When do you use braid and when do you use straight fluorocarbon?

[clemsondds]

I know there have been several threads on this but just wanted to get your thoughts from this particular angle.  Over the past couple years I have switched back and forth from braid to fluoro and back again.  Trying to weight out which is the best in each application.  I see guys like tacticalbassin and jonny schultz recommend braid to leader but then I see them fishing straight fluoro quite a bit.  I watched David Dudley's video on which is more sensitive and he recommended when you have a straight line then use braid, but if there's slack in the line, then use flouro.  But then I saw him recently in the MLF tournament fishing a crankbait with fluoro.... it seems very rare to see a pro using braid to leader for moving baits.  Maybe I'm just seeing it wrong.  So what do you use in each application and why... looking at crankbaits, jerkbaits, swimbaits/underspins, a-rig, jigs, spinnerbait, dropshot and ned rig. 

Thanks everyone!  Always love a good discussion!  

[Mike L]

To me braid is a “specialty” line fir certain presentations. 
I use it for only punching 80#, frogs 50# and some things on top 30#. 
 

Now when I want to throw say a cut tail type plastic over and through heavy vegetation, I’ll use my frog set up. 
 

Everything else is straight flouro from 12# to 20#. 
 

No leader for anything, ever. 
 

 

 

 

Mike

[Finessegenics]

Dropshot, ned rig, light weight and light wire jigs/swimbait heads: braid to leader cause they’re on my spinning rods. Simple as that. Braid is more manageable on spinning reels because it has basically no memory and doesn’t twist as bad.
 

Everything else on your list (including heavy jigs and heavy swimbaits): mono or fluoro because the braid offers me no advantages throwing those baits. Even thick diameter mono/fluoro handles well on baitcasters. Just don’t cheap out on your line if you can avoid it. 
 

Now, if you added frogs and punch rigs, I would have said straight braid cause it saws through grass well compared to mono. It gives an advantage.

 

 

[Jig Man]

I’ve gone through the whole gamete, mono, braid, braid with mono leaders, braid with fluorocarbon leaders and straight fluorocarbon.  
 

I fish in highland reservoirs with no vegetation, standing and downed timber and many rocks and bluffs.  I don’t go after hung up baits except for some of the more expensive ones.  So the life expectancy of a bait is very short.

 

I spent a couple of years using braid and leaders.  It seemed like I was spending as much time retying as I was fishing.  I don’t like straight braid for bottom lures and my mono was getting beat by my partner who was using fluorocarbon.  So I made the switch to fluorocarbon about 6 years ago and have been satisfied.  I use it in 6, 8, 10, 12, and 15# depending on the application.  I only use braid for deep vertical jigging and throwing the Arig.

[NorthernBasser]

Agree with a lot that has already been said.

 

Now, there are a few times I'll use 30-40# braid when I'm ripping cranks/lipless cranks through grass. It just makes life so much easier. 

[fishinNWA]

I only use straight braid for frogging or big umbrella rigs that I don't want to break off. Other times its Fluro 85% of the time, mono occasionally if like I buy a reel at bass pro and that's what they spooled on it   

[Bird]

I use braid on every outfit, some straight and some with a Flouro leader.

[clemsondds]

10 minutes ago, Bird said:

I use braid on every outfit, some straight and some with a Flouro leader.

Can you expound on this a little? When do you choose to use a leader?  Mind sharing why you don’t use straight fluoro? Thanks 

[Bird]

4 minutes ago, clemsondds said:

Can you expound on this a little? When do you choose to use a leader?  Mind sharing why you don’t use straight fluoro? Thanks 

Love the no stretch, no memory characteristics of braid which makes for longer casts.

Most of the water I fish is gin clear so using a fluorocarbon leader gives me a little more confidence when using bottom contact, finesse type presentation. 

 

[clemsondds]

1 hour ago, Bird said:

Love the no stretch, no memory characteristics of braid which makes for longer casts.

Most of the water I fish is gin clear so using a fluorocarbon leader gives me a little more confidence when using bottom contact, finesse type presentation. 

 

That’s interesting. So in gin clear water, do you use straight braid for crankbaits?   I’m sure some would worry about the visibility of braid in that clear of water

[Bird]

1 hour ago, clemsondds said:

That’s interesting. So I’m gin clear water, do you use straight braid for crankbaits?   I’m sure some would worry about the visibility of braid in that clear of water

I use straight braid for every moving bait.

Forgot to mention, another advantage to using a leader is when you get hung, the line always breaks at the hook leaving behind the leader to be reused. 

I like the Alberto knot.

[Finessegenics]

3 minutes ago, Bird said:

the line always breaks at the hook leaving behind the leader to be reused. 

 

If you tied a good knot that is. I started out with a blood knot and half of the time I'd come up again with no leader after getting hung. Might have been my poor ability to tie knots but then I switched to an Alberto and 95% of the time I now get my leader back too. 

[Jig Man]

11 minutes ago, Bird said:

I use straight braid for every moving bait.

Forgot to mention, another advantage to using a leader is when you get hung, the line always breaks at the hook leaving behind the leader to be reused. 

