What line do you use?

I use Ande but thinking of going to braided for the wife and son so they can get a better "feel" for bites. My lake record came on Ande so I am pretty happy with it. I think it was 15 or 17 # test
D

Depends on what species you are fishing for. If you are fishing for channels, braid works great. For blues, I use 30 lb big game solar collector with a 50 lb big game leader. I don't use braid for blues because if it is below freezing temps the braid will become brittle and break just from casting.

I use 50# braid for all my catfishing. But I only target 1 to 3 pounders.

20# Offshore angler tight line for me. You can get a spool of 1300 or so yards at bass pro for next to nothing. Not only is it affordable but it's high quality line as well. I use it on all of my equipment and target all size blues, and have never been let down. Take that to a 50# leader and your good to go!

And +1 on no braided in the cold temps. You can get a great feel for the bite if you find the right monofilament and have a lot less headache if indeed you'll be fishing on into winter.
Good luck!!!

I target bluecats and I use 25lb and 30lb anglers offshore in hi vis yellow on my main lines and 50 lb big game on my leaders

Im running a mix this year. Got 30lb Andy clear and 50-65lb Power Pro main line. Leader line depends where im fishing and how im fishing. Fishing in open water 30-50lb Andy Leaders are fine but in heavey timber and around rocky areas I will run all the way up to 80lb leaders.

What problems are you guys having with braid in cold weather? I have fished when it was 20º and never had a problem.

Power Pro get brittle and you can snap it by bending it if it's frozen.

I just have favored mono versus braid, I've tried braid but the issues I had was if it backlashed or overspun it was a big mess to get out and took me longer to undo versus mono, I do quite a bit of drifting and I also encountered times where I got hung up and it would turn the boat and all my other lines would tangle, there were also times where I had my drag tightened down because I use circle hooks and at times if I got hung up the line would embed down in the spool and the only way I could get it out was to cut it out, a lot of people like using it and im sure it is good line but for me it seemed to be more work than it was worth,for the lake I primarily fish the mono does a nice job. Just my preference to use mono.

65 lb Power Pro main line with 30 to 80 lb Andy leaders here as well.

They both have there pros and cons. I'm a braid guy,I cant stand mono. 65-80 lb. power pro with 50 lb big game mono leaders is all I use. I have reels that have braid on them that are 5 yrs. old. I fish a lot too. If you get hung up youll either break off at the swivel or straighten the hook.

I use the 30# Power Pro Slick 8 braid for channels.

30# off shore angler main line, 80# off shore angler leaders. i have two poles with braid the rest are mono. after tonight i will only have one pole with braid. mono is more abrasion resistant than braid. i can anchor my toon some times drifting with 30# mono

Well I wont have to worry about it freezing unless it freezes in the garage. I had enough of that on the tournament trail

ice fishermen complaints on on mono is memory coils don't straighten in freezing temp... on braided lines is that it becomes stiff in freezing temp... Actually snapping the line? Doubt it. Mono and braided line absorb water and can become brittle in extreme cold weather but IMHO mono would snap long before braided line do because it's a lot easier to kink mono than braids. .. Regular mono lines loose up 30% of its strength in freezing temperature, could not find info on braids but my guess is a lot less for braids...

I use power pro super slick 20# braided main line and 15-40 lb Berkley big water mono for leaders depending on the sizes of the hooks that use.

Btw, Berkley has Berkley Cold Water mono fishing lines if you're interested.

30lb big cat mono for my main line and 50lb mono leader. Cheap, easier to tie knots than braid for me anyway, I know it's not good but I use my teeth on the mono(have to dig out a pocket knife our scissors for braid), and if I backlash I can get it out with mono. Never heard of braid breaking in the cold but nobody I fish with uses braid.

Cheapest Wally World brand I can find.

##2 on the power pro line

Yellow Stren.

15 lb Berkley Big Game Mono for all sizes of catfish. I use 2-4lb for bullheads and smaller channel catfish.

Spiderwire 30 lb braid with a 2' flourocarbon leader is what i use. The thing about braid is, even though it might say its only rated at 30 lbs, that stuff is way stronger than that, id say atleast double. So all these guys using 60 or 70 lb braid, in my opinion that is overkill. The same with people who use huge surf rods and hooks the size of your hand.

In my opinion your wrong. Folks that use surf style rods are bank fishing. If you look at historical posts of people that catch big fish (30 Lbs and up) from the bank with a degree of regularity, you will see a pretty heavy reliance on surf rods.

Damfisherman- He does not post much these days, but prior to becoming a husband and father to twins, he routinely posted good fish . And he used fairly robust surf style rods.

BankfishinDave (Bankfisher73)- Routinely post good fish here and uses surf rods.

13ankinit - Don't see much post from him or those he fishes with lately, but had a nice run of posting big fish here. Judging from the pictures posted, they relied heavily on long robust rods.

PlanoJames - Uses 10ft medium heavy proanglers. Catches alot of good fish. Post here.

Shadman & Jester - Don't know if these guys post here, but they post on other North Texas forums, and often put good fish on the bank. Use robust rods.

Fish_Hunter - Catches good ones from the boat and the bank. Uses 10 ft proanglers on the bank. Routinely on good fish. Post here often.

What I don't see is folks using 7ft rods and routinely posting good fish. Coincidence? I don't think so.

