Brett's_daddy

So as you can tell from other posts I've made about the Whopper Plopper and other larger baits I haven't nailed down what line would be best to use for a WP 130 and a Savage Gear 6" Line Thru swim bait. The setup is a spinning reel set up. The rod is a Fenwick 7ft. MH (lure weight: 3/8 oz. - 1 oz.), the reel is a Pflueger President LE size 30. Since the 30 size only goes up to 10lbs. test mono (or equivalent 40lb. braid) I'm contemplating switching it out with a Shimano Sienna size 40 which would bump up the max line rating to 12lb. mono (or 50lb. braid) as well as giving me a deeper spool to work with. I've debated the pros/cons to both mono/copolymer and braid for heavier top water and swim baits, above all I want to avoid my line snapping and losing my expensive (to me) new lures which according to some folks braid has more of a tendency to do that than mono or copoly when casting heavier lures. If this holds true what brand of mono/copoly would be the toughest 12lb. test line I could get to minimize this risk (Berkley XT, Big Game, P-Line CXX etc.)?

Why would this be, wouldn't you just double back enough line so that when you pass them through the ring you could form a big enough loop to go around your bait and then just cinch it up tight once it's over the bait?

Yes they do but if you cast far out into the middle of the lake etc. depending on the current and how big the body of water they could take quite the journey and it could be difficult to get to them.

Following this subject...would a Palomar knot be better?

Okay, so if this is true I'm assuming that you would use mono for the WP and the Savage Gear I mentioned above since they are heavy baits? The last thing I want to do is hear the dreaded "snap" of line on a cast and lose an expensive lure :).

Would it be the same with spinning gear as well as bait cast gear or would a different set of rules apply to each?

So if you were using a top water like a Whopper Plopper or Pompadour or a swim bait like the Savage Gear 6" 3D Line Thru Slow-Sink Trout you'd use mono for those or would braid work too? I know you wouldn't want flouro because that would sink and tend to pull the lure down nose first which would compromise the baits intended actions.

Okay, I'm sure this has been addressed 1,000 times so let's make it 1,001. Flouro is best used for anything that sinks (crank baits, jerk baits, soft plastics etc.), mono is best used for anything that floats (top water) so what is braid best used for...is it for punching lily pads with frogs? Braid inherently floats but I've also heard that it can absorb water in which case it would sink a little. Braid has a higher tensile strength than flouro or mono but doesn't have the stretch correct? So what situations and more importantly lures is braid best used for?

The rod is rated up to a 1 oz. lure, the 130 weighs 1.38 oz. which is only .38 oz. above my rods rating...I've heard of many people who throw lures up to .50 oz. above their rods max rating with no problems, why should the 130 be any different?

I'm throwing my 130 and 90 on a 7ft. MH Fenwick HMG spinning rod with a Pflueger President LE reel. I haven't actually received my lures from Tackle Warehouse yet but I am waffling between a 30lb or a 40lb. braid. I'll post results once I have them.

Does anyone use the Z man Crawdadz lures? They look very realistic with the legs and full tail just like a real craw and I know Z man lures are tough so wondered if they worked well/better than other craws with just the flapping claws? If so, what color(s) seem to be the best?

I think somebody said that a direct tie with braid could catch on a treble hook and foul the lures action is the reason for a leader. I do plan on going up in braid size to at least 30lb if not 40lb.

How long of a leader should you use with these?

We'll probably do a mono leader and use the 15lb. Big Game, would 2ft. be a decent sized leader?

I use them and like them as well as any other soft plastic bait! They were $1.49 per pack and my local DSG and we bought like a dozen different packs the other day...1 of just about every color worm and craw they had. Like someone else said they only come 5 per pack and are simply listed as "assorted" with no color name on the package. I thought the Yum and Zoom were great deals at $2.99 per pack but for the money it's hard to beat Big Bite Baits!!!

Anybody want to chime in on the ability of my wife's rod to throw these lures?

I am in the same boat (no pun intended) as you. I have mostly spinning gear and have just started venturing into the world of bait casting. I was told to get the best reel that i could afford as the cheaper bait cast reels would just create problems for me and I'd end up hating bait casting all together so I ponied up whatever I could and got a Lew's Tournament Pro when they were on sale for $130. I liked the idea of having centrifugal AND magnetic brakes as I figured being a newbie to casting reels I needed all the help I could get. I have practiced some with it this summer and am getting incrementally better but I still don't have confidence in my skills enough to do some actual fishing with it and still prefer to use my spinning setups. Hopefully I will get to the point where my confidence using a bait caster is high enough that I actually fish with it...lol. But to answer your question about which reel to get, knowing your budget would help with the recommendation a great deal but assuming you're like me and can't afford a $200 reel I would suggest either the Lew's Tournament MB or maybe the LFS Speed Spool but I'm sure others more knowledgeable than I will be able to chime in here :).

What about my wife's rod in the above post...should she be able to throw both the 130 and 90 also? The leader sounds like a good idea too...got to practice my Alberto knots!!!

So if we went with 30lb. braid that would be a happy medium?

So my rod is a MH but my wife has this rod http://www.sportsmansguide.com/product/index/quantum-kevin-van-dam-tour-series-74-medium-action-spinning-rod?a=1769739, it's rated up to a 1 oz. lure weight just like my Fenwick HMG so should she be able top throw the 130 size too (yeah, it's a little heavier than lure weight suggests but many people throw a little heavier than suggested)?

I'm thinking of doing either 30lb or 40lb. braid...maybe with a 15lb. Big Game mono leader although that scares me a little as I'm not sure how much I trust my uni knot tying skills attaching the leader.

I have 15lb. Power Pro on the reel now and have fished it without any problems, just worried about snapping the line and losing an expensive lure :).

My rod is a Fenwick HMG 7ft. MH rod with a lure weight up to 1 oz. I've spoken to many people on this subject before and most have said they routinely throw lures heavier than what their rod rating says (within .5 oz.) as that's mostly a guideline and not a set-in-stone rule. I've also heard that Fenwick rods tend to fish heavier than their rating too so a MH will be more like a H in another rod makers product.

anybody???

I will be fishing both the 90 and 130 on a spinning rod so...maybe the 30lb. braid (or 40lb which I'm guessing is equivilant in diamter to 10lb test flouro/mono which is the max size for my reel)?