Want to try a "different" line...

[JS8588]

Okay, so, new to the forum. An advanced novice when it comes to fishing. I've fished off and on all my life. Having my first kid next month so I guess I decided this was the year to start practicing escapes from the house. ?

 

Just bought myself a Daiwa Kage LT MQ 4000D-CXH. (Shoutout to Tomo's Tackle out of Salem MA. 1st class customer service & they shipped it to me in 2 days) My first "luxury" reel. Pairing it with a 7'6 Daiwa Ardito MH. The colors match perfectly & the setup balances surprisingly well. 

 

I've always fished mono & I have a personal bias against braid. Always felt like cheating to me. I know, I know. Get with the 21st century.

 

Lately, as I fish more often (2-4x a week) I've been noticing the downsides of mono (stretch, buoyancy, lack of sensitivity). I've decided to try something different for this rig. Maybe.

 

Looking at these options:

 

12lb Tatsu

17lb Nanofil (double palomar knot aka "nanofil" knot required)

Or just saying "screw it" and spooling it with 12lb Sunline Super Natural Mono

 

The setup will be used for soaking bait at night for catfish, some light saltwater duty when I get the chance, and plugs/jigs for bass. 

 

I'm not -primarily- a bass angler & this won't be my go-to daily driver, just another arrow in the quiver, so to speak.

 

Been lurking here for a while. Figured this is as good a place as any to get some input.

[jbsoonerfan]

No advice since braid is "cheating". I have heard a lot of theories, but that is a new one. 

[Bluebasser86]

I would not suggest straight fluorocarbon for letting baits sit for catfish. It sinks and has a tendency to find it's way into rocks and around snags that result in lost rigs and fish. 

 

Nanofil has terrible abrasion resistance, so I wouldn't suggest it for bottom fishing either.

 

I haven't fished Super Natural, but of the 3 you're considering, that would be my choice. 

[JS8588]

29 minutes ago, jbsoonerfan said:

No advice since braid is "cheating". I have heard a lot of theories, but that is a new one. 

 

Never said it was rational. I'm sure I'll get over my bias & try it eventually.

[roadwarrior]

#12 Tatsu

 

[Deleted account]

If you are not considering braid at all, I'd stick to a good mono or copoly. 

[bulldog1935]

12-lb Seaguar was my bread and butter for most of 20 years.  

I first made the braid switch on spinning tackle - with proper manual bail technique, you wonder why you ever used mono on spinning tackle.  

 

Same result finally switching baitcasters to braid.  

New line for me is X-braid in BFS sizes.  

 

Maybe casting 2 g past 100' on a baitcaster is indeed cheating.  

It turns sight-fishing a fly rod on the flats into an obstinate chore.  

[Hulkster]

i like Sufix Siege mono, i have tried braid and was not a fan (got wind knots on spinning gear.

 

I use 12 pound Siege on my baitcasting rig and 10 on my spinning rig. 

 

with a palomar knot you cant break the stuff and it handles very well 

[Eric 26]

I’ve been very happy with Suffix advance mono on both spinning and bait cast reels. I have 10 lb on both.

[diehardbassfishing]

 

I don't use braid (but have used it on fishing guide's rod), but would like to understand how it could be considered cheating?

Simply it's strength for pulling in fish?

It's (over-rated) sensitivity?

 

Karl

 

(Reason why say the sensitivity is over-rated is a "peck" of a bass on a lure doesn't put much stretch stress on a fishing line. The tiny small diff in sensitivity didn't overcome it's downsides for me.)

 

[JS8588]

1 minute ago, diehardbassfishing said:

 

I don't use braid (but have used it on fishing guide's rod), but would like to understand how it could be considered cheating?

Simply it's strength for pulling in fish?

It's (over-rated) sensitivity?

 

Karl

 

(Reason why say the sensitivity is over-rated is a "peck" of a bass on a lure doesn't put much stretch stress on a fishing line. The tiny small diff in sensitivity didn't overcome it's downsides for me.)

 

Yes, line strength.

 

It's a notion I got in my head as a kid when Spiderwire was just about the only game in town for braid. Again, I'm sure I'll get over it & try it eventually. At age 33, God willing, I've got a lot of years left to fish.

 

Spent 3 hours out this morning at the local pond & caught zip. Should have run down to Nockamixon. Maybe I'll have some time tonight...

[FishTank]

The 4000 size reels are pretty big.  It probably holds about 300+ yards of 12lb line.  If you are going FC, I like Tatsu but not on that big of a reel.  I would look at Invizx for FC.  It's a much more affordable option and works well on spinning gear.  Another option,  Trilene XL 100% FC. 

 

For mono, Sunline Supernatural is good and inexpensive but it can be short lived.  I like Sunline Defier.  It's not as soft as Supernatural but holds up well.

[Hulkster]

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Posted 29 minutes ago

The 4000 size reels are pretty big.  It probably holds about 300+ yards of 12lb line.

so if its a shimano 4000 spinning reel it holds 160 yards of 12 pound mono. back in the early 90s I used to use this size reel with mono before i learned baitcasting reels. It actually fishes very well. Not sure I would go much above 12 or 14 pound mono though. if you put braid it will hold a ton LOL

[JS8588]

1 minute ago, Hulkster said:

so if its a shimano 4000 spinning reel it holds 160 yards of 12 pound mono. back in the early 90s I used to use this size reel with mono before i learned baitcasting reels. It actually fishes very well. Not sure I would go much above 12 or 14 pound mono though. if you put braid it will hold a ton LOL

 

The Daiwa Kage LT MQ 4000D-CXH should hold ~280 yards of 12lb Sunline, Tatsu, or 17lb Nanofil.

