Lighter Line?

[oneshot]

Ok on my Catfish Rods I have #30 Cajun Line but on my Medium Action Rods I have #12 Mono, Crappie Rods #6 and #2 for Trout.

Me I'm thinking for the most part I could cut back to Lighter Lines figuring I will get more bites. Am I thinking wrong? I have caught 35# fish on #12 Test.

Plus considering Spyderwire or some like Line.

I'm mostly using Open Face Spinning outfits.

oneshot

[Mitch f]

I would stay right where you're at.

[MOsmallies]

To me it depends what kind of baits you are throwing. You have all around good sizes, but if you prefer a certain lure our technique, you may be better of with different sizes in line. A good, smooth drag on your reel is just as if not more important. A good drag will allow you to go lighter on your line.

[Feathers and Fins]

So long as a drag is set right and of good quality there is no reason that going lighter cant be done and done with great effect. I use between 6 and 12lb line and frequently land large fish including a 38lb striper last week on 12lb line. The fight is much better IMO and puts the advantage two the fish but increase bites. The draw back is in structure it can break easier also in summer if you plan on catch n release heavier cuts down on the fight and mortality. All things considered light IMO is better and much more fun.

[rps]

Answer depends on this question: Are we fishing for fun or fishing for food? If the first, then cut the size down if your reels have smooth drags.

I came to the Ozarks from Oklahoma flatland lakes. The clearest lake I fished was Grand on the Grand River chain. I had to adjust to increase the number of bites.

Now days, I fish for fun and almost entirely on Table Rack. I do keep walleye, but nothing else. I prefer PowerPro braid and Yozuri copolymer. My heaviest line is 12#. I mostly use 10#. I have 6# on my Ned rig (finesse) rod.

If I took up serious White River trouting again, I would have a rig tied with 4#.

Hope that helps, and good luck.

[Mitch f]

I take a bit of an exception to people who use line that is too light just to get a better fight. To me it does a disservice to tbe fish that you either fight to exhaustion in the summer, or break off with a lure in his mouth

[Feathers and Fins]

Ive been doing it for over 20 years Mitch and have lost very few fish to break off's. Putting every advantage toward the fish is fair chase to me as it requires my skills to be up to the task even for tarpon I never went over 30lb class lines though my leaders were heavier funny thing is I have never seen a fish floating with a lure in its mouth. I did mentions about the negative aspects in the heat and that is an anglers choice. But I have never seen the reasoning for an angler pitching 65lb braid and yanking a bass out of cover so hard the fish goes airborne. But to each his own.

[Al Agnew]

I think you gotta strike a happy medium. You don't need to go too heavy, and in fact, although I don't think most fish are turned off by heavier lines, you often need fairly light line to make many lures work best. But I also think there is such a thing as going too light. If you're taking more than a minute or two to land a bass in the summer, you probably are risking harm to the fish. And while I've not seen many bass dead with lures in their mouths, it simply stands to reason that leaving a lure in a fish's mouth is going to do them harm one way or another.

In my opinion, for all around bass fishing in Ozark streams and most Ozark lakes, 8-12 pound mono is reasonable. Lighter than 8 pound test and you start to risk breaking off fish, but 6 pound is marginally okay. The thing you have to remember, though, is that the lighter the line is, the less margin for error you have, not only in trying to keep a big fish out of cover or react to sudden powerful lunges or if your drag sticks just the tiniest bit, but also if there are any nicks or abrasions in the line or the knot isn't perfect.

In fly fishing, I use the heaviest tippet that matches the size of flies I'm using, not worrying about whether the water is clear or murky. That might be 6X if I'm using very small dry flies, but for nymphs, unless they are very small, I'm gonna be using 3X or 4X fluoro, and for streamers up to 0X.

To be honest, I'm not into "fair chase". Once the fish is hooked, I want to get it in efficiently. The tug is not the drug for me nearly as much as getting the fish to take in the first place. I fish for those electrifying moments when the bass engulfs the topwater or I feel that tick and moving weight on the jig or the bluegill pops the popper of the big nose comes out of the water sucking in the dry fly. After that, I enjoy the battle but I want to get that one in so I can get back to trying to fool a bigger one.

[Wayne SW/MO]

I came to the Ozarks from Oklahoma flatland lakes. The clearest lake I fished was Grand on the Grand River chain.

Yeah if you ever fished Fort Cobb in the 60's or Ketstone in the 70's you could use well rope and get away with it.

[MOsmallies]

I take a bit of an exception to people who use line that is too light just to get a better fight. To me it does a disservice to tbe fish that you either fight to exhaustion in the summer, or break off with a lure in his mouth

I agree wholeheartedly. I always try to fish the heaviest line i can get away with. But like Al mentioned some lures require lighter lines to work properly. For Bass fishing, my spinning gear is always 8 lb P-Line CX Premium, and my casting gear is 10,12, or 15 lb P-Line CX Premium. Crappie/Bluegill gear is 4 or 6 lb P-Line CX Premium. Catfish is 15-20 lb Berkley Big Game. Walleye is 15/4 braid. Cranking the "big" river for anything that will bite is also 15/4 braid. That's about the extent species I target. If I fished trout, I would use 2 lb.