Steveo-1969

In my local river from April to October I'm fishing a jig more than any other presentation and I lose them frequently to the rocky snaggy bottom. I buy in bulk during the winter and hope they last. This past winter I bought 25 jigs and I only have 5 left. Uh oh.....

Brown fish!!!!! Welcome to BR.

I use an "over one shoulder" bag for wading like @Scott F. Specifically I use a Plano crappie print fishouflauge bag. It's pretty small (14" x 7" x 6") but holds everything I need. Besides the baits/weights/hooks/jigheads, etc. it also carries sunscreen, fishing license, cell phone, car keys, needle nose pliers, Spike-It dye, a tube of Megastrike, hook sharpener, line cutters, a spool of line for leaders and a can of Smokey Mountain tobacco-free snuff. I use this same bag if I'm shore fishing.

I fish both paddle tails and curly tails and my experience is the complete opposite of the OP @billmac. I have more confidence in paddle tails because I catch more fish with paddle tails because I fish paddle tails more than curly tails... ?

I'll never forget the first time I took my son wading for smallmouth. Good times, good times.

I have 10# braid on a spinning rod and use to attach an 8# FC leader (I tie a double uni knot). When I got snagged and had to break off it would almost always break right at the double uni and I would have to tie a new leader on. I switched from 8# FC to 12# FC and now when I snag and break off the FC breaks at the terminal knot.

Sounds like a beneficial agreement for both companies. Rapala group gets more softbaits and adds quality rods and reels to their hardbaits, softbaits, fishing line, etc. And 13 Fishing gets more help with marketing and distribution of its products.

Being an extreme introvert I find it exhausting to constantly interact with another person/people. So it's more relaxing and enjoyable to fish alone.

I fish soft plastics and jigs exclusively because I'm allergic to treble hooks. Don't laugh, I can produce a doctor's note upon request!

Yup! Fishing with a jig is my favorite because of the "thump" and the hookset. WHOO!! The 893 was the first NRX rod I bought......

This sums it up perfectly for me! And Gravity Falls is one of my favorite shows... ?

I don't fish for catfish but based on the amount of empty chicken liver containers I see strewn all over the banks of the Upper Potomac River I would say the bait of choice around these parts is very obvious. ☹️

To cut braid I use the Rigrap Ceramax Super Cutters. They are scissors with ceramic blades that are designed specifically to cut braided line with no fraying. They work great. Right now they are on sale on DSG website for $5.

I don't use FC for reduced line visibility. I fish a shallow rocky snaggy river and use FC for better abrasion resistance than my braid, and for ease of breaking off when I can't retrieve a snagged lure. In my experience 10# Gamma Edge is more abrasion resistant than 12# Seaguar Abrazx. (Hmmmm, now that I re-read that maybe I should buy a spool of Edge to use as leader material.....)

I've never used Gamma Touch FC but last year I used 10# Gamma Edge FC as a mainline on a baitcasting rod. The diameter of the 10# was .012" which is between Seaguar 12# (.011") and Seaguar 15# (.013"). I liked the Gamma Edge 10#. It handled well on a baitcaster, tied strong knots and it's abrasion resistance was the best of any FC in that diameter I've used. But at $26/100 yard spool it's even more expensive than Seaguar Tatsu and I just couldn't keep buying it. I use braid on my spinning rods and tie on a FC leader, right now I'm using 12# Seaguar Abrazx. It's adequate, but not perfect.

You are correct, the thicker the line the better the abrasion resistance. I have not noticed a huge difference between FC and nylon (mono) lines for abrasion resistance, maybe with the exception of Gamma Edge FC (fantastic but even more expensive than Seaguar Tatsu!!). I fish a shallow rocky river and am currently using 12# Seaguar Abrazx as a leader. Abrasion resistance is ok, but I still have to retie often because of nicks and scuffing.

Yes

For the past 6 months I've really enjoyed the 10# Sufix Advance I have spooled on a baitcaster. It handles well, ties great knots, it's surprisingly sensitive and has much lower stretch than "normal" nylon or fluorocarbon lines of similar diameter.

I fish finesse jigs in a shallow rocky river. I'll throw the same jig until I snag it and can't get it back. If I'm lucky I've caught a bunch of fish on it and all the paint is wore off the head before I lose it. If I'm not lucky, I've just tied on a new jig, made one cast, got snagged, and had to break it off... Usually I don't have them long enough to wear them out so I can't say if they get more productive with wear.

"Finesse jig" for me means a 3/16 ounce Strike King Bitsy Bug jig with a trailer. Total weight is 3/8 ounce. This is my favorite bait to fish on my shallow rocky river. My rod is a custom baitcasting rod made with a St. Croix blank SCV610MLXF (extended to 7 feet). It's rated for 6-10# line and 1/8-1/2 ounce lures. I fish 10# FC or co-poly. Super sensitive and plenty of power on the hookset.

Thank you for your service and welcome to Bass Resource!

So Mike Iaconelli dropped your bottle of wine? I hope he paid you for it!

Nope, no hard data. All I have is what my brain tells me my hands are feeling. I've fished the same rod, reel and jig in the same spot on a river with the same current flow. I know I feel the bottom more distinctly with fluorocarbon line than I do with nylon monofilament, but not as distinctly as I do with braid. Good enough for me.

It drives me crazy when I can't see my line so I always use some kind of hi-vis braid on my spinning rods. At home in my shallow rocky snaggy river I tie on a FC leader for abrasion resistance and ease of breaking off if necessary. Not really for "invisibility" but it can't hurt. Last week while on vacation in WI I was jigging walleyes in clear water 3 feet deep with 15# hi-vis yellow braid and no leader. And catching walleyes (and northerns and white bass and catfish and sheephead). None of the fish seemed bothered by the hi-vis braid at all. I guess my point is this: Yes you can (and IMO should) use hi-vis braid. And you don't need a leader for "invisibility".

I am as far away from you as a person can get and still be in WV. I'm in the Eastern Panhandle near Martinsburg and fish the Upper Potomac river. But hey, West Virginia is West Virginia!!