I recently read H.Parker's article on Crankbait Selection and it got me thinking...

I'm a braid die-hard... How much of a disadvantage does using Spiderwire Ultracast Invisibraid in 15 or 20 pound test put me at when crankbaiting? Any advice you could offer would've greatly appreciated. Thanks y'all 

First - welcome to BR !

I personally LIKE stretch when I'm cranking so I crank with nylon/flouro/copoly mono. However, there are a number of folks on this board that crank with 20lb braid with apparently complete satisfaction. These folks have also reported that they don't have a problem with line dig-in that is sometimes reported with 20lb braid on baitcasters.  The smaller line diameter of braid is a technical plus to achieve depth. I guess it just goes back to personal preference/opinion in how you want your cranking system to perform (stretch or no stretch).

Not sure that you will find a board member that has cranked with the specific braid that you mentioned...but perhaps some of folks that DO use braid for cranking will be along to give some more input.

Hello Grant and Welcome to Bass Resource ~

Cranking for me happens is different conditions.  Although the final objective is to illicit a strike, hook and land a bass, there may be other factors regarding the line choice that dictate which one I use.  First, I don't use fluorocarbon (it's a hatred thing), So it's either mono or Braid.  When it's about getting a bait deep, I like thin braid & a leader on a glass or composite rod.  When it's about getting a bait through grass, I can go one of two ways - either mono & a graphite stick, or braid and a leader on a composite rod.  For open water applications,  either presentation method works for me.  Incidentally, much of my top water treble hook bait presentations are fished in a similar fashion.

So Sorry for not offering a single definitive response here, but for me there really isn't one.

A-Jay

Thanks for the warm welcome and the excellent info gents! I think I'll stick with what's worked for me in the past and keep throwing the braid. 

The one question I do have after reading your replies pertains to the use of a leader. I'm using that 20 pound Spiderwire that has the diameter of 6 pound monofilament, so what brand and pound strength of leader would you recommend? Thanks again 

Welcome, and I'm another that uses braid for cranking, normally 20 or 30lb.  But use leaders.  As for pound test on a leader that all depends on the conditions you're fishing.  If I'm fishing a shallow bait over scattered grass then I'll go with 12lb mono, if I'm cranking rock and reeds with a squarebill or lipless bait then I'll bump up to 15-17lb FC.  Deep cranking, then I'll go with 12lb FC.  Leaders are normally about 3-4ft long.  So as you can see it's all personal preference to what you want to use.  

I look at my cranking set ups as a three part system. Rod, Line, and drag. In my opinion when cranking, one of these three has to have some give in it .I like braid with a Medium moderate cranking rod and copoly when throwing traps on a medium or medium heavy fast rod. With both set ups i set the drag somewhat light compared to if i was T-rigging,C-rig etc..

What type of knot is the best to go with when attaching the leader to the braid?

3 hours ago, Grant Smith said:

What type of knot is the best to go with when attaching the leader to the braid?

Normally use an Albright/Alberto knot, but trying out the F & G Knot out to see how it holds up before commiting completely to it.

i like to use 8-15lb flouro because of 2 reasons. 1st smaller dia means better fell and gives the bait the full action. 2nd is floro sinks and it gets the bait down to depthor a little deeper than soposed too.

Here´s the real deal -----> FISH WITH WHATEVER YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE

There are lots of lines, I have tried most of them and other than a few reels that are spooled with something more "special" I continue to fish with what has worked well for me for the past 3 and a half decades: Berkley Trilene Big Game. 

On 1/25/2016 at 7:44 AM, Grant Smith said:

What type of knot is the best to go with when attaching the leader to the braid?

I used to use a double-uni but had lots of breakage issues.  I now use a swivel and have almost zero breakage issues.  Even on snags the hook will usually bend before the connection fails.