crankbaits on superline???????

[retiredbosn]

I have a question that I'm hoping someone here has tried and can enlighten me.  I am toying with the idea of doing some deep cranking with someting like fireline crystal, I have the David Fritts cranking reels and BP Cranking Stick, and I'm thinking that the give in the rod, and the reel will compensate for the lack of stretch in the line.  The reason I'm thinking braid is because of the little diameter, not interested in flouro at all as the diameter to pound ratio is so close to mono that I would just use mono.  I've been doing a lot of looking at the pound ratings and line diameter lately and have come to the conclusion that unless you go to 8 pound test mono/flouro you won't get the depth out of the crankbait.  So am I just plain nuts for thinking this?  Or will it work?  My thinking is that on my deep crank set up I would put something like 25lb test braid/superline with the diameter of around 8lb mono.  Then on the medium and shallow cranks just stay with typical sizes mono 15lb mono.  I have found Stren or is it Suffix 15lb test has a diameter of .014, 12 lb mono has anywhere between .012-.014 same for 10lb and 8lb has .010.  So I'll run the mono on the shallow medium and when I want to get the crank deeper than 12 feet or so I'll switch to the braid.  Let me know what you think.

[Jig Man]

I think it will do just fine.  The trouble I see with braid is when guys set the hook too hard.  On your crank setup you probably won't even have to set the hook or if you do then, lightly.

[Bassin_Fin@tic]

Thats all I use and it isn't that crazy I use 10 or 15 lb power pro,a flexible rod and loosen the drag some.

I can get a rapala dt-6,for example,down to 10 ft easy or a dt10 to 15 ft on a long cast.

It takes getting used to and every time you switch line diameters or types you have to start playing with retrieve angles again until you get aquainted with how the bait your throwing will perform.

Hopefully Stringjam will chime in.If I am not mistaken he said that is all he uses also.

[Bassin_Fin@tic]

Oh forgot. The hardest thing to learn is fishing cover.You WILL feel everything and it takes a little practice and patience to stop driving the hooks into every stick or rock. A sensitive rod helps.

[Stringjam]

I use braid exclusively for all crankbaiting.....especially deep cranking.

There's several reasons....one, it gets the baits to maximum depth without giving up strength. I throw my deep cranks in gnarly stuff - - 8 lb. test mono doesn't belong there.

I also like to feel everything my bait is doing.....every wobble, stick and pebble. Deep bass often just inhale the bait and the only indication will be a dropped wobble.

NOTE - - I use a short section of mono leader to absorb abrasion from rocks.....here in the Ozarks everything is made out of jagged sharp rocks (even the trees and squirrels are made from rocks). Braid doesn't like rocks, so using the mono leader fixes that issue.

I realize it's not for everybody - just like anything else. You have to give it a try (long enough to learn its attributes) in your home waters with your personal style of fishing. It'll either jive or it won't, but at least you'll know. Like Fin@tic said.....it takes some getting used to.

[.dsaavedra.]

i use braid for everything and i havent had any problems with braid and crankbaits. its nice being able to tell exactly what your lure is doing. you can tell when some grass gets on the hooks so you can pop your bait to get the grass off, that way your entire retrieve wasnt ruined by grass.

[TrippyJai]

Yep. Aslong as you have a sensitive rod that will give enough, you will be able to get away with braid.

I'm cranking on braid as well right now. I also have a flouro leader on it more for invisibility purposes than abrasion.

[Tin]

Yep. Aslong as you have a sensitive rod that will give enough, you will be able to get away with braid.

Too stiff of a rod + line with zero stretch = treble hooks tearing

[Grey Wolf]

Fiberglass rod with braid works great.

[csizzle]

Your not crazy at all!!  I have been cranking with braid for some time, and it is great.  I just recently decided to try fluoro just to see if I was missing anything...because it seems like everyone recommends it for cranking...and I hate it.  Braid will get your cranks deeper, cast further, and the feel is amazing.  Once you get used to it, you will know exactly what your crank is doing.  Try it, you'll love it.

[Bass Dude]

Personally, I don't use braid for the same reason the other guys DO use braid---You feel everything.  I prefer Flouro, with the sinking properties of Flouro, you can get the bait down with 10 pound test.  I think it helps me fight the fish better too, knowing that I only have 10# test.  If I had 20-30 pound braid, I would tend to horse them too much.  I fish cranks a lot and with good rods and a good flourocarbon, you can still feel what the bait is doing and you can easily tell when you're hitting cover and those "inhale" bites that you tend to get with the deep divers.

As with most things in this game---it's all about what feels good to you.

[retiredbosn]

thanks fellas, the main reason I was thinking braid is that stripers snap 10lb mono/floro like thread.  Had it happen to many times and I am looking for a good solution when crankbaiting for stripers.  The ones who don't just snap it end up rolling on it and breaking it, hard to put a 20-30lb striper in the boat on 10lb mono.  I dont troll live bait and prefer using lures for all of my fishing so I need a good compromise that will allow me to fish the way I want without worry about breaking the line.  Thanks  What braid do you reccommend.  I was thinking fireline crystal as it is supposed to be harder to detect.  Although while cranking I don't worry about it a whole lot, as it seems to me that if the treble hooks and the huge bill doesn't scare the fish a piece of line won't either.

[BARON49_Northern NY]

The only times I use braid is when fishing lipless crankbaits around weeds. Using a MH 7'3'' casting rod and a Revo S reel spooled with 14 lb Fireline.   I can rip the bait out of the weeds to trigger strikes.  The other is for fishing jerkbaits and X-raps on spinning tackle I use 14 lb Fireline on a BPS Pro Qualifier 4000 and a 6'6'' MH spinning rod.

Tried using a very limber 7'6'' M rod and 15 lb Power Pro for DD22's and other deep divers and just could not get used to the way it felt. Guess being old school doesn't help. After reading all the comments I may give braid another try this coming year.

[CJ]

To each his own but, I would never use braid for a crankbait. Like Tin said, without stretch, you're giving the fish leverage to throw or tear out the hooks.