High vis braid for finesse bass?

[PTasker15]

I'm looking at a new finesse setup (wacky, texas, shakey) and looking at braid. I plan to use 8/10lb test to a 8lb fluoro/mono leader. I wondered if I could get away with a high vis braid like orange or green since I'll have a leader? I like letting my wacky worms and Texas Rigs sink on slack line and figure the line could make small bites easier to see. I live in the south where the water can sometimes look like chocolate milk if that matters.

[optimator]

I use the bright green Daiwa J8 braid on my spinning rods with a leader. I think I catch more fish than I did with straight mono.  

[PTasker15]

22 minutes ago, optimator said:

I use the bright green Daiwa J8 braid on my spinning rods with a leader. I think I catch more fish than I did with straight mono.  

What leader? I've used both mono and fluoro as leaders and the only difference I've noticed is a slight decrease in sensitivity while using mono. As a budget angler, if I can get away with spending ~$20 for my braid mainline, backing, and leader over nearly $40 for just about the same thing, id rather that?

[optimator]

Mono. 

[PTasker15]

14 minutes ago, optimator said:

Mono. 

Thanks. Lastly what brands do you recommend? I've been using PowerPro 4x and I like it but the "paint" that gives the line it's colors wears off extremely fast. Otherwise it works great. But I want to try Daiwa J Braid 4x or Yozuri as I've heard good things.

[optimator]

19 minutes ago, PTasker15 said:

Thanks. Lastly what brands do you recommend? I've been using PowerPro 4x and I like it but the "paint" that gives the line it's colors wears off extremely fast. Otherwise it works great. But I want to try Daiwa J Braid 4x or Yozuri as I've heard good things.

For mono? Whatever I have left over from spooling reels. I've been trying different lines so Sufix, Trilene, Yo-Zuri, Pline.....

[PTasker15]

16 minutes ago, optimator said:

For mono? Whatever I have left over from spooling reels. I've been trying different lines so Sufix, Trilene, Yo-Zuri, Pline.....

Two things i forgot to ask, I want to use a 8lb braided mainline with a 8lb mono leader. This should work?

 

Also, what color? There's yellow, neon green, and orange. All should be fine but I wonder what may work best?

[Striper9]

3 hours ago, PTasker15 said:

Two things i forgot to ask, I want to use a 8lb braided mainline with a 8lb mono leader. This should work?

 

Also, what color? There's yellow, neon green, and orange. All should be fine but I wonder what may work best?

I would use 10-15lb power pro (color doesn’t matter) with a mono leader anywhere from 8-15lb depending on the cover. I like berkley big game as a leader. 

Or you could keep it simple and ditch the leader all together 

[DaubsNU1]

I ran mono on all my spinning gear until finding this forum a few years back. Could not understand why someone would run braid-to-leader.  

 

Tried it...did not like it one bit.  

 

Kept trying it...still did not like.

 

Made myself use it on smallie trip to South Dakota...then it clicked!

 

Now all my spinning rods are rigged with bright yellow PowerPro 10lb braid, tied to 8 or 10lb fluoro leader. Casts a mile, super sensitive, fish don't seem to mind one bit. 

[Junk Fisherman]

Bright yellow YGK Sol 10 lb and a 6 lb Gamma Edge leader.  That's the best setup I have found for spinning gear.   I fish some super clear water and I do pretty well with the setup.  

[Reel]

I fish ultra-clear water ( 30 foot visibility ) and use yellow Power Pro V2 along with a fluoro leader. I don't think the fish mind the color  but I like it.  Power Pro floats and as you said the braid acts like a bobber with the slightest movement telling you that a fish took your bait.  Most times I use 10 or 15 pound test with a leader ( 8 pound) the lenght of the rod.  

[Jig Man]

I have gone back to it for feel.  I am using fluorescent yellow 15# Power Pro with 10 and 12# fluorocarbon leaders.

