braid or copoly. 

Thanks for your suggestion. I'm going to look to get better with the braid I've already got on one rod and reel and also replace the YZH copoly with mono as a "plan B" option in case the braid keeps giving me grief.

[Bluebasser86]

I like the braid with a leader option, I'm from the same area as Ned so wind is a way of life that you just learn to deal with.

I tried Yo Zuri and hated it, worse memory I've ever dealt with on my spinning reels. Maybe it was a bad spool, but I won't be buying another spool to find out.

If you want to try mono, try some Seaguar Senshi. I have some on one of my spinning reels and have had good luck with it.

[Tim Kelly]

If your reel has a capacity of 6# 90 it's probably got a very small spool (some reels have a large spool that's shallow) and a small spool is not going to work well with mono over about 4lb. I like 6lb P line CXX on my ned rod, it's a springy line, but has very little stretch and is very durable. I fish it on a shallow spooled Daiwa 2506 size reel, a normal Daiwa 2500 size would work too, but you'd need some backing or spool up with a lot of line. In the winter though, I switch to braid as the mono gets stiffer and less usable in cold weather. I've been using Daiwa J braid in the 0.10mm size recently with no complaints, but like you I hate it when it's windy. 

 

 

BTW One really important thing with braid, especially in the wind, is to learn to feather the line during the cast so that it's pretty taught when your lure hits the water. Feathering the line and stopping it when the lure hits the water not only stops the big bow of line from the cast forming, but it helps enormously in stopping the "wind knots" forming on your spool. Flip the bail manually and keep half an eye on the spool for loops forming across the top of the spool. I cast by trapping the line against the open spool with my finger and releasing it as I cast, the finger can then feather down on the line as the cast progresses and can trap the line against the spool again at the end of the cast to straighten everything out.

[TnRiver46]

Braid and mono are the only thing I use on a spinning reel. Fluorocarbon works great on a baitcaster but does crazy things on a spinning reel. I only use it for leaders with spinning tackle. I feel like the wind is going to blow any line 

[SFL BassHunter]

15 hours ago, bendem said:

Hi - So I've been fishing for a few months using spinning gear (medium and ML rods, size 25 and 35 Pflueger Trion reels). Mainly Ned Rig and similar finesse-y stuff. I'd appreciate some insight into line selection.

 

I've been primarily using my Trion size 35 reel with 10# PP braid and a leader of 8# Yo-Zuri Hybrid. That's worked OK, but as a bank angler, I got fed up with wind picking up the light braided line and blowing it into nearby trees and shrubs. 

 

So ... I thought I'd try 6# Yo-Zuri Hybrid as my main line. I tried it on my size 25 reel and was surprised at how bad its memory was. Seeing there's been a lot of love for YZH paired with KVD Line and Lure, I thought I'd pick up the KVD L&L and use it to respool with 6# YZH. So I applied the L&L on a microfiber towel as I spooled the reel, and when done I gave the reel several squirts before letting it dry overnight. The next day, I took some line off the spool to run it through the guides and tie a jig on, and again the line was showing lots of memory. For what it's worth: My reel spins counter-clockwise, so I made sure the line was coming off the line spool counter-clockwise when adding it to my reel (think that's correct).

 

Am thinking these are my options:

• Stay with the size 25 reel size but try mono instead (less memory and wind issues), maybe with a cheap fluoro leader to help the lure sink better and reduce visibility?
• Stay with the size 25 reel but try fluoro with KVD L&L (does Invizx have less memory than YZH)?
• Move up from size 25 reel to size 35 (wider spool = less memory problems) and stick with YZH plus KVD L&L?

 

What do you suggest? Thanks!

 

 

Hi Bendem

To answer your question about invizx, yes it has a lot less memory than YZ in my opinion. It also has less stretch, and I feel slightly better bottom contact sensitivity with it. On a small reel like the trion (I have a 25) I would just go straight invizx. I am not a fan of leaders.

I have found invizx to be very manageable for a fluoro. In fact I have 15lb invzx on a baitcaster and I rarely have used KVD Line spray. I took it out the other day in fact, and hadn't used it for a bit over a week. Forgot to spray it down, and had no issues with memory or manageability.

This is my personal opinion. I haven't tried invizx in lighter test though. One thing I have found is it is also very strong line and a thinner diameter than YZ. I would look at the diameter you are using for your YZ leader and look for invzx in that diameter instead of going by test. YZ has better break strength than most lines I have tested. So I wouldn't be afraid to go with 10lb Invizx instead of 6lb YZ. If you want to stick with that diameter.

