Mono or Braid??

Got to discussin lines with a guy, he swears that crappie can see braid better than mono, One fishing pal uses only braid and I have fished with him a lot he still hauls em in. Let me heard thoughts guys.

Crappie are not line shy in any form around here. As far as lines go, I know a lot of people that use braid and do well. That being said, I can't stand it and it feels like fishing with wire. The sensitivity is nice but can feel the same bites with mono. To each their own.

Try mono on one pole and braid on another and see which one works the best.

I have caught fish with a welding rod on my line and I have seen the time when 8# out fished 12# line .... I always use the smallest most clear line at all times just in case .... which is 8# seaguar invizx fluorocarbon on my jig rod because it sinks and 8# clear Trilene on my rod with a cork because it floats.

All 20-pound braid for me...all the way to the jig. Only rods with mono on are for dock shooting.

I use 20# braid with 8 or 10 feet of fluorocarbon for a leader

4 lb mono, if the water is clear I’ll use a 4lb fluoro leader and the catch rate improves.

The only Braid that I have found that I personally like is Power Pro Super slick. I get it in Aqua Green and use it in 20#. I also use a Fluorocarbon Leader with the braid and I use 8# Vanish Gold by Berkley.

See my post Triple Limit from a couple weeks ago. We put 75 in the boat using this set up.

Like anything in fishing it really is a personal preference.

I do use the leader. The lakes I fish the leader does make a difference. Other lakes it might not make any difference.

We had 3 of us fishing in the boat. Dad and I with our Braid Fluorocarbon set up. The other guy straight braid to jig.

We had 15 fish in boat and he had zero. Tied a leader on his line and he started catching fish.

That being said I do think the stain of the lake plays a role.

Tight Lines with whatever you decide to use.

Clear water for me is usually 3-4 feet of visibility at most. My favorite line is 10 pound spider wire stealth in green. Tie my jigs directly to it. My set up is a 7 foot Falcon coastal spinning rod in light action with a 100 or 200 series real shimano or lews. Some of my set ups are going on 20 years old and still work great. The spider wire stealth does t get all the twists and tangles that mono or flouro have given me. And even though I can spool 2-3 reels with one 12.00 spool of line it lasts for 2-3 years without issue. It also makes it easy to watch the line fall with slack, when your tight lining jigs the thump you would swear was a 5 pound bass at time. Also if I snag the brush or stump I can usually give one quick jerk and straighten the jig hook without disturbing fish.

My preference for my personal rods is 6lb Vicious HiVis mono. On rods that I let guests use I load them with 8 or 10 HiVis mono. I do have a couple rods that have Power Pro 15/5 or 20/8 in either HiVis Green or Yellow. Yes, the mono does get "memory" in it there is no way around it. But, I do find that the lighter the line the less memory it retains. I understand what every body says about braid not having memory and that is wonderful. However, I absolutely despise it in windy conditions simply because it gets "blown around" to easily and becomes wrapped around the reel handle and rod tip. Also, I'm not on the "it doesn't twist" bus. I really don't like using a swivel when attaching the braid to a fluorocarbon leader and would much rather use a 4' piece attached with a uni or blood knot. Unfortunately, if I don't use a swivel then the braid does actually twist. Not like a mono twist but it does twist. I understand that braid is a little more sensitive than mono. I fish almost every weekend from Easter to Labor Day and to be honest there are less than a handful of days where that sensitivity might make a difference. One thing that I do on "light bite" days is hold the line "hooked" in my index finger which really seems to help. With that said, line is one of the least expensive pieces of our tackle even for quality lines. So, I don't mind if I have to put fresh line 2-4 times a year. For the longest I was a saltwater fisherman and changed much more often.



>E

I never use a leader...





Summer





Winter

Always an interesting discussion.
After fishing for crappie for 60+ years, which doesn't mean anything except I'm an old guy; my conclusion:
Crappie aren't line shy............. except when they are.

I don't use a Swivel to attach my Leader Line to my Braid.

I use this Knot and the only difference is I go through 3 Times instead of twice.

Wet the fluorocarbon line before you cinch the knot or the line will burn and break like peanut brittle.

https://youtu.be/LIsD5-W6pFE

Yellow 20# Power Pro slick 8 Braid. best iv ever used.you can use 12 lb clear mono leader and #12 swivel . or just tie strait to the Braid.

I use 10# braid with a 6# flouro leader. I have done better this year than in years past with this set up than straight mono. I just soak minnows using the same weight and swivel on both with similar length leader. Who knows, could just be I am paying more attention to my rods.

I fish mainly for records so I use all different fishing techniques. Today I was Plnor fishing (pole and line no reel) the set up uses a fly line and in this case I had a 30 pound berkley 6 feet leader. I caught 6 crappie in 45 minutes just after light then they shut off. I agree with Ken. Crappie aren't line shy...until they are.

I prefer braid when fishing timber, fish dont seem to mind it at all.

My opinion is the lighter the line, the better the action on the jig, and the less drag that jig has when falling in the water. Braid catches a lot of drag while falling in the water, mono not so much, that makes a huge difference in deeper water or windy situations. I do everything I can to maximize the amount of bites I get, and I never saw the need to use 20lb line to catch a 1lb fish.

20 lb braid is nice when this fellow shows up.


Mo

My gripe with braid always comes with wind and smaller jigs equals wrapped around rod tip!

15lb Power Pro Slick and Seaguar 12 Red Label Fluorocarbon leader. Bass to 11 lbs. and Flathead catfish to 27 lbs. No swivel.

Mr Crappie 4lb clear. It's cheap and I respool every spring.