Currently we're just using 10 Ilb mono . I hear a lot of thing about braid. Need advice before stepping into and spending all kinds of money on line and really not having a correct set up. What's the prefferd methods, braid line size to fluro/mono and so forth.

Ed

I have one spinning rod I use which is a 6'6" Medium action.  On that setup I have 10lb PowerPro and usually fish it with an 8lb Fluorocarbon leader.  The FC I use is Berkley 100% Trilene FC for leader material.

 

What do I use it for ... finesse stuff.  shakey head, wacky, weightless texas rig etc.

 

This setup is for maximum sensitivity.  The braid has no stretch and combined with the medium action rod transmits even the most subtle of bites.

 

Note:  If the water is stained, or dirty I bypass the FC leader and fish on braid alone.

 

Hope this helps.

There are multiple articles on this subject in the articles section.

Braid to mono works well when fishing something like a c-rig where you want the bait behind the weight to float. That is probably the only time I would go braid to mono. 

So if using braid just us it by itself?

Ed

Spider Wire EZ Braid is $10 bucks, the associate at basspro recommended it to me. said it was decent and for the price a good one to learn on. I just started using braid myself in the spring, still use mono on my main rod. I started with braid straight to lures but found a leader to be much easier, especially with treble hooks. I use 10# mono leader to 20# braid, matching diameter as some people recommend. I use this with top water poppers, grubs, a few shallow cranks, suspending and soft jerk baits and soft swim baits.

I fish saltwater a lot with 10 lb braid on spinning gear.  There I add a 30 or 40 lb leader to handle toothy critters and overall abrasion resistance. Yes, the 10 lb is much smaller diameter so I double it up with a bimini twist.  The advantage of braid is superior casting distance.

 

In freshwater I pitch and flip with straight 50 lb braid.  The only time I like a leader in freshwater is for topwater fishing when I prefer a loop connection to the hook or lure.  I don't know a good loop knot that works with braid.  My topwater set up is 50 lb braid to about a foot of 20 or 30 lb mono leader material.

I use 10 lb power pro with 6-10lb flouro leaders. 6lb for dropshot and shakeyhead. 8lb for jerkbaits and cranks. And sometimes 10lb if im in heavily populated water with pickerel...

So if using braid just us it by itself? Ed

I use straight braid for top water and in stained water conditions. I feel more comfortable & confident in clearer water using a leader, usually mono. Pitchin in thick junk or in cattails I use straight braid.

Ok thanks everybody.

Spinning gear or baitcaster is my next question.

All I have and used to this point is spinning gear.

Ed

Ok thanks everybody.

Spinning gear or baitcaster is my next question.

All I have and used to this point is spinning gear.

Ed

I hands down prefer braid on spinning gear. Line management issues virtually disappear. And I tie a leader on about 99% of the time. Baitcasting is either or. I like both and use both.

Ok thanks everybody. Spinning gear or baitcaster is my next question. All I have and used to this point is spinning gear. Ed

Totally a personal choice.  There are some on this site that hardly if ever use spinning and yet there are others like myself that never use b/c gear.  I try and keep things nice and simple, 10 and 15# braid in freshwater and 15 and 20# for inshore saltwater.  Only exceptions are using 30# braid offshore in the ocean on 8000 series reels.  I use 14# mono on my barracuda outfit, the tubes I make spin constantly twisting the line up, mono is much easier to deal with.

I use 20lb Kanzen with 8lb fluoro leader. Always use the uni to uni knot when attaching braid to fluoro. Use 8 wraps on braid and 5 on fluoro. Easy to tie great strength

Spinning because of line management and easier to throw lighter tackle