Invizx

Line Diameter	6lb	8lb	10lb	12lb	15lb	17lb	20lb	25lb
Inches	.008	.009	.010	.011	.013	.015	.016	.017
Millimeters	.20	.23	.26	.28	.33	.37	.40	.43

 

YZ

Line Diameter	6lb	8lb	10lb	12lb	15lb	20lb
Inches	.010	.011	.012	.013	.016	.017
Millimeters	.263	.283	.308	.338	.405	.438

[JustinJ]

been using trilene xl for years, never had a problem.

[J Francho]

16 hours ago, bendem said:

So I applied the L&L on a microfiber towel

 

First off, this is wrong, per the inventor of L&L.  Just spray it on the spool as you fill it up.  Let sit over night.  Sounds picky, but I'm not sure where this bit of bad advice came from, and it's my mission to dispel the bad practice.  It defeats the purpose of the product.

 

Second, you actually want a bit of memory on your spinning reel.  It keeps the line from jumping off the spool.  Once you make a few casts, and the line is wet and around the same temp as the water, it's rarely an issue. 

 

Last, and this bit of advice is purely subjective, give InvisX a try.  It's my go to for finesse, when light braid to leader is inappropriate or inconvenient in spinning gear.  6# size is what I use.

[MassYak85]

Personally I think a 35 size Pflueger reel is a little large for what you are doing. I use a 30 size President and 30 size Supreme and can't imagine needing anything larger for LMB or SMB fishing. I am partial to using braid with a leader and I never go less than 15lb braid for a mainline. 

[The Bassman]

2 hours ago, Tim Kelly said:

If your reel has a capacity of 6# 90 it's probably got a very small spool (some reels have a large spool that's shallow) and a small spool is not going to work well with mono over about 4lb. I like 6lb P line CXX on my ned rod, it's a springy line, but has very little stretch and is very durable. I fish it on a shallow spooled Daiwa 2506 size reel, a normal Daiwa 2500 size would work too, but you'd need some backing or spool up with a lot of line. In the winter though, I switch to braid as the mono gets stiffer and less usable in cold weather. I've been using Daiwa J braid in the 0.10mm size recently with no complaints, but like you I hate it when it's windy. 

 

 

BTW One really important thing with braid, especially in the wind, is to learn to feather the line during the cast so that it's pretty taught when your lure hits the water. Feathering the line and stopping it when the lure hits the water not only stops the big bow of line from the cast forming, but it helps enormously in stopping the "wind knots" forming on your spool. Flip the bail manually and keep half an eye on the spool for loops forming across the top of the spool. I cast by trapping the line against the open spool with my finger and releasing it as I cast, the finger can then feather down on the line as the cast progresses and can trap the line against the spool again at the end of the cast to straighten everything out.

 

Words of wisdom!

[bendem]

6 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

I like the braid with a leader option, I'm from the same area as Ned so wind is a way of life that you just learn to deal with.

I tried Yo Zuri and hated it, worse memory I've ever dealt with on my spinning reels. Maybe it was a bad spool, but I won't be buying another spool to find out.

If you want to try mono, try some Seaguar Senshi. I have some on one of my spinning reels and have had good luck with it.

Thanks for your input. I went out today with a couple rods and reels; one had 10# Power Pro and the other had 6# Trilene XL. Both were well-behaved when I made shorter, sidearm casts and kept the reel tip down. I haven't heard about Senshi before ... Will keep it on my radar screen.

4 hours ago, J Francho said:

 

First off, this is wrong, per the inventor of L&L.  Just spray it on the spool as you fill it up.  Let sit over night.  Sounds picky, but I'm not sure where this bit of bad advice came from, and it's my mission to dispel the bad practice.  It defeats the purpose of the product.

 

Second, you actually want a bit of memory on your spinning reel.  It keeps the line from jumping off the spool.  Once you make a few casts, and the line is wet and around the same temp as the water, it's rarely an issue. 

 

Last, and this bit of advice is purely subjective, give InvisX a try.  It's my go to for finesse, when light braid to leader is inappropriate or inconvenient in spinning gear.  6# size is what I use.

http://www.lineandlure.com/info/instructions/ Hmm. The "bad advice" came from the product's website:

 

Apply during new line spool-up.  Spray Line & Lure� liberally to a small piece of synthetic cloth (e.g. old dress sock--don't use paper towels, cotton or wool). Fold the cloth over the line as you guide the line on the spool. Reposition cloth or refold every 10 -15 yards to assure that the cloth is distributing the liquid evenly and removing any contamination from the line. 

[Raul]

20 hours ago, bendem said:

Thanks for your feedback. It looks like the Daiwa Exceler 2000, for example, has capacity for 8#/160 yards mono while the Pflueger Trion 25 maxes out at 6#/90 yards. 

 

Well, it looks like that Pflooger reel is extremely small, pretty much like an old Shimano 500 size no wonder why are you having trouble with YZH 6 lbs behaving like a friggin slinky for being so tightly spooled.

