Another braid question

[microotter]

I always get hung up on fishing line questions. Did some research, but I see answers all over the place so I am probably over thinking it. 

 

Is there any disadvantage to using 50lb braid (12lb mono equivalent) on a casting reel that is used for a variety of applications? (Lures from 1/8–1oz.)

 

Will this line be overkill with finesse jigs and grubs that weigh around 1/4oz. including a trailer? 

 

What if I adjust the leader per application? 

 

I bought a Tatula SV and 50lb braid and am having second thoughts with whether I bought the wrong line size. My thought was braid equivalent to 12lb mono diameter would be manageable, but I picked this reel for more finesse applications. 

 

Thanks!

 

[JediAmoeba]

When using small jigs, depending on the rod you will probably have too much power and bend the hooks out.  On clear and heavily pressured waters the fish can see your braid so it isn't always ideal.  Also, casting light jigs with heavy line in even the slightest wind causes terribly inaccurate casts.

 

On the flip side you will have almost 0 break offs, and will be able to bend your hooks out if the lure gets stuck on a log or something. 

For finesse applications 30 lb braid to a 6 or 8 lb leader is more than sufficient and handles nicer in the water.

[FishingGeekTX]

Short answer is yes, that's overkill for Smallmouth Bass using light lures in finesse applications.

8-15# braid, or 4-8# hybrid, or flouro, would be better suited I imagine.

 

Can you still fish it?  Sure.  

A leader won't fix enough of the disadvantages to make that "solve" the issue IMO.  50# braid for me is only used on frog rods in heavy cover.

 

You asked about disadvantages, here's my armchair over-analysis:

 

Braid's disadvantages are magnified with light lures, and for baitcasters there isn't all that much gain from it using light lures.

Some general braid disadvantages:

1. Highly susceptible to wind

2. Floating braid can spook fish and carried around by surface currents due to wind (see #1)

3. Braid without management can more easily damage gear, be it bent hooks, sawing of rod guides, bent spools trying to break the line if hung, etc.  It's generally difficult to break off a hung lure...higher test the worse this is obviously.

 

Some general Line Diameter disadvantages:

1 diameter may be the #1 issue that can spook a fish, not line "visibility".  Use the smallest necessary IMO (and that will vary from angler to angler!).  Braid float/diameter spooking fish is worst in clear water, and least relevant in low visibility.

2 large diameter doesn't cast as far, and this is made worse with lighter lures.

3 a large diameter, floating braid, can significantly interfere with finesse lure action (or help it, all depends on the lure/technique/preference!)

 

So you're kind of combing both disadvantages here by fishing both a larger diameter and braid on light lures in clear water.  You can still fish it, as I said, but longer term I'd look to smaller diameter. 

 

Consider 15# braid, or 8# flouro or hybrid, depending on your preference, as being better suited to the task.

[microotter]

Thanks guys. I have always read that smaller diameter braid causes issues with bait casters. Is that a thing of the past or only applicable to cheap reels without tight tolerances? 

[NorthE97]

23 minutes ago, microotter said:

Thanks guys. I have always read that smaller diameter braid causes issues with bait casters. Is that a thing of the past or only applicable to cheap reels without tight tolerances? 

I use 30lb braid on my baitcaster (8lb mono equivalent) for lures 1/4-1oz. I fish relatively clear water, visibility 5ft+. Never have had an issue of bass being line shy and the baitcaster handles the braid just fine.  

[Dieselguy416]

I like 30lb to a 12 lb fc leader kind best of both imo. 

[FishingGeekTX]

49 minutes ago, microotter said:

Thanks guys. I have always read that smaller diameter braid causes issues with bait casters. Is that a thing of the past or only applicable to cheap reels without tight tolerances? 

It's a personal thing I believe, more than some scientific thing.  If I had to guess, I'd say it's a back-fill rationalization for why they insist on heavier lines (30-50#), where these same fish are regularly caught on 4-8lbs line.  I have done this too, not being snooty.

 

Consider, there is an entire segment of the fishing industry in Japan that fishes BFS, or Baitcaster Finesse, all using basically 6-8lbs test line on baitcasters.  Seems to work just fine...

 

Lighter line will cast longer distance, impart better action, and likely spook fish less.

