Mono for lure fishing

Hi lads just have a quick question. Where I fish for bass (dont catch but fish) is really snaggy,full or rocks and weed. I usually fish this spot with surface lures and shallow divers. I need new line on my reel and I was thinking I would be wasting my time using braid since the area is so snaggy wouldnt I? I was thinking of using 20 pound mono line with about a foot of flurocarbon tied to a lure clip. would this be a better option? all advice welcome cheers

Ian stick with the braid - I'm not eactly sure what your concerns are except that maybe it might be a cost issue of loosing valuable line? 95% of my lure fishing is done over and around rocks with braid, in fact im still using the same braid I loaded on the reel two seasons ago. Tie a 24 - 36 inch leader (flouro or mono) to the braid using the reverse allbright and use the Lefty Kreh loop knot to tie down to you lure - I'm not a big fan of links etc


Exactly where do your concerns lie?

Thanks for the reply Jim, my main worry is the cost to replace braid. I thought braid was alot more likely to break off rocks and thought maybe I would be better to go with the mono. but I will give the braid a go. Thanks Jim

Hi Ian. I fish similar ground with similar lures and use braid all the time. I can't remember the last time I lost braid. I usually change it at the start of the season to make sure I'm not using a weakened line. Would probably get a few seasons out of it though.

As Jim said, use a short fluoro or mono leader. If you want to use a link, I'm using Illex Hyper-8 links and finding them good. (www.pecheur.com). Don't bother with a swivel.

JimH and Teacher:
Are you braid using lads doing your lure fishing with braid on fixed spool reels or with multipliers?

daiwa certates, shimano twin powers and stellas and tecniums - all FS.

Thanks Jim, I just noticed the reels your using are alot better than what I use. Would my reel (mitchell 300XGE) be suitable for loading with braid? sorry for all the questions Im still trying to catch my first bass cheers

Ian

Theres a couple of things going on here - first its not a problem with the questions fire ahead. Second im providing a bass fishing guiding service at an international level so the gear I use for my customers has to be very good - this doesnt mean that you have to spend 300 euros on a spinning reel for bass - the same applies to rods -

If your concerned about costs then buying braid, which can be expensive, will also force you to manage it a little better, line lay on a fixed spool reel needs to be good to prevent it fluffing up during casts and causing you to loose the line in a huge tangle, theres also a 'little' bit of attention that needs to be paid when its windy, sometimes loops form around the spool - you just need to be observant.

I dont know much about the Mitchell - but will have a look, the lower end of the shimano range are very accessible and still provide what you need - remember braid will last a long time.

For more help on bass fishing theres loads of free info here www.probassfisher.com which is updated very regularly or keep firing the questions

I find when using braid it's a lot better for pulling free from a snag, especially in weed and at distance, mono is just like a rubber band compared to braid, hardly loose a lure now, lost plenty to mono in the past.

Hi Ian. I'm also using a Daiwa Certate but my backup reel is a Shimano Technium 4000 FB (I think!). At a guess I'd say you could pick up one of these for around €100 online. I'm sure there are sub €100 Shimano reels will work well with braid too. Something like an Exage. I'm also not familiar with the Mitchell, sorry.

if you really dont want to use braid try a very low diameter line. i got some suffix elite g2 last week. 6.6kg/14.5lb breaking strain but only .27mil diameter. not a cheap mono tho, E7.50 for 300 yards and alto i've yet to pull anything in with it yet, its nice to cast with.
sayin that, the lads above know what their talking about so id listen to what their saying.

thanks for the help lads, Im going to stick to the braid like Jim and teacher said. What knot is suitable for tying the braid to my spool? can I use the same as I do for mono or is there a special knot? thanks again guys

thanks for the help lads, Im going to stick to the braid like Jim and teacher said. What knot is suitable for tying the braid to my spool? can I use the same as I do for mono or is there a special knot? thanks again guys

You wont go wrong with 4 turn uni on the mono to 12 turn uni on the braid, it's as easy as any and very reliable. I usually add 4' - 5' of 15lb.

I'd also suggest that a little mono backing or tape on the spool is a good idea when you are loading braid, as the braid alone is too slick to grip onto a reel spool an can slip and spin on the spool instead of griping it. If you are using mono backing you don't need to use much as its only purpose is to help grip the spool and should never come into play casting or playing a fish.

one more thing Ian - DO NOT overfill the spool - one of the many fishing benefits of braid is its improved 'castability' so drop back a little from the lip of the spool to avoid excessive 'line fall off'.....which can lead to tangles

I find when using braid it's a lot better for pulling free from a snag, especially in weed and at distance, mono is just like a rubber band compared to braid, hardly loose a lure now, lost plenty to mono in the past.

Agree with that, since I've switched over to braid I hardly lose any lure now, if it gets snagged its alot easier to pull out whereas before with mono as soon as the lure was snagged 9 times out of 10 the line would snap.
Great points made by Jim, Teacher and all on this thread.

Lads thanks a million for the tips. I will make sure to put a backing on first and will also slightly underfill the spool, thanks again everyone

Although slightly off topic, a good way of avoiding losing lures, apart from changing to braid, is changing trebles for single hooks, particularly in spinners. It will also help if planning to release the fish and minimise damage to the angler (accidents happen). With single hooks you can literally scrap the bottom, whether weed or rocks, time after time. Last year I only lost a couple of lures! And I don't think I'm losing more fish, I hardly catch any!