======================================================================
Hooks as large as hands- Not certain what you mean by that. 8/0 Gamakatsu circle, 9/0 Catmaxx circle, 10/0 Gamakatsu J hooks, and other hooks of this ilk are routinely used by folks on the bank when they are targeting large fish. A hook large enough for large baits, and have enough room for the fish lower jawbone, that will have good holding power are desirable. Occasionally, when trying to use xxxl size baits (carp head, buffalo head) the above sized hooks don't seem large enough.

=====================================================================

When some use braid they like heavy braid (I like 50) because it's easier to handle. Braid less than 50 Lbs can be hard for this bespectacled bifocaled 55 yr old fellow to tie due to the thinness and limpness. And 50 and up braid is much easier to untangle then sewing thread like light braid.

Come on November!!!!! I'm ready for that time change.

Caught plenty of big fish, never used brand or a rod over 8ft. Not knocking the ones that do, but I have no need to cast 100yrds.

I use this same setup except I use Cabela's Salt Stiker.

Well, when you grow up and become a Bigboy you will....

I use 40# bull buster with 80lb saltwater leader . Surf rods is just the way to go for banking it in my honest opinion

I use 2 of each of these .... not all 4 at same time, but usually 2 the same each trip.

My small catfish rods

Shakespeare Ugly Stix Catfish 7'0"
Shimano Calcutta 300TE reel spooled with 30# Big Game mono
Usually use an Eagle Claw 3/0 hook

My big catfish rods

Berkley Big Game 6'6"
Shimano Calcutta 400 reel spooled with 40# Big Game mono
Usually use an Eagle Claw 4/0 hook

I usually fish the Trinity River and have landed some very large fish (I KNOW, I KNOW ... pics or it didn't happen)

When I get hung up and it ALWAYS happens at least once a trip that 30# and 40# is all I ever want to break loose, and I am 6'5" 250#
I fish a boat 99% of the time, and I know it is easier to break bigger line standing on firm ground!

How big of a fish does it take to make big boy status? I caught a 12 lb channel once and really big carp but didn't have scales....

Like 25# running line
Suffix or BBG

Leader 40# -80#
Ande or BBG

12# channel huh?Nice!Hey Lou thanks for the mention!Loved my ProAnglers but have graduated to mostly 12 ft. rods now.80# braid with 80# mono leaders and 10/0 circles.
Academy has a good price on their store brand braid.80 or 65# 150yd. for $7.99.

Dangit Tommy, I said Lol!!! It usually doesn't have anything to do with the big fish ones caught. It's the big fish ones lost that usually makes em step it on up.

Blues is James.

I thought 12lbs was pretty dang big for a channel....lol

Hey Blues I'm not knocking you brother.12# is big for a channel,especially in Texas.Everyone does their own thing and it's all good.

25# offshore Angler and 50-80# leader depending on conditions, Kicking around going to 30# on my next line change though.

Used 20 and 25 without noticing a difference. 30 just gives me the extra assurance when that drag might stick or when fishing in timber.

I like 30lb Berkley BigGame mono. Made the move from 20lb to 30lb line after my first year of catfishing and glad I did.
I was losing a lot of fish to the stumps and rip-rap fishing from the bank using 17-20lb mono. Have been using 80lb braid on a few set-ups recently and like the 80lb over 50lb because it's just easier to tie knots with and easier to untangle if it gets wrapped with other lines. Prefer the monofilament over braid .

berkley big game 20# or 30#

Take a look at Andy mono line. More records have been set with this line than all the rest put together.

Yeap Stump shakers at Twok got me on the 30# kick, and if Dave says it, I'm doing it. LOL he is the Man!

Guys, I've written a full page and deleted it twice explaining the exact reasons why I fish with 65 lb Power Pro as my main line. When I deleted it I thought about Tiny!!!!! LMAO!!! Anyways, I thought it was a pretty good write up reguarding my own personal experiences while fishing but I feel it could maybe upset a few people on here and there is no reason for that. Different strokes for different folks. I know one thing for sure though. This is a good forum and I'm glad to be part of it. And I'm also gonna quit using that running away signal. Just not working out for me anymore.

And Tommy, your a Bigboy!!!! Lol! You say some good stuff on here. Your welcome on my boat anytime.

I'm stirring the pot a little you know that, but I agree Rick this forum has great info. Write up your braid explanations again, I'd like to read it. Some ruffled feathers never hurt nobody. Everybody is just restless with these cooler nights, we are all getting jumpy.

Who's woke up in cold sweats reeling down on drag screamers lately? Happened to me last week.

Yea common Rick, I'll start, I don't use braid simply because I can not stand the sound it makes coming across they eyes of my rod when I cast and when I retrieve it. Its that simple, no legitimate reason, just cant stand that sound...

I use 25# test Off Shore Angler, Tight Line. It's a hi-viz yellow monofilament line that makes it easy to see and read if a fish should pick it up and run to you. I use to use this same line in the 20# & 30#. 20# is great for drifting, if you should hang up it can be broke off fairly easy. When drifting 30# if you hang up you will turn the boat around trying to break free. I have since switched to 25#. It seems to work best for me for any type of fishing.

For leader I have switched to 80# mono. When fishing in the trees if they wrap up in a tree they can chew through any line given enough time. 80# will give you enough time take in all lines and move the boat to her and maybe get a net under her.

Capt, how hard is it to tie knots in 80lb mono?

Not hard at all. Just a simple figure 8 knot is all you need to the swivel and of course a snell knot to the hook.

The eye crosser knot can't be beat on #30 and bigger mono!