 

Leaning towards the Tatsu as of now since I also need to spool up a Penn Fathom 300 LPHS and if I'm shelling out $$ for the 1000 yard spool anyway...

[Dwight Hottle]

2 hours ago, Eric 26 said:

I’ve been very happy with Suffix advance mono on both spinning and bait cast reels. I have 10 lb on both.

X2

I have been using it for two years & I'm very happy with it. It's  a copoly that has good knot strength, abrasion resistance & lower stretch. I use primarily 14lb & 17lb on baitcasters for bass & 8lb for spinning.  

[J Francho]

I wouldn't try anything north of 8# size line on ANY spinning rig without resorting to cheating.

[JS8588]

Just now, J Francho said:

I wouldn't try anything north of 8# size line on ANY spinning rig without resorting to cheating.

 

I've fished 40lb mono on Spinfisher V 10500s from the beach. I understand why you feel that way, though.

 

This Daiwa is actually replacing a Spinfisher V 6500LL I had spooled with 15lb Trilene Big Game. Reel weight is 1/3rd that of the Penn. I fished it on a cheap Ande 7'6 rod I picked up when Sports Authority went out of business.

[bulldog1935]

yeah, but check out this beach braid rig

46-lb braid and 40-lb Seaguar Gold leader.  

The 72-mm-dia spool is only 5 mm deep, and holds 350 yds.  

@JS8588

I will add this - you really want reels with special shallow spools if you want braid.  

[J Francho]

34 minutes ago, JS8588 said:

 

I've fished 40lb mono on Spinfisher V 10500s from the beach. I understand why you feel that way, though.

It's not really a feeling. No one used those for bass fishing. I've serviced a great many surfcast reels for customers on Long Island. Totally inappropriate for bass fishing. If you need to use line that is greater then 8# size, use casting gear. I had a few customers that had physical restrictions that had to use spinning gear for heavy cover applications, but they typically used braid in the 40-50# range on 5000 sized reels saddled to medium to MH inshore rods. 

32 minutes ago, bulldog1935 said:

46-lb braid and 40-lb Seaguar Gold leader.  

Speaking of, how you liking Gold in higher strengths? I've only used in 6 and 8# and it seems to perform as well as Blue. 

[bulldog1935]

@J Francho

I like it for abrasion resistance and diameter - really tough for the sand.  

Also tough to bend for an Allbright knot.  

This will always be my leader knot, though - I've been rolling good ones for 40 years of fly fishing.  

[JS8588]

15 minutes ago, J Francho said:

If you need to use line that is greater then 8# size, use casting gear. I had a few customers that had physical restrictions that had to use spinning gear for heavy cover applications, but they typically used braid in the 40-50# range on 5000 sized reels saddled to medium to MH inshore rods. 

 

My wife is able to use spinning, but baitcasters are still above her skill set & she fishes with me when she's not 8.5 months pregnant. Her abilities were taken into consideration for this setup.

[CrankFate]

@JS8588After having 2 kids, I would suggest that if you fished on and off for your life, having a baby is a time to be “off” when it comes to fishing. I missed a lot of fishing after having kids. It’s only now that they are over 10, that I can get out that much again. I love fishing like a second wife and a third child but it’s not about escaping from the real ones. Most serious guys would tell you they were doing it before and they are doing it after and, yes, life gets in the way.

[J Francho]

I'd say that after around 2 months, either parent should be able to take off for a few hours to pursue a hobby or have some social time without being encumbered with a newborn. I'd call it a minimum target, for both parents. Putting a hobby like fishing on hold for a decade for parenting isn't healthy.  It's even more important for the mother to get some time away as well. It sounds counter intuitive, but being away builds trust in your partner, the baby, and as a bonus, spending time alone with the baby builds a better bond. It works both ways. 

[CrankFate]

@J Francho on hold for a decade? Never! I just meant a lot less. Without life in the way, I’m out there every other day from May to November.

[bulldog1935]

@JS8588

you've done your homework, and you first post is pretty complete, listing some of the best mono/fc line options out there.  

The couple of places I still use mono are reels to loan to friends, spooled with my favorite 12-lb Seaguar Abrazx.  

I have a few back-up spools loaded with 10-lb Tatsu.  

Deeper spools naturally load and manage mono/fc better than braid, even when using large-diameter mono for braid backing.  

 

The Japanese always take line tech to the next level, and Seaguar grades offered there are application specific. @Tail Slap loaded up a few of these recently - maybe he can report for us.  

I tend to pick up new lines from Asian Portal, often just to round out a cart for $100 free FedEx express.  

In addition to SunLine and Seaguar, Toray and YGK offer high-tech, low-memory mono/fc lines.  (down to lb-test no one here would ever consider)

When you get to the really small stuff, it's limp by definition, and low-memory lines aren't near as springy as they are in bass-fishing test.  

  

 

A dozen years ago, first tried the best copolymer I've ever fished in my salt XUl niche, and added it to FW light spinning - Kamikaze Firepower from Oz.  Freakishly limp, extreme low memory, great knots, toughness, and abrasion resistance.  Unfortunately, over time, it became cost-prohibitive to ship it from the S. Pacific.