White type of mine do you use? I have a bunch of 12# clear mono around but I am concerned that might be too big. I don't exactly fish in clear water so I am not sure if that makes a difference.

10-12

10 or 12 lb fluorocarbon.

BrianTX01, I prefer braided line. I use Sufix 832. Braided line is a zero-stretch product, so, whatever happens on one end gets transferred to the other end making it much more sensitive than the more stretchy monofilament.

Braid has a high strength to diameter ratio, meaning it is strong, but thin. For example, braided line the same diameter of 8 pound test monofilament will typically have a breaking strength of 20 pounds.

This smaller diameter helps it to sink more quickly due to reduced drag.

The Sufix 832 comes in many colors. I prefer the blue-and-white Coastal Camo. The alternating colors help you see that the line is moving as it rests on the water's surface. Solid colored lines don't do that as well. So, for example, after you make a cast and you are waiting for your lure to fall to bottom, this blue-and-white line will move across the water away from your rod tip as the lure pulls line off your spool.

Braided line is very durable. I fish ~220 trips each year and normally keep a spool of braid for 2 seasons. I'll get one season on the spool, then remove the line, reverse it, and fish another year with that portion which was previously buried deep in the spool.

Braided line is also very limp. For this reason, I typically use a short 2-3' fluorocarbon leader to keep the braid from getting tangled on my lures, stinger hooks, blades, and snaps.

If you decide to use braid, just let me know and I'll share some tricks of the trade with you.

Good luck and Merry Christmas!






Find MAL Lures and Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs here: White Bass Lures

Suffix 832 30 pound (braid) tied to a 10 pound Berkeley Big Game (mono) leader.

Seaguar Invizx 12lb test for Mepps and slabbing. I use 65lb test braid for trolling.

How do you connect the leader to the braid?

BrianTX01, great question. To connect the fluorocarbon leader to the braided main line I use back-to-back 6-wrap Uni-knots.

Here is a link to tying this knot. Just click where it says "Watch on YouTube":

Be sure to burn the cut end of the braid with a cigarette lighter to keep it from fraying out.

6# braid on a 7’ light action rod with 750 or 1000 size spinning reel, or 4# Stren original on the Aldebaran BFS with a 6’-9” light action rod. Prospect for the fish with the conventional gear. When you find them, 4# fluorocarbon tippet oh half weight or 2 weight fly rod. Whites are perfect for light tackle. A 15” or 16” sow on a half weight fly rod is major fun.

You need heavier than 6# for white bass. The white bass won’t break that line but it’s very uncommon for me to fish for white bass and not catch a hybrid, striper or largemouth of significant size. You would hate to have too light of line and lose a nice fish. My wife caught a 13# hybrid while white bass fishing. I caught a 11.88# largemouth while white bass fishing. I sure am glad we had heavier line on our reels. We catch LOTS of hybrids when we white bass fish. We use 10# typically and sometimes 12# mono.

I spooled my spinning reels up with the 12# mono I had. I will be reviewing the $9 reel I found on Amazon shortly.i am expecting a big bang for the buck ..lol.

I have tried many, many different line setups for whites. I primarily fish Grapevine lake, which doesn't have the monster whitebass like Tawakoni. But we had no issues with this same setup there. Only thing, if you cross paths with a big hybrid or striper it will get interesting. For baitcast reels I have settled on 12lb fluoro, works really good and has the sensitivity that I like. Also, it can take abuse if you cross paths with bigger fish. Me and my son had some truly epic fishing trips this year, and line was never an issue. Little tip for you guys using fluoro, which is costly. I spool up reels with 6-8lb backing so that I dont have to waste the expensive stuff. I also put on enough backing on the spool to allow the fluoro to never get down to the knot between the fluoro and the mono backing. When the fluoro starts to get beat up enough that it needs to be swapped out, I flip it. I tie the end of the line to the side of the boat, i will idle and let the line pull off the reel. When the line pulls out enough to get to the knot at the backing, i cut the line at the knot and let it pull out into the water. I then take the end that i tied to the boat (worn end) and tie it to the backing with a (Alberto knot). I then reel the fluoro back into the reel (used end first) and now the end is new. I do this with all my reels using fluoro, and braided. You get double your moneys worth.

For spinning rods (med action) reel spool sizes 2000 and above I have settled in on 10lb castking braided from amazon. I tie a 20lb leader to the 10lb braid so that I can grab the heavy line when handling fish. The end closest to the fish really takes allot of abuse. You run across bigger fish occasionally, so the bigger line helps. I attach the 20lb fluoro leader to the 10lb braid with the alberto knot as well but I only do 8 wraps ((see steps 2 & 3 in picture)). Just make sure you pull the lines hard to set the knot.

Spinning reels sized 1000 spools. 6lb castking braided tied to a small swivel and 12# or bigger leader. The 6lb doesn't do well with the alberto knot. But the 6lb braid will cast farther than anything, anyone want to put up a dollar bet against this just let me know. With the same size (small cordell spoon) I can spool the reel to the backing. It's really suprising to see how far it casts.. (note) this works well but you really need to pay attention to line twisting. When the line starts twisting up when it is loosely coiled you need to untwist it. Just cut the bait and let line out as you idle your boat, let the line out until you get most of the line off the reel. Close the bail on the reel and keep idling, simply reel the line back in (without a bait) and it will unwind the badly twisted line. I also do this on land, just do the same thing on grass. If you don't pay attention to the twisted line you will get a wind knot. Its impossible to recover from a bad wind knot.



Yeah, fluoro is expensive. But it has less stretch, and it sinks. Best bang for your buck is mono by far, just stay with a good brand. You get what you pay for. If you use too large of line on a spinning reel, your cast distance will suck. And a short cast means less fish. "He who casts the farthest when they are schooling, catches more". If you ever want to chew the fat on the water, just let me know. I can show you about 6 different setups with line, and how each can help you. I primarily fish grapevine, but I am on safari fishing all over Tx for the next couple of months working the big green girls (largemouth).

Fluoro sinks, and will get you down better. Mono floats, but is prob better bang for your buck. With that said, i am using about 5 different types of fluoro and really havent had many problems. I like 12lb invizx, but if you make sure you get 100% fluoro line you will be better than fluoro coated. For mono light line, i wouldn't use anything but the low memory trilene extra limp 4, 6, or 8lb lines. But i like the braided so much, if you take care and watch for coiling it lasts a long time.

I actually pull off line onto spools when I change up or down in line size. This way I can re-use it.


Prob more than you wanted in line info, but it makes a tremendous difference in the long run.


For bass this time of the year I am 17lb, 20lb, and higher for them big girls.



Take care


Prosise

These are great posts with good info. Y’all don’t know how much I appreciate all the passing down of knowledge and tips to help the ones new to fishing.

I keep it simple. 10-12 lb test mono. Pick a brand. I have bought some that feels like it's been on the shelf for a year.

I generally only fish creeks during the spawn; I’m 99% salt water oriented. But when I used to fish a lot of fresh water I caught quite a few stripers, and a few hybrids, on 4# and 6# line. I didn’t need 10# or 12# line then and I don’t need it now. I guess you do, though………