Braid for crankbaits?

[Glenn]

As soon as some dude on U-tube tells you that you have to change rod, reel, hooksets, presentations, etc due to the line....that's a clear indication you shouldn't be using that line.

 

I don't use braid on crankbaits.  Buoyancy is one good reason, no stretch is another, line visibility is another, fluorocarbon is better than braid in rocks is another....

 

I've said it so many times before, but it's worth repeating again: braid is not an all-purpose line.  It definitely has tactics where it shines, but crankbait fishing isn't one of them.

 

 

[WRB]

9 minutes ago, Glenn said:

As soon as some dude on U-tube tells you that you have to change rod, reel, hooksets, presentations, etc due to the line....that's a clear indication you shouldn't be using that line.

 

I don't use braid on crankbaits.  Buoyancy is one good reason, no stretch is another, line visibility is another, fluorocarbon is better than braid in rocks is another....

 

I've said it so many times before, but it's worth repeating again: braid is not an all-purpose line.  It definitely has tactics where it shines, but crankbait fishing isn't one of them.

 

 

Agree, but you and I don’t use spinning tackle for diving crank baits. 

Tom

[Aaron_H]

10 minutes ago, Glenn said:

As soon as some dude on U-tube tells you that you have to change rod, reel, hooksets, presentations, etc due to the line....that's a clear indication you shouldn't be using that line.

 

Great insight, Glenn, but is this really that unreasonable of a mindset? I see so much talk of anglers approaching their setups as a system where all parts must work in tandem and if you start by saying "I like the characteristics of this line and want to use it," then surely building a system around that would necessitate a different rod action than if you chose to use a line with very different characteristics? I would certainly not use the same rod to throw a lipless on mono as I use to throw them on braid-to-leader, for instance. Obviously not everyone will like the same line for a technique and therefore will build their system differently.

 

This is a genuine question, I hope my tone is not coming off as abrasive. I am far from the most experienced angler so I absolutely could be missing something here (or just reading too far into it).

[PhishLI]

30 minutes ago, 5/0 said:

how do you compensate for the buoyancy that comes with braided line which, to me anyway, would hinder getting the proper depths on moving baits?

I think this is often overstated. It's not like it's a hot air balloon.

[r83srock]

I like mono for crankbaits, but I’m going to try flouro for more things this year. I like braid for fishing plastics and jigs in grass, and frog fishing. But I agree that braid isn’t the all purpose line that we want it to be. I also like braid for ripping traps out of grass. I do feel I will miss/lose a few fish because of the no stretch characteristics that braid has though. 

[dodgeguy]

1 hour ago, PhishLI said:

Friday I was out on a 8ft Sundolphin with my son in law, so I was limited to a few rods. I used a multipurpose setup, a  7'3" composite cranking rod and 6spd reel spooled with 30lb Daiwa J8, to throw cranks, chatterbaits, and spinner baits. Casting distance wasn't an issue whatsoever with deep cranks, and if there's a difference compared to nylon/fluoro, and I don't believe there is in that regard, it's meaningless, IMO. I was bombing everything. However, I believe if I had upsized line to 40lb or greater there definitely would be.

 

The feel with braid and cranks is fantastic. The Lily pad fields are just buds on the bottom right now at this particular lake, and I could easily feel the bill touching off of them. With that I didn't snag once. Same thing on rock and gravel. Excellent feel.

I use 50 lb so I have more abrasion resistance over rocks.I have no issue with distance. I agree about the sensitivity. You get stuck way less and can walk a deep diver over rocks with braid by letting it touch then float up. Restart is when you get a lot of strikes.

[suzuki2903]

Braid to leader/ mono and it’s a great all purpose line to use.   Use what make you happy. 

