Line for dropshot rod? Want to change what I'm using.

[NYWayfarer]

I use straight 6-8# Kastking Flourokote line on my dropshot rigs.

 

There is a great vid Mike Iaconelli did for Bass Resource on dropshotting. I use his method for setting the hook. Works well for me.

[J Francho]

8 hours ago, MN Fisher said:

Question I have @Glenn, is FC better for a DS rig than the Mono I've been using? Definitive proof or just personal preference.

For deep and straight down, or almost straight down, I think it's better.  Back in the day, before drop shot was invented in Japan, we drop shotted live night crawlers and soft shell crabs for smallies.  Only difference was we used home poured casting sinkers.  And mono line.  Flouro feels more direct, doesn't get beat up by zebes as bad, and sinks.  You are probably fine sticking with what you know works, but it won't hurt to try.  Get a good fluoro, like Tatsu, Finesse, or Invisx.  Speaking of, I remember watching a local stick do a presentation at the local BPS on drop shot.  He was using braid with a leader.  The bow in his line just casting into the fish tank was prominent.  He never felt the 8-15 lb. steelhead nipping at his bait on the way down.  It was hilarious.  I knew then, never use the braid and leader for anything more than 8' of water.

[MN Fisher]

12 minutes ago, J Francho said:

For deep and straight down, or almost straight down, I think it's better.

Since I haven't spooled my reels for this season yet, you think it's a good idea to get the FC instead of spooling Mono? I'm not planning on DSing deep - probably 15' or less, and most of my tosses will be away from the canoe instead of straight down.

[J Francho]

I think good fluoro is upgrade from mono, but that's really just an opinion I formed from using the stuff.  When I first tried it, I bought cheap stuff, and thought all the buzz was just hype.  I already used Seaguar fluoro leader material, though, and understood the advantages of it for trout fishing (centrepin and fly), but wasn't sold on it as reel fill line.  Once I tried a better brand, Seaguar Invisx ,was when I could see the advantages.  Seguar invented fluorocarbon fishing line.  I trust their technology.

[MN Fisher]

27 minutes ago, J Francho said:

Once I tried a better brand, Seaguar Invisx ,was when I could see the advantages.  Seguar invented fluorocarbon fishing line.  I trust their technology.

Given my budgetary restraints - would Red Label be good enough?

[punch]

9 minutes ago, MN Fisher said:

Given my budgetary restraints - would Red Label be good enough?

Cabela's has invizix on sale right now.

[TBAG]

10 hours ago, Glenn said:

I use straight fluoro for dropshotting, either Seaguar Tatsu or Seaguar Fluoro Finesse.

 

I never use leaders.  I've had no reason to use them.   Leaders are too much hassle, too many problems. 

I'd like to try the Seaguar Finesse on my ned rig, dropshot, weightless Senko  spinning rod/reel. What lb test would you recommend?

[J Francho]

12 minutes ago, MN Fisher said:

Given my budgetary restraints - would Red Label be good enough?

I don't care for how Red Label behaves on spinning gear.  Given that I have gotten four years out of Invisx, it's worth the price.  Look for it on sale.

[MN Fisher]

Just now, J Francho said:

I don't care for how Red Label behaves on spinning gear.  Given that I have gotten four years out of Invisx, it's worth the price.  Look for it on sale.

I'll do that - since my DS rig is the Avocet, something that behaves on Spinning gear is better.

[MickD]

Rather than reinventing the wheel, let's try to get the braid/leader to work.  Most likely your double uni is not tied well.  Watch some videos on line on tying the double uni.,  With the light line and leader you want to use, it should work with almost any guides.  But if not tied properly, it can get big and ugly.  As you pass the tag ends through the loop they should not ever be on top of each other, and when you get the one side done, gently snug it up before going to the second one.  When doing the final set, be sure it's well lubed with saliva.  Cut the leader tag end quite close to the knot.  If tied properly it will not come out.

 

If you are not a good knot tyer or "learner," forget about other knots , especially the FG.  Just concentrate on tying a neat, tight, double uni and I think you'll be ok.

[WRangler506]

2 hours ago, MickD said:

Rather than reinventing the wheel, let's try to get the braid/leader to work.  Most likely your double uni is not tied well.  Watch some videos on line on tying the double uni.,  With the light line and leader you want to use, it should work with almost any guides.  But if not tied properly, it can get big and ugly.  As you pass the tag ends through the loop they should not ever be on top of each other, and when you get the one side done, gently snug it up before going to the second one.  When doing the final set, be sure it's well lubed with saliva.  Cut the leader tag end quite close to the knot.  If tied properly it will not come out.

 

If you are not a good knot tyer or "learner," forget about other knots , especially the FG.  Just concentrate on tying a neat, tight, double uni and I think you'll be ok.

Yeah i get what youre saying, but im wondering if ill like FC better. I may try both, with the Invisix being on sale. Im not a big braid fan in general, but i see the benefits. I think part of the issue is this rod is just too stiff in the tip for my preference, but i can feel everything. I may try to retie, and then FC, and then try the softer 69 MLXF.

 

Im a good "learner" lol, but yes Im not going for the difficult to tie knots just yet. Simple is best for now.

[WRB]

I used Maxima 5 lbs test Ultra Green mono (copolymer) for drop shot before it was called drop shot and for split ot slip shot rigs a decade before FC came available.