[dodgeguy]

Yellow vicious No Fade Braid with no leader. Use a black permanent marker to color the last 6 feet black. In your water a leader is pointless.

[Captain Phil]

I think it's a confidence thing. I used 8 pound mono on my spinning rods for years.  To me, braid looks like cable in the water.  Since experimenting with braid, it seems fish don't care. It is very rare in Florida to find bass water clear enough for the line to make much difference. However, if you believe it does, it will.  Mono is cheaper and it's handles better, so you make the choice.

[PTasker15]

21 minutes ago, dodgeguy said:

Yellow vicious No Fade Braid with no leader. Use a black permanent marker to color the last 6 feet black. In your water a leader is pointless.

I do not care about visibility when the color white will always disappear after about 3 foot deep. But, we do have some nasty rocks and wood in some places I do fish, and I know from experience braid cuts extremely easily under tension when it runs against something sharp.

39 minutes ago, Reel said:

I fish ultra-clear water ( 30 foot visibility ) and use yellow Power Pro V2 along with a fluoro leader. I don't think the fish mind the color  but I like it.  Power Pro floats and as you said the braid acts like a bobber with the slightest movement telling you that a fish took your bait.  Most times I use 10 or 15 pound test with a leader ( 8 pound) the lenght of the rod.  

How much backing should I add? 3000 size reel so it could probably take 250yds of 10lb braid which would not be very cheap for me.

[Functional]

I use Yo-Zuri in their blue color. About the only color I dont lose easily throwing into/near vegetation and water reflections. Havent tried orange but I bet that works well.

 

Id suggest going to 15lb braid though, 10-12 is kind of light and 15 is limp enough to fish a ned rig just fine. Leaders I'll go anywhere from 6-10lbs with an FG knot. No issues and the combo works great.

 

I never add backing on spinning reels, when its ready to replace I just spool it backwards and use the "fresh" back half. 

[PTasker15]

40 minutes ago, Functional said:

I use Yo-Zuri in their blue color. About the only color I dont lose easily throwing into/near vegetation and water reflections. Havent tried orange but I bet that works well.

 

Id suggest going to 15lb braid though, 10-12 is kind of light and 15 is limp enough to fish a ned rig just fine. Leaders I'll go anywhere from 6-10lbs with an FG knot. No issues and the combo works great.

 

I never add backing on spinning reels, when its ready to replace I just spool it backwards and use the "fresh" back half. 

I prefer lighter line and a good fight. Again I'm fishing wacky, texas, shakey. When I run into cover, I have rigs with 20lb braid and 15lh leaders which will handle that fine, but I don't find too bad of cover often. I don't really use ned or dropshot. The issue with no backing and such a small line is that I would have to put nearly 300yds on a 3000 size reel, and it might be a little hard locally to find 300yds of 10lb test Chartruse or Orange braided line. Can barely find 10lb anyways.

[Darth-Baiter]

braid is so thin.

 

i use 20lb suffix in that ghost color.  i dont know why they just didnt call it white, or casper's butt.  its white.  i use a 10lb flouro leader.  i just tied my best FG knot yesterday in my garage and freshened up the leader.  my leader is about 6" long.  allows me to trim and retie several times out on the water.  honestly, my Alberto knot is very reliable and i use it just as often.  i can tie the Alberto without my reading glasses.   

 

only down side which is sometimes a good side is that it is VERY slow sink line.  i lays on the water surface somewhat and drops down to my weight.  as you can imagine, i dont have complete tactile contact with my bait.  BUT it is white and it is very obvious when a bass grabs on..the line drops quick.  having said that, i cast out my dropshot and finesse.  as far as i typically can.  and i work it back.  on the work-back i have the tactile feel back.  

 

i think finesse it is crucial for me to see the line.  so many of my hits are undetected anyways.  bass grab on at the splash, etc.  seeing the move is the key to reeling into the fish.

