What Color Line Do You Guys Use For Largemouth

[Guest]

My biggest problem with floro is thw way I set the hook on a jig.

Monster truck force hook sets will break it most of the time.

Ive tried to back off the drag and reel down on the fish then lean back, sorta like you would do with braid.

[mixermarkb]

Try a different knot. I used to use an improved clinch knot, and broke off a bunch of times on the hook set. Went to a UNI-knot and the breakoffs went away.

I'll join the flourocarbon for everything bottom contact gang. The biggest game changer for me was grub fishing. Because the flourocarbon sinks, I don't get the big bow in my line and feel strikes MUCH better. I've seen lots of snake oil in the fishing industry, flourocarbon line I'm a firm believer in, even with good rods it helps.

[Bill Babler]

My biggest problem with floro is thw way I set the hook on a jig.

Monster truck force hook sets will break it most of the time.

Ive tried to back off the drag and reel down on the fish then lean back, sorta like you would do with braid.

Couple of things here. And may I say, I can be in the same boat if I am pitchin a dock or get short lined.

If you are breaking off with carbon while fishing a football jig or dragging, it is a line problem. If you are using a 6.5 ft. rod or above and snapping line on a full cast something is amiss.

If you are pitchin or flippin and are breaking line, with the jigs we have today, and here is where I get in trouble, mostly cause I have no sense and am a poor fisherman. You are just flat setting the hook way to hard. I have fished with Bill Beck now for the last 10 years. He is a dock flippin master. I have yet to see him set the hook on a fish. I have never seen him break off on a hook set and have marveled at his success. He simply reels them in.

For the most part todays jigs have hooks in them that are chemically sharpened and more than razor sharp. Just by putting prussure on the fish it will go thru their lips like butter. I personally just got to jerk. He has thumped me on the head more than once for breaking a fish off. I have never seen him lose a flipped or pitched fish due to a breakoff or just coming unpluggted. NEVER.

Here is the kicker, and Champ knows this. We usually pitch docks using 8 or 10 pound carbon. The jig falls like you just dropped it overboard or kicked it off the dock and the sensitivity of the line is if they breath on it you know it. Another great point is that it has no or little memory and is easy to pitch without spool overrides.

You pitch on mono with 15 to 20 and you are peeling line at least once a dock, I don't care who you are or how much you fish.

Just because I struggle with setting the hook to hard the rest of you don't have to. Be like Beck and Just reel them in.

Good Luck

[lollygagger]

4lb P Line fluro . 5,6,7 lb Sunline Sniper 8 lb Invisx. 10,12 lb Sunline Shooter. 14 up Tatsu, 8 lb Suffix 832 braid. 10 lb up Power Pro Braid. In Mono for C-rig back line or topwater I still have a dwindling supply of a an older product called NINJA. It may have been a BPS house line. Slickest casting mono in 10,12 lb. Like P line mono when cold and Maxima when it's warmer. Oh and I have some weird German 3lb mono in case I want to get in record book for carp, buffalo.....Smallmouth in rivers keep breaking off with it so I'm in search of another brand 3 lb. Know this all sounds kinda strange but I've tried a bunch of lines in my life. I feel that line is like tires on a car.....It is what is between me and the pavement.....I buy top of the line tires, so I buy top of line lines. Confused yet ?

[lollygagger]

Forgot about line for night, I use extra reels and strip off the Ninja line pulling it on to an extra reel or 4, or 5 or 6. Replace with fluorescent Berkley XL or xt, 2 to 4 lbs heavier. When done, I get the old x-tra reels and start switching back to the original "daytime line" Off with the bright line, on with the neutral. Mess around enough and you can end up reversing the original line where the bottom is now the top and vise versa. Then again, at my age I don't see as well anymore and may leave blacklight stored and fish with my eyes closed. When the jig doesn't splash on landing, open eyes and back off from shore. Countdown jig with fingertips....if it don't hit bottom after counting to 50....I'm probably a little to deep.

[Feathers and Fins]

Bill, I have not slam set a hook in year, When I am live bait fishing its always circle hooks and if you set on them you loose the fish simple as that! With the new hooks as you pointed out there is no need to set them just contant presure and the force of the fish shaking its head will set them for you. I think to many people watch way to much TV and see these guys slam setting and think that is how you do it.