FC line has less drag going through water then mono/copolymer or braid. When a weight is tied onto either mono or FC and dropped down there isn't any noticeable different in strike detection. If you cast a drop shot rig more then 30' from you line drag creates a bow using mono/copolymer and braid line. As soon as you try to move the weight the bow is gone as the weight is moved. Slack FC line will sink and slack mono/copolymer line tends to be bouyant, FC bows downward and mono bows upward. Slack FC drags on the bottom were snags occur and for that reason I prefer 5 lb Maximum UG line for drop and split/slip shot rigs.

Braid on a spinning reel acts like a swivel to reduce the affect of line twist, but if you fish less then 15' deep with a drop shot 1/2 the line is leader with 2 knots. Tried braid with leaders and didn't like it.

Tom

[Way north bass guy]

I tried braid to fluoro for a while, and it seems to me that unless your in real deep water ( over 30’), there is just too much contact, by that I mean no stretch, so the bait tends to be moved way too much. 

A lot of the time I’m dropshotting, I want the bait to be almost floating motionless, and with no stretch at all, any small rod movement makes the lure jump around quite a bit. 

The last few years I’ve been using straight Berkley 100% fluorocarbon usually in 8lb test and it’s been great for me. Lots of contact with the bait, but just enough “give” that the bait isn’t being jumped all over the place and to me seems more natural in the water. 

[WRangler506]

1 hour ago, Way north bass guy said:

I tried braid to fluoro for a while, and it seems to me that unless your in real deep water ( over 30’), there is just too much contact, by that I mean no stretch, so the bait tends to be moved way too much. 

A lot of the time I’m dropshotting, I want the bait to be almost floating motionless, and with no stretch at all, any small rod movement makes the lure jump around quite a bit. 

The last few years I’ve been using straight Berkley 100% fluorocarbon usually in 8lb test and it’s been great for me. Lots of contact with the bait, but just enough “give” that the bait isn’t being jumped all over the place and to me seems more natural in the water. 

Im glad you commented. I think this is one big reason why I dont like the braid on a DS setup. It felt like i was either slack or moving. Sure you could balance just perfect if you are absolutely perfect, but I feel like the bow of mono or FC would make it feels like more what Im used to. I also didnt like the "snap" feel everytime I used up the floating slack on the water surface. I know thats not intended, but Im explaning the feel. Never had mono feel like that.

Im going to try Invisix on this rod in #8 and see how it compares. The only time I like that distinct slack ending snap or tick feel is when im vertical jigging for walleye. Hope that makes sense. Again, I think if this rod had a softer tip like the 69MLXF Avid, it might feel ok with braid. That tip is way softer.

[Glenn]

@MN FisherI prefer FC these days due to it's sensitivity.  DS'ing is finesse tactic that used primarily when the bite is slow and subtle.  So the ability to detect those very light bites is important.  I'll take any edge I can get that helps me detect those little nibbles.  So FC is the answer for me.

 

That said, there's no "wrong" way of doing it.  I started off by saying "these days", because originally when DS started to become popular on the west coast in the early 90's, I was using co-polymer.  And I caught a lot of fish that way.  And if budget was an issue, I'd still go with co-polymer as my second choice.

 

Mono is a good option as well. 

 

I just wouldn't use braid. It's visible and has no stretch, which is a bad thing when you're using light-wire hooks. 

[MN Fisher]

1 minute ago, Glenn said:

Mono is a good option as well. 

 

I just wouldn't use braid. It's visible and has no stretch, which is a bad thing when you're using light-wire hooks. 

Thanks for that opinion - and I'd never use braid for a finesse technique...mainly because it seems like overkill.

[punch]

2 hours ago, Glenn said:

 

 

I just wouldn't use braid. It's visible and has no stretch, which is a bad thing when you're using light-wire hooks. 

 

Because a hook will bend out? I'd argue it's MAYBE bad thing if you're not using quality hooks. If braid (on spinning gear) even had a chance of bending out light-wire hooks then why is nearly every pro bass angler that dropshots (or finesse fishing in general on spinning gear) using braid to a floro leader? They seem to be able to boat big fish on braid to floro, with no problems. Edwin got that 9lber in shallow water on a spinning rod/braid/floro leader just a few weeks ago in the BPT. It's basically the standard setup tournament anglers nowadays. 

 

Wouldn't using quality hooks matter the most? I use VMC neko hooks (so do many pro's), which i would consider 'light-wire' and i've hooked into some big fish and never had one bend. Heck I've hooked into some nasty rocks & tree's with a neko and the line broke off before it bent out. 

 

I hooked into a 43" Musky this past summer on a NRX 852s spinning rod, stradic ci4+ 2500 with 10lb power pro braid to a 8lb floro leader. I was fishing a neko worm with a VMC neko hook. I fought that fish for about 30 minutes, including multiple runs he made. The hook didn't even come close to bending out. I landed it too. 

 

I'm not trying to be a contrarian, but i'm a hardcore finesse guy and in my experience if you have a decent reel and a good hook.. you're not bending out a light-wire hook on a bass with braid. 

 

 

 

[Boomstick]

10 - 15lb braid and a 6lb leader is the way to go. I have been using Sunline FX2 in 12# myself, which is closer to the diameter of most 15lb lines.

[blckshirt98]

6 foot leader is overkill - braid to a ~24 inch(give or take a few inches, since I just eyeball how much I pull off, but try to error on the longer side) leader, the knot should never even touch the tip guide.

[offsidewing]

Seaguar Tatsu 6lb fluoro for Drop Shot and Ned Rig. Fantastic line.  Sunline is good when I can't get Tatsu from Amazon cheaply.