Boatless Fishing Forum, Reports, Info

I am limited to pond and canal fishing and I often run into heavy weed cover along the shorelines. I've lost bass, trying to haul them through the weeds. A friend suggested I try Power Pro 100-pound test braided line (with weedless lures to avoid snagging on retrieves) that he says will help drag a bass through the heavy stuff. Is this a good maneuver? If so, wouldn't a lighter braid (like, 50-pound or less) be appropriate? I guess braid is suppose to be thinner than mono but 100-pound braid sounds like overkill. (I usually favor 6-10 lb. mono in less hazardous situations.)

Thanks for any opinions you can offer.

Nod

Sheesh, you could pull a truck up with that! There's no point to using a much heavier braid than your leader tests for this application; the weakest link is what's at the end of what's dragging all those weeds.

Hahahaha! I feel like a loser! I use 4lb p-line mono for all my bass fishing...

Thanks, fellas!
Do you suggest, then, that I might be successful with 30-lb braid line with a 30-lb. mono leader, or skip the braid and just use a 30-lb. mono leader with a lighter mono line?


Nod

I would go with 20lb straight braid. That's what I use and I've never had an issue even with getting bigger fish out of thick cover. And if you're fishing canals with steep banks you won't have to worry about your fish breaking off as you pull it up. Just be smart about it and don't pull your big fish up a rocky ledge. Then you're s.o.l.. As long as your knot is good you shouldn't have a problem. Some bass fisherman swear by nothing heavier than 15lb test mono which I sometimes have to laugh at considering some of the fish I've pulled up using 20lb braid. Mono is a hell of a lot cheaper though lol...

I didn't notice if you were using spinning or casting gear. "Bass" fisherman are going to use a b/c and mh to heavy rod 50 or 65# braid, which I find to be ridicolous, but that's what they use. When fishing heavy vegetation the weeds are giving you more trouble than the fish, even a 10# bass isn't pulling out 50 yards of drag. Personally if I lose a big bass I don't care all that much and losing lures is just part of the game, I fish spinning 7' med rod 15# braid with a 20# leader, it's been a good combination for me.

SirSnookie:

I think I've settled on 20# fused line, and will probably try both a b/c and a spinning reel, and stay with the one that seems to work best. I think anything over 20# for the size of bass I might get out of my ponds and canals would be overkill. I also read someplace that an equal weight mono or floro leader should give me plenty of break protection in the weeds. Also, that the only probable break point would be the knot between line and leader (and that using a spot of super glue on the knot probably would pretty much avoid that).

Thanks for your responses, everyone.

You do not need super glue on a knot, it may crack off anyway. I'm not quite sure about a fused line, seems to me last I used one many years ago the coating was very waxy and slippery. A knot like an alberto or uni should be fine, personally I own tie line to leade when fishing for span macks, other wise I use a swivel and an improved clinch.

Noddinoff wrote:SirSnookie:

I think I've settled on 20# fused line, and will probably try both a b/c and a spinning reel, and stay with the one that seems to work best. I think anything over 20# for the size of bass I might get out of my ponds and canals would be overkill. I also read someplace that an equal weight mono or floro leader should give me plenty of break protection in the weeds. Also, that the only probable break point would be the knot between line and leader (and that using a spot of super glue on the knot probably would pretty much avoid that).

Thanks for your responses, everyone.

You don't need glue. Learn to tie an albright knot. It's super low profile and compact so it goes through guides well. Never had one fail either. I think those frog fisherman in the bass tournaments tie braid right to the lure. I don't think they even use a leader. I guess that's besides the point tho. 20# should be plenty, even with lots of weeds.

Poseidon10/31 wrote:

Noddinoff wrote:SirSnookie:

I think I've settled on 20# fused line, and will probably try both a b/c and a spinning reel, and stay with the one that seems to work best. I think anything over 20# for the size of bass I might get out of my ponds and canals would be overkill. I also read someplace that an equal weight mono or floro leader should give me plenty of break protection in the weeds. Also, that the only probable break point would be the knot between line and leader (and that using a spot of super glue on the knot probably would pretty much avoid that).

Thanks for your responses, everyone.

You don't need glue. Learn to tie an albright knot. It's super low profile and compact so it goes through guides well. Never had one fail either. I think those frog fisherman in the bass tournaments tie braid right to the lure. I don't think they even use a leader. I guess that's besides the point tho. 20# should be plenty, even with lots of weeds.

many do tie the braid direct, 20# braid for those guys is "light", one contention is that on b/c thinner braid digs into itself.

Bass fishermen make a very big deal over this, between the various types of lines, leaders and length of leaders, then b/c vs spinning tackle, these guys live to talk about tackle. Many try and emulate the top bass professionals using 65# braid, understand this, the goal of a pro is to get that fish in the boat in a few seconds by just dragging it across the top of the water many times locking the drag down, then on to the next cast, it's all about winning a check not having fun. As far as I'm concerned way overkill for a recreational fisherman. Nothing wrong with using 30# braid, I happen to use 15# and 20# on a frog set up, it's worked just fine for me even in dense vegetation, I don't use anything but spinning gear for bass fishing.
Even though I fish saltwater everyday for the last 10 years I come form Michigan and grew up catching all those fresh water species...........I like it better here.

miguel456 wrote:If your fishing open water with not much obstacles you can use 8lb monofilament.Works well for me as well.

Without a doubt !

I don't do much of this as I get no thrill out of it but using senkos or jig and trailer for bass fishing is highly productive, when I do I use 15 or 20# braid. Given my choice it's always going to be open water fishing with a hard lure.

miguel456 wrote:If your fishing open water with not much obstacles you can use 8lb monofilament.Works well for me as well.

Without a doubt !

I don't do much of this as I get no thrill out of it but using senkos or jig and trailer for bass fishing is highly productive, when I do I use 15 or 20# braid. Given my choice it's always going to be open water fishing with a hard lure.

miguel456 wrote:If your fishing open water with not much obstacles you can use 8lb monofilament.Works well for me as well.

Without a doubt !

I don't do much of this as I get no thrill out of it but using senkos or jig and trailer for bass fishing is highly productive, when I do I use 15 or 20# braid. Given my choice it's always going to be open water fishing with a hard lure.

For bass I use a ultra light spinning reel with 20lb braid and a 50lb mono leader, never lost any large mouth or peacocks. A lot easier to pull it out of snags without line snapping or having to cut it.The 20lb spiderwire ez braid is a 6lb diameter. For snakeheads I use a baitcaster with 40lb spiderwire invizabraid with a wire leader. Braid is a lot harder to work with though, you have to tie special knots and it's very slippery. If weeds are a problem on your retrieve try weedless hooks, weedless lures, spoons, ect.

I have used 30 lb. braid for years fishing for Snakeheads in heavy cover. I recently tried the 50 lb. braid and lost some casting distance so plan on going back to the 30 or 35 lb. I tried Power-Pro and Seguar a more expensive line and came to the conclusion that all braid over time loses its integrity and needs to be replaced. I have started using a line conditioner like Line Butter and that seems to help.

Hope you find this information useful.

Try 15 or 20 Mamoi Diamond or Mamoi Zex. Diamond is my go to for salt, Zex is made for bass casting in heavy cover. Both cast very well and have excellent abrasion resistance, along with the added benefit of being almost invisible. No cheap but worth it.

Try 15 or 20 Mamoi Diamond or Mamoi Zex. Diamond is my go to for salt, Zex is made for bass casting in heavy cover. Both cast very well and have excellent abrasion resistance, along with the added benefit of being almost invisible. No cheap but worth it.