Literally ....pulling my hair!!!

[Oregon Native]

The little lake I fish a good portion of the time is loaded with tree's , rocks ,  and zebra's.  Seems every time out now I break off one to three fish on the set.  I believe fluro is the toughest right!!!!  I'm second guessing myself to the 10th power.  Have been using 20# fluro (Silver Thread)....30# straight braid (Power Pro)....

Does not matter.....Do I just need to suck it up....Tight Lines

[JustinJ]

Something is wrong if you are breaking off fish on the hookset. Could be a nick in your guide or your knots. Ditch the flouro, hate that stuff

[TOXIC]

Check your guides for nicks (swab with a dry Q-Tip works for me).  What kind of knots are you using and on what baits?  Finally what kind of hookset are you using?  

[Oregon Native]

Have done all the above....literally line is coming in shredded!!!  Just talked to a friend and he mentioned maybe using a stiffer fluro....never thought of this so may give it a go.

Thanks for input

[DomQ]

What lake is it? I heard there's a lake out there called crystal lake I think and there's some guy swimming around in it with a machete, you could be hooking up on him and he's cutting you off.

Jokes

 

Maybe you are running your line over some zebra mussels and they are chopping it up? 

[Mike L]

Leave the hair alone..You may need it some day!

 

You're useing the right line for your conditions. 

Where are you breaking off at?

 

I'm not familiar with Silver Thread but if you're breaking off somewhere up the main line it could be you have a nick somewhere that @TOXICand @JustinJ mentioned that can be caused by being too aggressive taking a backlash out, a guide, a bad spool or you're really heavy into the mussels which can tear up piano wire?

 

Folks on here bash Flouro for everything.

Again IMHO you're useing the right line for the conditions. 

 

 

 

 

Mike

 

[CroakHunter]

Have you checked your level wind on your reel? Maybe it got damaged

[Deleted account]

I think you need to step up your Game until it's Big.

[JackKlassen]

Some spools of fluro are just a bad batch. I once bought a spool of Sniper that would constantly break off. Decided not to give up on the line and bought another spool. Haven't had issues with it since.

[WRB]

The zebra or quagga mussels are the problem, the shell edges are very sharp.

FC line tends to sink if you have any slack line and the mussels grab the line, you set the hook and it's cut.

I would try a high abrasion resistant mono like Maxima Ultra Green.

Tom

[Team9nine]

5 hours ago, Oregon Native said:

The little lake I fish a good portion of the time is loaded with tree's , rocks ,  and zebra's.  Seems every time out now I break off one to three fish on the set.  I believe fluro is the toughest right!!!!  I'm second guessing myself to the 10th power.  Have been using 20# fluro (Silver Thread)....30# straight braid (Power Pro)....

Does not matter.....Do I just need to suck it up....Tight Lines

 

3 hours ago, WRB said:

The zebra or quagga mussels are the problem, the shell edges are very sharp.

FC line tends to sink if you have any slack line and the mussels grab the line, you set the hook and it's cut.

I would try a high abrasion resistant mono like Maxima Ultra Green.

Tom

THIS ^^

 

I'd just about guarantee it's the Zeebs. Not much you can do other than suck it up as you suggested. It's generally suggested by many who fish around them frequently that fluoro stands the best chance (use a tough one), but you coukd also try Tom's suggestion of a high abrasion mono, too. Braid usually isn't the way to go.

[d-camarena]

Drag too tight?

[BrianinMD]

It's the zebras.....

[Russ E]

a local lake here has a lot of zebra mussels. I have had more breakoffs on that lake than all others combined.

almost impossible to fish a carolina rig on that lake.

my experience with silver thread flourocarbon is: it has zero abrasion resistance. i prefer sunline shooter or sniper, or berkley 100% flourocarbon. 

I have been testing high seas grand slam on the the zebra mussels. It is a flourocarbon coated copolymer.

so far I have had no breakoffs.

