A lot of it is personal preference. If I were in your shoes, I'd try going up to 20 or 25lb Pline first for trig. In my opinion, most trig situations are not finesse--pitching it into and through cover, banging it off wood or rocks. Going to braid mainline to the same diameter Pline that you have been using won't solve your problem, but will create more things to monitor. Now you won't just be checking your Pline and hook knot, but the braid and braid to Pline connecting knot also.

The nature of a trig is with a sinker sliding up and down on your line and hitting the knot as it is hopped and pulled through cover. This is a recipe for small diameter line issues (regardless of whether it's braid to fluoro or straight Pline). I feel that split shot, Ned rig, mojo, shaky, slider, and Neko rigs give you trig-like presentations that won't be as stressful to finesse small diameter line.

Personally, I really like 20lb braid to 8lb Pline or yozuri for Ned, slider, Neko, and shaky. I like 20lb braid to 8lb red label for split shot, mojo, and rage rigs. Pline and yozuri have a neutral boyancy that I prefer to fluoro for finesse bottom contact presentations. I like the heavier feel of fluoro for split shot, mojo, and rage rigs

I have never understood the arguments about "Fish see the line"; ie braid or 20#
you got a hook sticking out of the plastic DS worm, or 2-3 treble hooks hanging off a crank bait, you got a weight at the end of a T-Rig and you are worried about fishing "seeing" braided line for drop shotting ?
I just don't get it.
Use 30# braid, diameter of 8# line.
Now if the fish see this then they will see 8# mono and it really doesn't matter.
Those fish are too smart to be caught.

Nutman....that pretty well sums up exactly my train of thought on how intelligent these fish are. I could be entirely wrong but I am not going to mess with a fluoro leader. Just seems silly for a recreational fisherman. If I were fishing for money then yes I would probably want every advantage I could get but for a guy just doing it for fun I am missing the point. If the only drawback to braid is that fish can see the line I am fishing straight braid to lure. If I see my numbers go down considerably then I will go to a heavier mono or copoly. Fluoro is garbage....just my two cents.

Bet they can see that yellow beatle spin!

Good point about the sliding sinker on a T Rig causing some abrasion and maybe requiring a bit larger line. But, if you clip off 3 or 4 feet now and again and re-tie, it isn't much of a problem.

Still, maybe T Rig is finesse only in its presentation, less so when considering what it is often dragged through, sometimes approaching what a heavy jig operates in.

I think we all agree that fish can see some lines better than others, but what then? One argument is if line bothers them, how about all of that metal and wire on, say, a spinnerbait? But, spinnerbaits work best in lower light and rougher water and generally moving along at a clip so they don't get a long look at it. Instead of seeing metal and line, they see flash.

The acid test: Almost every pro, with money/career on the line, will say that finesse fishing is better on 8 than 10, often 6 rather than 8. What possible reason could there be to reduce line size from, say, .009 to .007 if it isn't somehow related at least in part to line visibility? Well, one is "feeling" the bite I suppose. Some would be casting distance. But, almost to a man, the pros use either fluoro leaders or just all fluoro at least as far back as everything that comes off the spool. Aaron Martens uses braid as a backing to fluoro . . . says he gets longer casts with it that way.

I try to keep the fluoro knot off the reel, so on a 7 ft. rod, about 5 feet to the tip plus another 3 feet or so to make room for a drop shot set up or another finesse app. I have been retying before every fishing trip. I think that length ensures sufficient line for re-ties down at the lure without having to re-tie a junction knot out on a bank or from a boat.

Remember, our fingers are so incredibly sensitive, when one grabs a piece of typing paper from a ream, most of us can tell when we have inadvertently grabbed two pieces. So, we can feel incredibly small differences in thicknesses. Run an index finger and thumb down the line from lure back up several feet and you should feel every imperfection.

*** I'd still like to hear how it works out if you run straight braid, but it won't be scientific, just anecdotal. You can never know what you might have caught on that particular day using something else.

Brad

The biggest advantage of small diameter line isn't so much the decreased visibility, but the increased shimmering and waving of the small plastic in current as it is worked slowly, slightly twitched, or held still. Looking at live critters in an aquatic environment, they are mostly just shimmering in the current or wafting slowly on the bottom. A relatively small plastic on small diameter line most closely approximates this subtle motion.

Lots of dudes up north and midwest fish with straight braid for their little jigs and whatnot including guides and pros I wouldn't worry about it too much. .006 -.007 braid is strong sinks fast and cuts grass like a knife it's got benefits.

+1

I agree with this. From my experiences fishing with finesse gear it seems that the more natural action of the bait is the key. Small diameter line allows the bait to react in a more natural way to very subtle movements in the water column.

Usually around 6 feet

That's probably the real benefit 8# fluoro leader material is thicker and stiffer so whatever visibility benefit is likely negated especially in any water with a slightest stain.

Makes perfect sense to me

Now that is a good explanation.
Something "I" can even agree with.
Thanks

I have also switched to the 30 lb Power Pro Yellow braid. I like to use weightless worms on lite line. I was amazed how easy it is to see your line jump/move with this color. I only use it with a 6 to 8 lb leader.

So what is your opinion on if they can see the hooks sticking out of the bait? After all the hooks are 10 times as wide diameter wise as line. Can they not see those too?

My own personal opinion is lighter line simpler enhances either castability or action of the bait. Visibility is way down the list.