Braid for cranking?

[GoVikes]

Do people use braid to throw crankbaits? I just bought a 7' moderate fast action spinning rod that I was going to use for throwing smaller crankbaits. I was thinking braid for manageability on a spinning reel but does the non stretch make it a bad choice?

[5bass]

I know of a couple people that use braid for crankin' but I wouldn't even consider it. I guess it's an old school thing. Mono and glass rods for me.   

[Nick94]

eh. i think mono has better action than having a braid. Its all preference

[.dsaavedra.]

i use braid for EVERYTHING because i like the way it handles. NEVER had any problems with braid and cranking... go for it.

[kms399]

I cannot stand mono line! when I throw a crank with mono all I feel Is pressure as I reel the bait in, but with braid I feel every little wobble in the crank. if a single piece of grass gets on a hook I can tell and then try to get it off either by jerking hard or just ripping it the rest of the way in.

I use a 7' med/hvy-moderate avid for my cranking, no fiberglass for me. I honestly don't loose fish often enough for me to blame the braid. I think the key may be in having a loose drag.

[.dsaavedra.]

I cannot stand mono line! when I throw a crank with mono all I feel Is pressure as I reel the bait in, but with braid I feel every little wobble in the crank. if a single piece of grass gets on a hook I can tell and then try to get it off either by jerking hard or just ripping it the rest of the way in.

I use a 7' med/hvy-moderate avid for my cranking, no fiberglass for me. I honestly don't loose fish often enough for me to blame the braid. I think the key may be in having a loose drag.

i agree completely with everything stated here! i use a 6'6" med. - moderate Avid though. pretty loose drag.

[iceintheveins]

Braid works fine for cranks, especially smaller ones, but I do like to combine it with a glass or glass/graphite rod. I don't have many throw the hooks when I have a rod with some give in it. Braid is also good if you want to increase the depth your cranks dive.

[Grey Wolf]

Use it all the time for cranks , just loosen your drag some and you're good to go.

[Blue Streak]

Try Yo Zuri hybryd you will love it.

[Zilch]

Try Yo Zuri hybryd you will love it.

I just put some on my cranking setup and I'm not sold. With heavier lures it seems to be fine but if I try to throw something lighter it seems to coil up on me. I'm going to give it a couple more chances and see if it breaks in. If it doesn't I will be going back to braid with a leader and a loose drag.

Also, if you are going to try the Yo-Zuri hybrid you might want the green or smoke.  I bought the clear and it seems to be pretty opaque.

[ejtaylor822]

Braid (and fluoro) will work.  Just make sure you are using a soft tip rod so the lure can be inhaled.  The soft tip will also help with fighting/landing to absorb the surges and leaps.

[5bass]

[movedhere] Fishing Tackle [move by] five.bass.limit.

[Blue Streak]

Try Yo Zuri hybryd you will love it.

I just put some on my cranking setup and I'm not sold. With heavier lures it seems to be fine but if I try to throw something lighter it seems to coil up on me. I'm going to give it a couple more chances and see if it breaks in. If it doesn't I will be going back to braid with a leader and a loose drag.

Also, if you are going to try the Yo-Zuri hybrid you might want the green or smoke. I bought the clear and it seems to be pretty opaque.

I use braid on one outfit for c rig and Yo Zuri for everything else. I use 10 lb on my casting reels and 6 on my spinning outfits, been doing that for a few years now and do not have any problems. I have been using smoke this year and boy it is hard to see. Especially when fishing soft plastics.

[Wayne P.]

More than likely when a fish throws a crankbait it is because the hook/s did not penetrate beyond the barb. The stretch of mono and the give of fiberglass will increase that lack of hook penetration.

A superline with a medium set drag will increase the landing percentage no matter what rod type is used.

[bilgerat]

True or false -

Braid will inhibit the diving depth of cranks due to it's tendency to float. In other words, a crank rated for 6' may only dive 5' or less with braid.

[Paul Roberts]

More than likely when a fish throws a crankbait it is because the hook/s did not penetrate beyond the barb. The stretch of mono and the give of fiberglass will increase that lack of hook penetration.

A superline with a medium set drag will increase the landing percentage no matter what rod type is used.

Interesting you say that. I haven't the cranking experience some have I suppose, but I've always done fine with a fast rod. Occasionally I'll have a poorly hooked fish pull free, but I doubt a softer rod would make THAT much of a difference.

Reminds me of the extraordinary lengths steelhead anglers used to "cushion" the line. What it came down to for me was matching hook size to line strength, for two reasons: penetration and pulling power against hook gap (how much fish you've got a hold of). A soft rod (and/or stretchy line) can help for the latter, but with lightly set drag, or back-reeling (which I do with spinning) the risk diminishes greatly and a stiffer rod is perfectly fine. I prefer faster rods for sensitivity. And I will up-size treble gap when using heavier line weights, like when weed cranking.

Further, I've never really bought the "letting a fish gobble up a crank deeply" advantage of a softer rod. Fine for soft plastics where weighing the line aids in detection, but with hard baits, jigs included, I like a fast rod. When bass are engulfing -great! But they don't always do that. See the thread "Crankbait Hooksets" from a little while back: http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1256327089/0

The one advantage of a softer rod could be potential cast distance, and with braid you've got the greatest potential for distance.

[Wayne P.]

bilgerat, from what I have read, the braid if used in a smaller diameter but higher strength than mono will allow for deeper depths of crankbaits due to the lesser resistance of the smaller diameter. On some of the saltwater sites, the attributes of braid for trolling is touted.

[bilgerat]

OK Wayne, thanks. I'll buy that.

[RandySBreth]

True or false -

Braid will inhibit the diving depth of cranks due to it's tendency to float. In other words, a crank rated for 6' may only dive 5' or less with braid.

Absolutely false. With 4/10 Fireline I can get lures 2- to 4-feet deeper than they are rated for with 10-pound test diameter line. The diameter of the line, and the water resistance created by it are they elements that determine diving depth of a lure.

Braid (or fused, Fireline isn't braided) doesn't float enough to make a difference any more than Fluorocarbon sinks.

Cranking is about line diameter and it's ability to "cut through" the water under tension.

[BassThumb]

True or false -

Braid will inhibit the diving depth of cranks due to it's tendency to float. In other words, a crank rated for 6' may only dive 5' or less with braid.

False.

The thinner diameter of light braid will increase diving depth enough that it will offset the float of the line.

I'm talking 15-20# braid on spinning tackle. I couldn't comment on 50#+, which is what I use on casting tackle.

I have a ML/F multi-purpose spinning outfit with braid that tosses light cranks once in a while. If you compensate for the lack of stretch with a lighter rod than normal, you will do just fine. This goes both ways, with stiffer fast action rods and stretchy line, too. That said, I would never use braid on a setup specifically for cranking. I prefer to use limp mono.

[rubba bubba]

Braid (or fused, Fireline isn't braided)

Just an FYI - Fireline Crystal is fused, so you are correct.  However Fireline Braid is a true braid.

[RandySBreth]