[Bluebasser86]

I can zebras Razor Clams. Short of using wire leaders, they'll cut any line out there like a hot knife through butter. It's something I've learned to live with an a big part of why I don't use bottom contact baits, or crankbaits on some of the lakes I fish anymore. Shakyheads aren't even an option, I joke with people that it's easier to just take them out of the box and throw them straight into the lake instead of bothering with tying them on first. 

 

Yes, you really are just going to have to suck it up or start fishing off the bottom. Ned rig off the bottom, drop shot, swimming a grub or swimbait, wacky rig, those baits have become my way of life since those nasty little things showed up. Or just fish topwater all day

 

[Oregon Native]

Thank you all for the great input...some better than others of coarse but all appreciated.  Picked up some of the Seaguar 25# flippin fluro.  Am going to try for leaders.  The fish are in the tree's and I will cast for the most part to the outside and then a particular spot in the wood will look so good so will toss in the ol bait in the center.... ....wiggle...wiggle...tap...heavyness......lift.....#@!$

Will try some of the other options too...thanks again

P.S.  Haven't used #25 in years...not since chasing Chinooks out west!

[soflabasser]

I have fished in zebra mussel infested waters for muskie before and never had my line cutoff by the zebra mussels. I used 20-30 pound test Big Game mono. That stuff is extremely abrasion resistant line. You can use 30 pound Big Game Mono for extra abrasion resistance but that might be too much if you are using small lures.

[Bluebasser86]

On 5/3/2018 at 10:56 PM, soflabasser said:

I have fished in zebra mussel infested waters for muskie before and never had my line cutoff by the zebra mussels. I used 20-30 pound test Big Game mono. That stuff is extremely abrasion resistant line. You can use 30 pound Big Game Mono for extra abrasion resistance but that might be too much if you are using small lures.

Muskie fishing is a different animal from bass fishing though, unless you're pulling big safety pin spinners through timber covered in zebras. They cut 20-25 pound mono or fluorocarbon, braid, it doesn't matter. Heavier, abrasion resistant line helps, and you have to get the fish out of the stuff quick. I'm sure with your location you've fished wrecks before, it's like getting a fish out of a wreck, move them fast or it's game over, the shells are just too sharp for the line to withstand more than a few seconds of back and forth across them. It's like the trees are covered with muskie teeth. 

 

The best thing I've found if you have to fish in cover that has them is to use light weights that will allow your bait to sink slowly and maybe not be so far down when a fish grabs it so you don't have to pull them back as far, try not to cast over limbs or make long pitches/cast if possible, and just know you're going to lose baits and fish and there's nothing you can do about it. 

[soflabasser]

13 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

Muskie fishing is a different animal from bass fishing though, unless you're pulling big safety pin spinners through timber covered in zebras. They cut 20-25 pound mono or fluorocarbon, braid, it doesn't matter. Heavier, abrasion resistant line helps, and you have to get the fish out of the stuff quick. I'm sure with your location you've fished wrecks before, it's like getting a fish out of a wreck, move them fast or it's game over, the shells are just too sharp for the line to withstand more than a few seconds of back and forth across them. It's like the trees are covered with muskie teeth. 

 

The best thing I've found if you have to fish in cover that has them is to use light weights that will allow your bait to sink slowly and maybe not be so far down when a fish grabs it so you don't have to pull them back as far, try not to cast over limbs or make long pitches/cast if possible, and just know you're going to lose baits and fish and there's nothing you can do about it. 

Yes I have fished offshore wrecks and still do it is one of my favorite forms of fishing. For these shipwrecks I mostly fish with 20-60 pound test mono and go heavier if needed since mono has better abrasion resistance than braid. I have caught a couple in muskies in zebra mussel infested waters and have not been cut off by these zebras mussels yet while using 20-25 pound big game mono but I can see how braid can get cut off if you fished it on the floor where there is a heavy population of zebra mussels.The techniques you mentioned are also good for fishing in areas with zebra mussels.