[Pogues2300]

1 hour ago, Aaron_H said:

 

Great insight, Glenn, but is this really that unreasonable of a mindset? I see so much talk of anglers approaching their setups as a system where all parts must work in tandem and if you start by saying "I like the characteristics of this line and want to use it," then surely building a system around that would necessitate a different rod action than if you chose to use a line with very different characteristics? I would certainly not use the same rod to throw a lipless on mono as I use to throw them on braid-to-leader, for instance. Obviously not everyone will like the same line for a technique and therefore will build their system differently.

 

This is a genuine question, I hope my tone is not coming off as abrasive. I am far from the most experienced angler so I absolutely could be missing something here (or just reading too far into it).

I use braid to leader, usually mono. A couple times for various reasons I cut off leader and didn’t re-tie and still caught plenty of fish. So yeah, you can certainly fish straight braid.

[Glenn]

2 hours ago, Aaron_H said:

I hope my tone is not coming off as abrasive.

It's a good question.  Mind you, there's no absolutes in fishing, nor is anything really.  I mean, which is better, a crescent wrench or box wrench? No doubt somebody would chime in and say socket wrenches are better suited in certain situations.  Then some other person will say, "Heck, I use pliers for everything and they work just fine for me!"

 

Is any of them "wrong"?  Not really.  It's simply a matter of your tolerance level for any drawbacks of each tool under different use cases.

 

Not one line is the "best" for everything, IMO. So for ME, I have specific uses for each type of line (braid, mono, fluoro, and braid).  They're tools, and I choose each tool based on the job that needs to be done.  

 

 

[Aaron_H]

42 minutes ago, Glenn said:

It's a good question.  Mind you, there's no absolutes in fishing, nor is anything really.  I mean, which is better, a crescent wrench or box wrench? No doubt somebody would chime in and say socket wrenches are better suited in certain situations.  Then some other person will say, "Heck, I use pliers for everything and they work just fine for me!"

 

Is any of them "wrong"?  Not really.  It's simply a matter of your tolerance level for any drawbacks of each tool under different use cases.

 

Not one line is the "best" for everything, IMO. So for ME, I have specific uses for each type of line (braid, mono, fluoro, and braid).  They're tools, and I choose each tool based on the job that needs to be done.  

 

 

 

Thank you for the answer, Glenn. I certainly agree that no line/tool is an end-all-be-all.

[gulfcaptain]

So been using braid to leader on all my equipment since 2013. 30 for most, have a few with 20 on them too for cranking,  mainly smaller cranks and jerkbaits. Fill your reel with your mono first, add 75 to 100yrds of braid to your reel, no digging issues when cranking.  Set your drag a tad lighter then when using straight mono. 

[casts_by_fly]

22 hours ago, MyKeyBe said:

Wait till you throw a spinnerbait on that combo. It's wonderful. That rod and 30 lb braid can do almost anything and do it pretty good. 

since most of my spinnerbaits are 1/2 plus a trailer, that rod is a bit under powered for them. I’ve thrown a 3/8 single Colorado no trailer with that rod and it is fine but that’s not my norm. And if I’m throwing lighter spinnerbaits I’m using the 6’10” expert finesse jig rod. It’s perfect for 3/8 blade baits. 

[WRB]

Does anyone read the OP’s opening thread? He is asking about spinning reels!

Tom

[5/0]

10 hours ago, WRB said:

Does anyone read the OP’s opening thread? He is asking about spinning reels!

Tom

Yes. All my spinning set ups are braid to leader. The main factor for that is manageability. Also there is a cost factor, I don’t have to switch out line as often. However I haven’t thrown crankbaits on them.  Mainly shakys, nekos, wacky rigs.

[Aaron_H]

11 hours ago, WRB said:

Does anyone read the OP’s opening thread? He is asking about spinning reels!

Tom

 

I don't believe so, OP also mentions backlashes. He's saying that he doesn't believe that braid is more susceptible to backlashes than mono since it does not behave that way on a spinning reel for him. In this case, it should be read like this (parenthesis for clarification mine):

 

"Seems I've heard more cons than pros on this (braid for crankbaits).  One reason was less distance the other was if you get a backlash start cutting.  Is there less distance with braid on crankbaits and is it any more susceptible to backlash than mono?  I was thinking it wasn't (less distance or more susceptible to backlash) because braid works a lot better all around for me with spinning gear (ergo it should work better on casting gear also)."

