Okay this is my first post as I am brand new to this site. The other day I purchashed some Tuff-Line Super Cast without knowing anything about it in an attempt to get back into braid after an epic failure with it several years ago. From what I've seen and heard Tuff-Line is the real deal. Anyway I've learned to use mono for backfill and uni to uni knot and braid for the last 1/4-1/3 of the capacity of the reel. So far I have added braid to my frog rig and my jig rig only. Not sure what other rigs I should add braid to. I know I will not add it to my crankbait rig that will stay mono for the stretch. Should I add braid to my spinnerbait/swim jig rig, my swimbait rig and my spinning rig? The Tuff-Line braid is only 25lbs test and in retrospect I should have gotten 30lbs or even 50lbs since I now know smaller diameter braid has a tendancy to dig into itself.

You will get as many opinions as there are fisherman so here are my .02. I use braid for everything including crankbaits but I do have a crankbait specific rod. I have used leaders but generally I go straight braid and color the last few feet with a sharpie if I am using hi vis colors.

A lot of people don't like braid for moving baits but I like it for the added sensitivity and the ability to feel the bait more easily and the no stretch characteristics make long range hook sets more solid.

The heavier the cover, the heavier the braid. I don't have experience with tuff braid. Braids that are round in diameter have less tendency to cut into itself than a flat braid. My preference is Diawa Samuari in 55lb for my jig rod and frog rod

I'm not sure why you like stretch in your line when fishing anything. If I get a lure snagged, it's easier to get the lure free if there is no stretch in my line. When working a bait, stretch in the line absorbs a lot of the action that I am trying to impart, especially if i am "walking-the-dog". Setting the hook does not require a huge swing of the rod when using no stretch line. The farther you are from the bait, the tougher it is to feel a bite when using lines that stretch. Years ago, a fisherman named Bob McClelland published a guide that showed exactly how deep 200 different crankbaits ran.  They ran a boat directly over a lure that was being trolled and measured the depth with a depth finder. During his trolling tests, they had fish hit the baits being tested 40 times but only caught 6 because when trolling with less than 17lb test mono (there was no fluoro or briaded line then), they could not feel the fish hitting the lure. They could see on the graph the fish taking the lure out of the cone angle of the depth finder but the person holding the rod never felt a thing. The only fish they felt was on the heaviest lines that had the least amount of stretch.

I follow this rule of thumb for the most part: single hook = braid, treble hook = mono.

Or, if you're at all like me, use braid as a mainline and tie on a leader that suits whatever you're fishing at the moment....

Or, if you're at all like me, use braid as a mainline and tie on a leader that suits whatever you're fishing at the moment....

 

Bingo!

I use leaderless 15# braid for all techniques and never felt a need for stronger line or a leader. But I have confidence in both and understand that not everyone does.