 

i just found some braid that is PINK. my eyes see pink the best.  my arrow fletching are pink.  plus casper's butt gets so ugly when it is so dirty at the end of season.

3 hours ago, dodgeguy said:

Yellow vicious No Fade Braid with no leader. Use a black permanent marker to color the last 6 feet black. In your water a leader is pointless.

what about in a hard snag?  a leader at least lets you break it off at a strategic point.  

 

my ocean fishing buddy's say straight braid is a bad idea.  bait 150 feet down, wrapped around some old spanish armada remains...  40 feet on a drop shot, nice to be able to lean into it and lose the last few feet only. 

 

you just straighten your hook?   

[Functional]

20 minutes ago, PTasker15 said:

I prefer lighter line and a good fight. Again I'm fishing wacky, texas, shakey. When I run into cover, I have rigs with 20lb braid and 15lh leaders which will handle that fine, but I don't find too bad of cover often. 

Personally 10lb braid is probably enough for what I do with spinning reels. I just find my spinning reels perform better with 15. As mentioned braid is super thin and I was having a lot of issues with 10lb that I dont have with 15lb. If youve used 10lb or lighter and have no issues and just looking for hi viz then great but none of my reels liked it in the 2500 and 3000 class sizes. 

[PTasker15]

4 minutes ago, Darth-Baiter said:

braid is so thin.

 

i use 20lb suffix in that ghost color.  i dont know why they just didnt call it white, or casper's butt.  its white.  i use a 10lb flouro leader.  i just tied my best FG knot yesterday in my garage and freshened up the leader.  my leader is about 6" long.  allows me to trim and retie several times out on the water.  honestly, my Alberto knot is very reliable and i use it just as often.  i can tie the Alberto without my reading glasses.   

 

only down side which is sometimes a good side is that it is VERY slow sink line.  i lays on the water surface somewhat and drops down to my weight.  as you can imagine, i dont have complete tactile contact with my bait.  BUT it is white and it is very obvious when a bass grabs on..the line drops quick.  having said that, i cast out my dropshot and finesse.  as far as i typically can.  and i work it back.  on the work-back i have the tactile feel back.  

 

i think finesse it is crucial for me to see the line.  so many of my hits are undetected anyways.  bass grab on at the splash, etc.  seeing the move is the key to reeling into the fish.

 

i just found some braid that is PINK. my eyes see pink the best.  my arrow fletching are pink.  plus casper's butt gets so ugly when it is so dirty at the end of season.

I wish I had thought of a cool name like y'all.  "Darth-Baiter"

 

Again I just like 10lb for casting distance, power isn't really what I care about. Again I have a few 20lb braid setups I can use when I need.

 

I used to throw wacky on 4lb test mono. So light I could see taps on my slack line and also feel them, but it was too underpowered. 8lb mono only shows me when the line moves. Have reeled in a few that I didnt even know were on. My casting distance is amazing but I would like more. Plus  I couldn't take advantage of that casting distance on the 8lb mono because of how much slack was in the line at a distance of 70 feet. But 8lb mono was powerful enough to still fight fish away from places like weeds, so I figure 10lb braid to a short 8lb leader would give me a little more power while gaining some better sensitivity and easier to see and watch slack line compared to the nightmare mono can be to see on a cloudy day.

5 minutes ago, Functional said:

Personally 10lb braid is probably enough for what I do with spinning reels. I just find my spinning reels perform better with 15. As mentioned braid is super thin and I was having a lot of issues with 10lb that I dont have with 15lb. If youve used 10lb or lighter and have no issues and just looking for hi viz then great but none of my reels liked it in the 2500 and 3000 class sizes. 

3000 series. I've used 10lb braid briefly in the past and dealt with poor casting distance and line memory (fireline, which some people told me gets it sometimes).

