Team9nine

I've got a 6'6" ML Clarus and it has been my "go-to" finesse rod for the past year or two. I use it for about everything, from small swimbaits to small jerkbaits (Husky Jerks) as well as micro jig/pig, to everything 'Ned.' Not sure how stiff a 'M' would be, but I've never felt outgunnned with the ML, and this rod alone has probably accounted for about 1500 of my bass this year, and handled several 5-6 lb. fish admirably.

Ran both lines for the last 10 years on a majority of my spinning outfits, up until just 2 years ago. Both are good lines, but I personally favor original PP, especially in the smaller sizes. The last two years I've ran several outfits with YGK SS112 Sinking Braid, and for bass related applications, I'd take it over the other two in a hearbeat. Haven't tried Smackdown, and doubt I'll try at this point.

For me, that slight stiffness holds just enough coil so you can’t feel anything or even see the line jump. Mind you, this is on the margins with light baits, using 4lb and 6lb line, but its never “broken in” after more than a year of use, and can’t begin to compete with my usual PowerPro, which excels in this area. The trade off being tip wrap and slightly less strength from what I can tell.

Everyone has pretty much covered it. Good strength. Good knots. Decent abrasion. OE’s “passive memory” is pretty much a deal breaker for me. Pretty much down to trolling line, or constant pressure casting (cranks, spinners) because it’s stiffness kills anything slack/semi-slack for me. Likely won’t respool with it when the time comes.

So much depends on the “where” you’re fishing, but for general use of those baits, 12# fluoro for TR, and 15# fluoro for heavier jigs. And like @Choporoz, I also keep a spool of 65# braid in the boat for small water rescue and towing.

In the beginning, many decades ago, I threw Larew and Stanley/Hales Craw worms, both stand alone (TR) and as jig trailers. When the Guido Bug came out, I added it into the rotation as a jig trailer. When pork went away, I transitioned to generic craw plastic shapes, predominately Zoom Chunks and Super Chunks. The only added craw in the mix now are Paca Craws that I use on football head jigs. I’m not convinced bass care one way or the other as to close replication unless fished alone, so the Zoom baits/trailers get the most play these days. No need for me to complicate it any more than those few options. I will add, try putting the whole craw worm on a jig...you might be surprised, no matter how dumb it looks ?

Front about 95% of the time, no doubt. With the advent of Power Poles, Spot Lock and forward looking sonar, that will probably move closer toward 99% here soon

Unfortunately, nobody, including manufacturers, give us the specs we need to be able to determine just what specific characteristics a given line has. If I had the $$, I'd set up a small lab to do nothing but test this stuff out and report on it As for Big Game, good choice (for mono). It's all I ever used for nearly everything for close to 20 years, until I made the switch to all fluoro. Good stuff for squarebills (and a lot of other applications).

Beat me to the punch ? So now we have regular mono and premium mono, and there is certainly ”cheaper” fluoro and premium/expensive fluoro. So are cheap fluoro and premium mono equals?

Someone is always odd man out - often me ? And to imagine, somehow, we both still seem to catch plenty of fish ?

Yep, that’s a PB&J worm down the throat of a five and a half pound bass ? A solid all-around color that ranks Top-5 in my soft plastics arsenal.

I agree completely for most any type of cranking where “feel” or sensitivity is involved. This would also include Trapping. Fluoro is much better in those cases. If we’re just singling out squarebills though, where most recommend fast retrieves that bang and deflect off cover to trigger a reaction strike, it probably doesn't matter. That said, fluoro still gets the nod in my book because of its overall ‘feel’ advantage across a wide range of cranking applications.

Not certain there are any presentation advantages with either line type in this case since you pretty much just run the bait into and through **** as fast as you can ?

Yep, or some type floating foam mold. Never tore one apart. Floats ahead of the topwater bait. Makes it look like something chasing it. War Eagle made one also, or bought Norman’s design since it had the same name. Might be other similar baits. They were popular for a while.

Norman Front Runner. Might have a changed out dressed treble.

In the long run, cost might be a wash. I get at least 3 years out of a spooled fluoro reel...sometimes 4. Not certain you could get that using anything nylon based. Most people change at least yearly, if not more frequently. The repeated moisture absorption and drying out tends to play havoc on nylon based lines. Several times of respooling, even if just yearly, would about negate any cost disadvantage of a single spool/filling of fluoro.

I’ve mentioned this before, but one of the best ways to stop a big fish from jumping is to let off the pressure slightly, via backreeling, the moment you feel him turn and head up toward the surface...and you will feel it immediately as a backreeler. Heck, most times, I can feel how deep a fish has the bait in his mouth long before I ever get that fish close enough to actually see. I can immediately play them accordingly right from the get-go, and never risk a break-off from excess line abrasion. On leading a fish, Guido Hibdon was another huge proponent of leading a fish on light line out of “trouble” before applying a hook set.

Let me ask the question a different way. What are the negatives? I’d argue none, and it makes life as a fluoro user easier because it allows for consistency across all my casting outfits, and lets any outfit (or reel) in my arsenal to act as a surrogate for some other technique or rod.

Ditto ^^ My exact setup choices...

Same with things like Yammi Hula Grubs. I would never say right or wrong, because I’m fairly confident bass could care less, but I always start my rigs aligned for the best flare, then rotate if or as necessary. As for the little wings on BHs, I never touch them unless it is to completely remove them when used as a trailer. Again, a more personal preference quirk that the fish could probably care less about.

Yes, I started with a cane pole, too, fishing for crappies with my Dad. A lot of pros are on record as backreelers, or at least were. Martens, Gagliardi, Grigsby, Blaukat, to name a few. And yes, many other pros, like most of today’s anglers, don’t back reel and rely on their drags. That may not be a great endorsement though watching them grab their line above the reel and pull off line quickly in spurts every time they get a big fish on and panic. I’ve seen it a lot on live coverage (see link below)...but they’re ‘pros.’ Like you. I also don't care one way or the other whether someone chooses to backreel or not. Just don’t dismiss the technique as the anti technology madness of someone still living in the Dark Ages just because you don’t understand or agree with the benefits. We see discussions on this forum all the time about everybody wanting to have the most sensitivity in their outfits. Yet, those same people who just paid hundreds of dollars for that sensitivity then turn around and gladly kill it at the $15 AR bearing because they “trust” their modern drag ? Pyzer backreel column

Just a little fun "*** for tat." The back reelers tend to take it on the chin more times than not on these forums...

Spinning - $100 reel, $150 rod Casting - $125 reel, $125 rod

For a casting outfit, I'm going $225 max on the rod, $175 max on the reel, and banking the extra $100 For spinning, $100 max on the reel, probably under $200 on the rod, and banking $200+ If I can get all of this cheaper by catching a clearance or discount, or even a lightly used item, especially the rod, I'm there and banking even more...probably enough to get a second outfit

Go by diameter. Since this is also a C-rig rod, I’d be more concerned about dragging through/over rocks and shells and stuff than anything your jig will be around. Based on your numbers above, go with the 20# first. Can always drop to 18# if things don’t seem right, later.