[WRB]

Try Fins Windtamer braid with either a mono or FC leader.

For finesse fishing my suggestion is 12 lb (.008d) or 15 lb (.009d) Fins Windtamer with 7 lb Sunline Super Sniper FC* (.0086d) joined with a Uni-Uni knot line to leader and San Diego jam knot FC to hook or jig. 

Tom

* on sale @ TW, I use straight Sunline Super Sniper green 7 lb for finesse and TangleFree line conditioner.

[fishnkamp]

My wife and I fish a total of 6 Pflueger Presidents.  Two are 6930s and the rest are 6935s.  Both work great but I tried a bunch of different lines. My wife just had problems with wind knots, way more than me.  My answer is to install a bit of mono as a backing then spool the rest of the reel with Berkley Original FireLine. I happen to have some eye issues, so I like the flame green in 14 pound test ( I think it is equal to 6 pound test and I add a leader.  All of our line issues disappeared.  Make sure you do feather the line with your index finger, always always, always flip the bail by hand. I stop the line, follow the lure down (allow line to come of the reel but under control) then flip the bail and lift the rod a tiny bit. This sorta tightens the line on the spool. Now you are ready to fish!  I do this as a regular act so I never have to think about it. Give this a try. Lastly never reel in a fish when it is pulling line under the control of the drag. You will certainly add line twist.

I use the same line/ leader combo everywhere I fish, which includes deep clear lakes as well  dirty tidal water. My choice for a leader is P Line CXX in moss green. Their 10 pound line breaks around 23 pounds.  I usually fish a 4 foot leader.

[new2BC4bass]

Guess I am old fashion.  I prefer mono.  I've got braid on 3 spinning reels.  One reel because it is tiny (and has a shallow spool) and doesn't hold much 10# braid (4# mono equivalent).  Lots on here love Yo-Zuri, but I have zero experience with it.  You could try a soft mono such as Sufix Elite, Trilene XL or Sunline Super Natural.  I've never used Stren, but a fishing buddy of mine used to use it all the time while I was an XL user.

 

The 10# braid I am using is Sufix 832 Ghost.  It is very soft....and light.  Maybe I should give fishnkamp's suggestion a try (Fireline in 4#) before giving up on braid for that tiny reel of mine.

[Cgolf]

I have been using 10# fireline on my spinning reels for years with light baits with very few issues. The line handles well and casts well with all kinds of baits. I do fish the Ned rig on fireline a lot. I also don't use a leader, I have never seen a scenario where it got me more bites so I stopped wasting my time tying one on. Honestly I haven't seen a line that handles heavy wind well with a lighter bait. Only options I have found is to deal with it or fish heavier baits. 

 

One note on fireline, it might be a bit stiff initially, but it will soften quickly with use. Also don't worry when it changes color, it doesn't impact the line negatively. 

[Angry John]

i like inves-x and it handles the best for flouro that i have used.  The down side is it does stretch a lot.  Maybe the worst of any line i have ever used except p-line flouroclear.  If you want to go mono, regular every day Berkely XL is great in 8 lb.  The bit mentioned earlier about feathering the line as it goes out on braid is the truth.  The only other thing may be to use a little heavier weight because feathering will reduce your distance.  Every line is a compromise and i love YHB but i dont go over 6 on a spinning reel.  The actual breaking strength of 6 is around 12lbs so going lighter is not an issue.  The line is hard to prevent abrasion and it is great for that.  Yet another choice would be to try a quality full flouro like p-line 100%, sniper, or seaguar tatsu.    

[MickD]

I believe the right way to spool line, unless your reel has specific directions otherwise, which some do, is to have it come off the end of the spool clockwise if your reel spools it counterclockwise.  Every rotation of the reel line pick-up puts a twist in the line and by taking it off cournterclockwise it takes that twist out.  By doing it ccw-ccw the twists are doubled, and twisted line adds to the memory issue.  My experience is that light braid seems to perform pretty well even when twisted, but I'm sure that twist has to add to wind knot problems at least some.

[bendem]

18 hours ago, Raul said:

 

Well, it looks like that Pflooger reel is extremely small, pretty much like an old Shimano 500 size no wonder why are you having trouble with YZH 6 lbs behaving like a friggin slinky for being so tightly spooled.

If a manufacturer recommends 2-6# mono for a given reel, what's the heaviest test of YZH you'd recommend for that reel?

[The Bassman]

This might raise some dissent but I wouldn't put anything but soft mono such as Trilene XL or light braid on an ultralight spool.

 

I've mentioned this before but it bears repeating. Shop diameter in mm. not lb. test.  Keep it at or under .20 mm.