[WRB]

The OP can clarify his own post. 

Tom

[Bird]

I'm a braid to leader on all spinning tackle but only throw crankbaits on casting gear.

 

An issue you may have throwing straight braid with spinning is line wrap on baits with treble hooks.

I don't see how thin diameter braid will inhibit the baits ability to dive.

 

[Aaron_H]

11 minutes ago, WRB said:

The OP can clarify his own post. 

Tom

 

Absolutely, but I wasn't the one telling people they can't read.

 

[MickD]

On 4/17/2022 at 2:51 PM, 5/0 said:

But how do you compensate for the buoyancy that comes with braided line which, to me anyway, would hinder getting the proper depths on moving baits?

From what I have read both braid and mono have very close to the same density, and they are basically neutral density.  Meaning they don't float and they don't sink.  Braid has much smaller diameter than mono or FC so it cuts the water more efficiently.  So you can easily get deeper with braid than mono.  And probably deeper than with FC, too.  

 

I have used all three types on cranks and have to say they all work fine as far as getting the depth I want.  Both spin and baitcasting. 

[dodgeguy]

On 4/17/2022 at 2:51 PM, 5/0 said:

A while back I watched an older video from Tacticalbassin where Matt Allen used braid on all rods. Fully understand the downsizing of rod action and drag mods needed when doing this. But how do you compensate for the buoyancy that comes with braided line which, to me anyway, would hinder getting the proper depths on moving baits?

Use 832. It sinks slowly.

[Fishingmickey]

On 4/17/2022 at 1:51 PM, 5/0 said:

A while back I watched an older video from Tacticalbassin where Matt Allen used braid on all rods. Fully understand the downsizing of rod action and drag mods needed when doing this. But how do you compensate for the buoyancy that comes with braided line which, to me anyway, would hinder getting the proper depths on moving baits?

     I have used braid for deep cranking big crank baits for several years now. Deep to me being in excess of 18-20'.  I have gotten 6XD sized baits down to 25'  and 8XD sized to close to 30' using braid and long lining. I use 30# braid with about a 1/4 spool of mono backing underneath. The big advantage is how deep you can get a crank bait with braid.  It is significantly deeper then with Mono or Fluorocarbon. 

     I do fish with "softer" rods and use a lighter drag. I use a couple of Kistler's Feel and Reel rod's. They are a hybrid rod with a glass tip spliced onto a graphite base, Dobyn's champion crankbait rod is another one I like a lot for this method too.  I think a Victory glass or Shimano Curado glass rods would probably work very well too. 

     I use a sweep type hook set and play the fish with a fairly light drag.  It works well for me and I have no plans on changing anytime soon for my deep cranking needs.

FM

 

 

[5/0]

5 minutes ago, Fishingmickey said:

Dobyn's champion crankbait rod is another one I like a lot for this method too. 

Would that be the CBMF?

[Fishingmickey]

5 minutes ago, 5/0 said:

Would that be the CBMF?

I believe it is a MH fast or the Heavy fast. 7'2 or 7'3 length. I'm not at the house though to verify.  The bigger crank baits I mentioned are well above comfortable casting weights of a medium rod for me anyways.

FM 

 

[WRB]

1 hour ago, Aaron_H said:

 

Absolutely, but I wasn't the one telling people they can't read.

 

They don’t read the post and respond to the title.

Read my 1st reply “you can’t backlash a spinning reel”.

Tom

[The Maestro]

There's very few concrete absolute right or wrong ways to do things in fishing. Ultimately it's the end result that matters most.  I don't have very strong personal opinions about this topic as I just don't have enough experience throwing crankbaits. I did come across this video awhile back and apparently David Fritts is widely regarded as one of the best anglers with a crankbait.