 

Again I really just want a good fight and I feel like 15lb much be a bit much? I know 10lb is enough for what I plan for it but I also want it to work. Again I plan to get a spool of 150 yds and spool it on after a 30-40yd mono backing. I like 4x braid, so might that courseness help with issues reels may have with such light braid?

[Darth-Baiter]

5 minutes ago, PTasker15 said:

I wish I had thought of a cool name like y'all.  "Darth-Baiter"

 

Again I just like 10lb for casting distance, power isn't really what I care about. Again I have a few 20lb braid setups I can use when I need.

 

I used to throw wacky on 4lb test mono. So light I could see taps on my slack line and also feel them, but it was too underpowered. 8lb mono only shows me when the line moves. Have reeled in a few that I didnt even know were on. My casting distance is amazing but I would like more. Plus  I couldn't take advantage of that casting distance on the 8lb mono because of how much slack was in the line at a distance of 70 feet. But 8lb mono was powerful enough to still fight fish away from places like weeds, so I figure 10lb braid to a short 8lb leader would give me a little more power while gaining some better sensitivity and easier to see and watch slack line compared to the nightmare mono can be to see on a cloudy day.

i seem to have more trouble doing connections knots on super thin braid.  my skills, maybe not so much yours.  and i always cut myself with super thin braids.  like a "garrot" on my hands.  no thanks.  might be my imagination, but i got more wind knots as well.  

 

and i think my 20lb braid is as thick as 6lb mono.  thin enough.  i am not so concern with the capacity of the line.  i just like the specs on the 20lb stuff.  and i cast like a champ.  i never notice any advantage that one time i dropped down to 10.  

[BrianMDTX]

I have three spinning reels- all braid -to-leader. Two are spooled with 20 lb. Suffix 832 in green. The other is spooled with 20 lb. Seaguar Smackdown in Flash Green. All have 6 or 8 lb. mono leaders. I like Sufix 832, but when I need to respool it will be with Smackdown. It’s smooth and supple, and on days where the Sufix is extremely difficult to see, the Smackdown stands out. With a 6’ leader, spooking bass doesn’t seem to be an issue. 

[PTasker15]

Just now, BrianMDTX said:

I have three spinning reels- all braid -to-leader. Two are spooled with 20 lb. Suffix 832 in green. The other is spooled with 20 lb. Seaguar Smackdown in Flash Green. All have 6 or 8 lb. mono leaders. I like Sufix 832, but when I need to respool it will be with Smackdown. It’s smooth and supple, and on days where the Sufix is extremely difficult to see, the Smackdown stands out. With a 6’ leader, spooking bass doesn’t seem to be an issue. 

I might see if I can find 12lb braid. I dont think I would need a leader because of how dirty my water  (1-3 ft visibility) is. My need for a leader would be because of abrasion, for the odd chance theres a stick poking out or a rock at just the right place. Is braid without a leader actually that prone to breaking? Never tried it.

[Darth-Baiter]

4 minutes ago, PTasker15 said:

I might see if I can find 12lb braid. I dont think I would need a leader because of how dirty my water  (1-3 ft visibility) is. My need for a leader would be because of abrasion, for the odd chance theres a stick poking out or a rock at just the right place. Is braid without a leader actually that prone to breaking? Never tried it.

only one way to find out.  truly.

 

you gotta find your own jam.  my methods are mine for my area, and tactics.  as you can see from this discussion. we are ALL OVER the place with what we use.

[PTasker15]

1 minute ago, Darth-Baiter said:

only one way to find out.  truly.

 

you gotta find your own jam.  my methods are mine for my area, and tactics.  as you can see from this discussion. we are ALL OVER the place with what we use.

That it is. What works for you may not work for me. What works for me may not work for you. I think I''ll try a cheap mono backing and then spool the rest with something between 10-14lb braid. No leaders and we'll see how she goes. I don't mind losing a fish, sometimes I find it humbling. I just dont want to break off and leave a hook in a fish. I can always buy leaders later if I decide I need them.