It is the constant pressure that hooks and lands the fish. Watch the guys fishing the ultra-light lines in cali for the big bass they dont set the hook no way they could without snapping the line, The best Tarpon fishermen I know never set the hook they just raise the rod and let the fish do it.

[Bill Babler]

Bill, I have not slam set a hook in year, When I am live bait fishing its always circle hooks and if you set on them you loose the fish simple as that! With the new hooks as you pointed out there is no need to set them just contant presure and the force of the fish shaking its head will set them for you. I think to many people watch way to much TV and see these guys slam setting and think that is how you do it.

It is the constant pressure that hooks and lands the fish. Watch the guys fishing the ultra-light lines in cali for the big bass they dont set the hook no way they could without snapping the line, The best Tarpon fishermen I know never set the hook they just raise the rod and let the fish do it.

Plus 1

[nobutt56]

josh (no disrespect intended) i wish i were as good a fisherman as you are. hell i could use well rope and catch 'um. if i could catch as many fish as the pros i sure would not be fishing here. bottom line....FLOURO DOES MAKE A DIFF, WITHOUT QUESTION IN CLEAR WATER.

[abkeenan]

Couple of things here. And may I say, I can be in the same boat if I am pitchin a dock or get short lined.

If you are breaking off with carbon while fishing a football jig or dragging, it is a line problem. If you are using a 6.5 ft. rod or above and snapping line on a full cast something is amiss.

If you are pitchin or flippin and are breaking line, with the jigs we have today, and here is where I get in trouble, mostly cause I have no sense and am a poor fisherman. You are just flat setting the hook way to hard. I have fished with Bill Beck now for the last 10 years. He is a dock flippin master. I have yet to see him set the hook on a fish. I have never seen him break off on a hook set and have marveled at his success. He simply reels them in.

For the most part todays jigs have hooks in them that are chemically sharpened and more than razor sharp. Just by putting prussure on the fish it will go thru their lips like butter. I personally just got to jerk. He has thumped me on the head more than once for breaking a fish off. I have never seen him lose a flipped or pitched fish due to a breakoff or just coming unpluggted. NEVER.

Here is the kicker, and Champ knows this. We usually pitch docks using 8 or 10 pound carbon. The jig falls like you just dropped it overboard or kicked it off the dock and the sensitivity of the line is if they breath on it you know it. Another great point is that it has no or little memory and is easy to pitch without spool overrides.

You pitch on mono with 15 to 20 and you are peeling line at least once a dock, I don't care who you are or how much you fish.

Just because I struggle with setting the hook to hard the rest of you don't have to. Be like Beck and Just reel them in.

Good Luck

I am as guilty of this as anyone on this board I am sure. I am just terrible about ramming that hook home when mentally I know I don't have to. Like Bill said the hooks today are just insane sharp and if you just put one on your finger and then raise the line with the rod tip up with minimal pressure you can imagine how with just a little more effort or "umph" that hook point would easily penetrate a fishes mouth. Knowing this I still am an idiot and get excited or something and swing from the heels like a moron. Have been thinking about this particular topic a lot this winter and am going to really make it a point to chill out on the hook setting this season.

Also to address the breaking off on the hookset.......I've been using 10 and 12 lb fluoro (Berkley 100%) for about 4 years or so and HAVE NEVER HAD A BREAK OFF. Like I said above I doubt anyone here sets the hook harder than I do so if you are breaking off, like BB mentioned, there is a real issue with a bad batch of line, bad knot, wrong knot or you are not checking the line for damage (knicks, fray, scrapes, etc) often enough. I use a Trilene Knot for every single kind of line...fluoro, mono, braid and co-poly. Never have had any issues other than very small diameter co-poly 4# for pan fish on my crappie/blue gill gear and use a palomar knot now for that as well as my drop shot on spinning gear. I have watched the "Knot Wars" on youtube and the Trilene Knot is near the top at every single type of line so I just stick with it for mono and fluoro. Braid I was a little unsure of but after throwing A-Rigs all day it just reconfirmed that its a hell of a knot and will not let go unless I tied it wrong or the line breaks before the knot does. There is a 20 foot cedar tree in the cove just south of the diving rock I wrestled with while throwing an A-Rig last year that is half uprooted that is proof the trilene knot works well with braid.

[Feathers and Fins]

When you are talking knots I have one i prefer to use above all else when dealing with Big Fish, Bimini twist (with a twist) Make your Bimini leaving the loop 3 feet long then run it through the eye of the hook and tie an Improved Clinch Knot.