Braid questions for drop-shot

[The Baron]

I'm setting up my spinning outfit for drop shotting and am planning to run braid with an 8# fluorocarbon leader.  Several questions... for fishing clear water in Lake Ontario/St. Lawrence River, is there a color of braid I should get or avoid?  I expect to be fishing anywhere from 2-50ft. of water, around some rocky bottom and weed edges but no heavy cover - is 10# braid good or should I go heavier?  Last Q, are all braids created equal and I just shop by price, or is there one brand/style that lends itself best to my intended use?  My setup is a Dobyn's Savvy 6'9" M-F with an Abu ProMax 30 reel/.

[NHBull]

I use 10 pound braid to FC leader for DS on a spinning set-up

I use high-vis as I am a line watcher.

[mrpao]

Go with a dark green color braid. It will look more natural in the clear water that you fish. Bright color braids will look like an anchor rope in that clear water.

Also I like a 8 strand braid for spinning reels. It will be much more smooth on the cast and retreive. Its usually much more limp than the 4 strand braid.

Lastly, I would probably go at least 15lbs if not 20lbs on the line weight. Braid is pretty thin so you can get away with heavier line. And braid frays fairly easily so the thicker line will be extra insurance in case of any abrasion.

[MittenMouth]

I use #15lb braid with a 6-8lb leader. High vis yellow for braid with a regular FC leader. Fish it on a ML Dobyns Fury and a Tatula LT 2500.

 

fishing mostly clear water 99% of the time as I’m in MI. Same setup for the Great Lakes too. 

[Timberwolf530]

Are you going to be vertical drop shotting, or does casting distance matter?  4 carrier braid is cheaper, but not as smooth, and doesn't cast as far as 8 carrier.  4 carrier is more durable and damage resistant if abrasion will be an issue.  I like brightly colored braid, yellow or chartreuse.  I detect a lot of strikes I'm convinced I would miss if I could not line watch.  Bright colors make this infinitely easier (for older eyes anyway).  IMO, the best bang for the buck in braid is Daiwa J Braid X8.  For drop shotting I use 10 lb chartreuse X8 with 7 or 8 foot leader of 6-10 lb Sunline FC Sniper.  IMO you need to avoid the bargain braids on Ebay and Amazon.  I've tried them in the past, and didn't have good luck with them.  Color fades too fast, too stiff, breaks at lower than rated test.  All the name brand braids are going to be good quality, but have different handling characteristics.  You just need to try a few, and see which you like the best.  Same thing goes for the fluoro as well. 

[S Hovanec]

My Dropshot rods have 10, 15 and 20# on them.  Both Powerpro and TufLine.  IMO, color is if no importance because of the leader.  My tube rod has pink Gliss and my spybait rod has yellow Gliss.  As my DS line wears, I'll be replacing them with hi-vis line too.

[WRB]

Not a fan of braid with a leader and personally would go with straight 8 lb FC. Reason big smallies and 2 knots to fail could be an issue.your rod may not be forgiving enough with big strong bass near the boat with braid is another factor to consider.

Depending on the leader length the braid color isn't going to bother LMB, smallies will see it but I don't believe it will turn off a bite using high visible braid. With drop shot you feel strikes instantly if you manage the slack line correctly, so high vis line is questionable.

Too small dia braid can cause wind knots and no to the question are braids equal.

Some braid the color dye runs, some fray easily and some are more abrasion resistant.

When I use braid  it's FINS, color doesn't run, good abrasion resistance and availble in both 4 and 8 carrier construction.

Tom

[Stephen B]

5 hours ago, WRB said:

Not a fan of braid with a leader and personally would go with straight 8 lb FC. Reason big smallies and 2 knots to fail could be an issue.your rod may not be forgiving enough with big strong bass near the boat with braid is another factor to consider.

Depending on the leader length the braid color isn't going to bother LMB, smallies will see it but I don't believe it will turn off a bite using high visible braid. With drop shot you feel strikes instantly if you manage the slack line correctly, so high vis line is questionable.

Too small dia braid can cause wind knots and no to the question are braids equal.

Some braid the color dye runs, some fray easily and some are more abrasion resistant.

When I use braid  it's FINS, color doesn't run, good abrasion resistance and availble in both 4 and 8 carrier construction.

Tom

Never had an issue with any knot failures. Most people use braid to a leader. Works like a charm. Easy, effective, and works great. 

[midnighthrasher]

I live on the st-lawrence and drop shot quite a bit. I recently got back into fishing and went right back to what I knew. 

 

The braid is Powerpro moss green 30lb.

The Fluorocarbon is Seaguar Tatsu 8lb if I see the bottom or 10lb if I dont. 

 

I always go with 8-10ft of leader and will change when its less than 5ft.

 

I never had a issue. After every 5 fish or so I make sure that Fluo has no nicks.  

 

I copied this setup from fishing with a FLW pro on lake Erie. 

[Fried Lemons]

Make sure you can tie a good leader knot. FC is especially prone to breaking near line to line connections. Many will disagree with me but I prefer mono as a leader material. If you decide to go the fluoro route get a fluoro marketed as leader material and not main line.

[Krux5506]

20lb power pro to 8 lb FC leader, usually 6 or 7 feet for me. I use their normal dark green braid but next time I spool I'm going to try hi vis just for the heck of it. 

[billmac]

Haven't I read that the zebra mussels in the St. Lawrence render mono a bad choice?  

[Yumeya]

10 or 15 will work just fine, you could even go lower if you wanted to.

We use 4lb braid ice fishing and pull out large trout and bass without problems...

 

I've also never had a problem with braid to leader knot, FG knot is the best I have used.

[Columbia Craw]

The inherent issue with the drop shot rig is line twist.  Braid really helps to mitigate that.  Using a micro barrel swivel between the braid and leader makes twist even less of an issue or no issue at all.  I pre-tie leaders in various tests and hook sizes/types to save a bunch of time.  Braid in #12 seems to work well for me and reduces drag in current.  It works for me.

[LxVE Bassin]

15# pound 8 carrier braid with 10# FC leader. I prefer high vis braid when getting to smart pound test because it can be hard to see on a long cast.

[deadadrift89]

20# Power Pro slick8 v2 with 8# Sniper leader for me. I've tried 10# /15# on a couple of my other drop shot setups but prefer 20#. Usually fishing no deeper than 35 feet in clear water with rock. I use green braid and 8'-10' leader 

[Matt_3479]

I haven’t fished Lake Ontario/st. Lawrence but do fish a lot of clear lakes in Ontario. My set up is a glx 822 dsr, Shimano ci4, 15lbs dark green pp with an 8lbs leader normally and have had great luck so far! Have tried 6lbs too and was doing well until any kind of cover was near and snapped off too many times. 

[Tony johnson]

i run 15lb power pro green with a 8lb 6ft leader... i have never had braid to leader knot failure... i have hung 100lb fish with 20lbs of drag all using the rp knot/john collins knot

[GreenPig]

My finesse rigs are spooled 10 lb Berkley Fireline Ultra 8 Crystal to a 10' leader of Seaguar Red Label  Fluorocarbon in either 6 - 8 lb test. You can use any braid color if you make your leader long enough. I use the Crystal color because it's easy to see and if it gets whiter then great. I tie the alberto knot because it's simple and quick to tie anywhere in any conditions. I caught a 16 lb striper a couple months ago reeling in my Ned rig on the 10 lb braid to 6 lb fluorocarbon. I feel confident that any LM I hook I can fight minus wrapping me on something.