I like the Alberto knot.

That was not my experience.  I used the Albright and Alberto knots with 30# braid and 17# fluorocarbon.  An overwhelming majority of mine broke at the junction of the two lines.

[clemsondds]

Anyone else want to share what they use and why? 

[CrashVector]

Being as I never use fluorocarbon, all of my reels with braid are used without leaders.

1 hour ago, clemsondds said:

That’s interesting. So in gin clear water, do you use straight braid for crankbaits?   I’m sure some would worry about the visibility of braid in that clear of water

 

Gin clear water I use straight braid for everything, including Ned rigs.

[Skunkmaster-k]

The only time I use braid to leader is when I’m on someone else’s boat and can only take a couple of rods. I prefer mono on shallow moving baits with light wire hooks and topwater baits. Fluorocarbon for everything else. 

[Bird]

2 hours ago, Jig Man said:

That was not my experience.  I used the Albright and Alberto knots with 30# braid and 17# fluorocarbon.  An overwhelming majority of mine broke at the junction of the two lines.

Hmmm, I'm only using a leader on spinning gear......15# Power Pro to 8# Sunline sniper and always retain the leader or in the case of the Ned rig, a straightened hook.

[Deleted account]

6 hours ago, clemsondds said:

Over the past couple years I have switched back and forth from braid to fluoro and back again.  Trying to weight out which is the best in each application. 

Can someone translate to boomer (barely cause I'm 1961) the above, cause I see "I've used both for a few years and want someone online to tell me which one will work best for me" and that doesn't compute in my old brain...

[Team9nine]

6 hours ago, Mike L said:

To me braid is a “specialty” line fir certain presentations. 
I use it for only punching 80#, frogs 50# and some things on top 30#. 

Now when I want to throw say a cut tail type plastic over and through heavy vegetation, I’ll use my frog set up. 

Everything else is straight flouro from 12# to 20#. 

No leader for anything, ever. 

 

6 hours ago, Finessegenics said:

Dropshot, ned rig, light weight and light wire jigs/swimbait heads: braid to leader cause they’re on my spinning rods. Simple as that. Braid is more manageable on spinning reels because it has basically no memory and doesn’t twist as bad.
 

Everything else on your list (including heavy jigs and heavy swimbaits): mono or fluoro because the braid offers me no advantages throwing those baits. Even thick diameter mono/fluoro handles well on baitcasters. Just don’t cheap out on your line if you can avoid it. 
 

Now, if you added frogs and punch rigs, I would have said straight braid cause it saws through grass well compared to mono. It gives an advantage.

 

My thoughts align with what these guys said ^^ 

In my book, braid doesn't belong on a baitcaster except when it does, and those times are few and far between. 

[Chris186]

I have tried and tried and tried to like braid. I just don’t like it. Straight fluoro on spinning and bottom contact, mono on everything else for me.

[clemsondds]

30 minutes ago, Deleted account said:

Can someone translate to boomer (barely cause I'm 1961) the above, cause I see "I've used both for a few years and want someone online to tell me which one will work best for me" and that doesn't compute in my old brain...

There’s always one…congrats to being that guy 

31 minutes ago, Team9nine said:

 

 

My thoughts align with what these guys said ^^ 

In my book, braid doesn't belong on a baitcaster except when it does, and those times are few and far between. 

Mind sharing why you prefer fluoro? 

[T-Billy]

4 hours ago, Bird said:

Forgot to mention, another advantage to using a leader is when you get hung, the line always breaks at the hook leaving behind the leader to be reused. 

I like the Alberto knot.

Much to my surprise, this has been my experience with the Alberto as well. Great leader knot. Small, strong, and easy to tie out on the water.

[Team9nine]

27 minutes ago, clemsondds said:

Mind sharing why you prefer fluoro? 

 

For me, it (fluoro) just lends itself to a much more adaptable/flexible and consistent system - a nice blend of sensitivity and stretch - that can easily be pushed in whatever direction you want to go. There are some inherent difficulties and challenges with the ultra-low stretch properties of braid to work around, some which could be done more easily than others, but all would require some degree (and cost) of specialization to accomplish in my case, since my equipment purchases are largely set at this point. But as mentioned, there are a few techniques where those (braid) properties are the right qualities for an application, none of which require leaders, IMO (referring to baitcasting).

[Mike L]

2 minutes ago, Team9nine said:

 

For me, it (fluoro) just lends itself to a much more adaptable/flexible and consistent system - a nice blend of sensitivity and stretch - that can easily be pushed in whatever direction you want to go. There are some inherent difficulties and challenges with the ultra-low stretch properties of braid to work around, some which could be done more easily than others, but all would require some degree (and cost) of specialization to accomplish in my case, since my equipment purchases are largely set at this point. But as mentioned, there are a few techniques where those (braid) properties are the right qualities for an application, none of which require leaders, IMO (referring to baitcasting).

Well Said

 

 

 

 

 

Mike

[crypt]

braid for heavy flipping/punching.......no flouro just Big Game......