 

One oddity when using light line is that our spools in the U.S. are usually geared to accommodate this (crazy) thinking, so they are really deep.  You may have to spool 50+ more yards to fill it with smaller line...check spool cap before spooling.  Your reel is definitely an all-purpose reel, and if you use it for light lures it isn't optimal, but it will likely work fine.

Because of that I'd probably use 20# braid min diamaters.

[JustJames]

3 hours ago, microotter said:

I always get hung up on fishing line questions. Did some research, but I see answers all over the place so I am probably over thinking it. 

 

Is there any disadvantage to using 50lb braid (12lb mono equivalent) on a casting reel that is used for a variety of applications? (Lures from 1/8–1oz.)

Yes if you plan to fish different applications. It might not matter much if you fish heavy jig or carolina rig or punching rig. But for weightless plastic, senko, Fluke etc you will not feel the bottom and loose contact with the bait easily, due to braid float and would make huge bow under water.

3 hours ago, microotter said:

 

Will this line be overkill with finesse jigs and grubs that weigh around 1/4oz. including a trailer? 

Way over kill for finesse jig

 

2 hours ago, microotter said:

Thanks guys. I have always read that smaller diameter braid causes issues with bait casters. Is that a thing of the past or only applicable to cheap reels without tight tolerances? 

Yes if you use too small diameter you will find a lot of dig in issue and snap back (black lash)when cast with any reel.

I found 30lb power pro to be the best for any baitcaster.

[The Bassman]

Braid to mono dia. comparisons are very inaccurate by reason that braid is not solid. No matter how much it is sold as being round it is not. Braids take up more space on a reel than their mono "equivilant" lb. test.

[JustJames]

1 hour ago, FishingGeekTX said:

 

Consider, there is an entire segment of the fishing industry in Japan that fishes BFS, or Baitcaster Finesse, all using basically 6-8lbs test line on baitcasters.  Seems to work just fine...

 

Lighter line will cast longer distance, impart better action, and likely spook fish less.

 

One oddity when using light line is that our spools in the U.S. are usually geared to accommodate this (crazy) thinking, so they are really deep.  You may have to spool 50+ more yards to fill it with smaller line...check spool cap before spooling.  Your reel is definitely an all-purpose reel, and if you use it for light lures it isn't optimal, but it will likely work fine.

Because of that I'd probably use 20# braid min diamaters.

I use 8lb braid on my baitcaster for super finesse type fishing but I would not recommend that to others for regular fishing. It is a whole lot different in casting, tuneup, gears and lure weight. 

 

[microotter]

I am going to try 30lb instead. 

[Junger]

32 minutes ago, microotter said:

I am going to try 30lb instead. 

I use 20lb braid on some of my "finesse" baitcasters, and 6lb fluoro on others. I think the main reason why you want to go as light as possible with line is the belly that heavier lines create with insufficient lure weight. The heavier the lure, the heavier the line because there's enough weight from the lure to get the line taut.

 

I throw mainly 1/8-1/2oz lures with the 20lb and with lighter lures, even with a backlash it's not heavy enough to create a bad dig-in.

[microotter]

I cancelled my 30lb braid order haha. Think I am going to try 20lb. 

[Deleted account]

best all around braid for a BC is 30 or 40.

[Stephen B]

4 hours ago, microotter said:

Thanks guys. I have always read that smaller diameter braid causes issues with bait casters. Is that a thing of the past or only applicable to cheap reels without tight tolerances? 

I tend to prefer 30 lb+ braid for BC setups.

[Deleted account]

37 minutes ago, microotter said:

I cancelled my 30lb braid order haha. Think I am going to try 20lb. 

Are you in DC like Washington? Cause we need you to do more fishing and less reading.

[r83srock]

4 minutes ago, Stephen B said:

I tend to prefer 30 lb+ braid for BC setups.

Same!

[CrankFate]

There is no reason to use more than 25 lb braid on a small baitcaster, unless you’re punching heavy cover. Maybe. Drop down to 10-20lb and you will be surprised how much better the reels will handle everything.

[islandbass]

7 hours ago, microotter said:

Thanks guys. I have always read that smaller diameter braid causes issues with bait casters. Is that a thing of the past or only applicable to cheap reels without tight tolerances? 

Still applies.  Anything 30# and up probably won't yield line dig.

 

If you need distance in your casts, throw 1/8oz things with 12# mono is not ideal so 50# braid might follow suit. With that said, this may well be your excuse to expand your arsenal, lol.