If you look back in the different line class records, they had a big clump of them happen in a relatively short time in the 80's and early 90's, the rods that were catching these fish were not UL in power, they were custom made by custom rod builders to have the right action and power to flex just enough in the tip to protect the line while the fish did their thing, then get the fish to the boat to be weighed for the line record you were trying to break, we're talking down into the two pound test class. Fish have power and mass but don't weigh anything in the water to speak of or they would sink like a rock instead of suspending in the water column. Of course, the reels were worked over also. We're talking marlin, etc. also. I found the1, 2 and 3 power SJ blanks 4 - 8 up to 6 - 12 lb. ratings to be an excellent choice when we were fishing the mini bass cranks and baits with modified casting reels that came out in that time period, 1/8 oz. cranks and the soft hand poured finesse on mini weighed large gap thin wire jig heads that were coming out at the time, you had to usually go to spinning gear for the small soft baits back then. One of my and many other people's rods/blanks at the time was the G Loomis SJR700 rod/SJ 700 blank, I have extended these blanks into the 6 1/2 ft. range as needed. Light tip with more but correct backbone for the lines used, I've had mine since the IM6 days, NFC makes one now the SB 5100-1.

In certain conditions ultra light is awesome! Just have to avoid heavy cover with it.

One of my long time fishing buddies recently made Grandmaster level fisherman with the Florida Sport Fishing Association. To date only 51 people have earned that title since 1974. Now I will never hear the end of it! FFF fishin' with the newest grandmaster! Competition and smack talk in the boat is so thick you can cut it with a knife.

But you know, he earned grandmaster level on 4 pound line in saltwater. And we are talking tarpon too. Not just bass. But all species across the board. He had to successfully catch them in all categories on 4 pound line. It took him years of perseverance and dedication to accomplish it.

https://fsfaclub.org/grand-masters

The point is, ultra-light tackle makes fishing far more challenging than what we see in bass fishing today- and fishing in general- with some, well really many moving to tackle that all but guarantees landing the fish like using 60 pound braid on broomsticks for a 3 pound fish.

Florida has organizations that levels the playing field and really makes the fisherman work for prize. Now THAT'S fishing!

Today the closest I come to it are medium and even medium light rods, 1000 size Shimano (mostly) spinning reels and 10 pound braid. Does that count? I think it is close to a 4lb mono line in size and diameter. Just gives me a little extra tug is all.

My favorite rod is a GLoomis PR844S IMX medium. I use this one because its a little stronger in backbone than a ML and works better in the river current, but has good play in the tip making it just right for chasing schoolies on the St. Johns river or lakes with light tackle.

And I recently purchased a brand new 1989 Quantum Great White 4W spinning reel just because Shaw Grigsby was using 2 in his 1991 Clearwater bass fishing video where he was using I think 6 and 8lb mono mostly in open water, but close to heavy cover. So he knew he had to keep the big ones away from cover and it was a challenge for him and makes for a good bass fishing video on light tackle.

I just wish he were not hawking tubes in this video and would have been free of having to use just one bait for the entire show.

I plan on spooling the new reel up with 8lb line as well for first time in probably more than 40 years I have gone that low, and I plan on fishing in the same river Shaw was fishing on in this video. I won't be using tubes though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLO-8gJJ80Y

I when out last Saturday with 3 MH or H casting rods and one BFS set. I caught zero bass on the 7 inch worm. Top water crawler, or the swimbait. I did end up catching 10 or 12 bass with a z man trd bugz. Not quite UL but close. I ended up with an 18 incher that was pulling drag!!

I don’t get into ultralight, yet. I have seen some stuff though that’s tempting. The lightest I go right now is 1/8 ounce.

Ultra lite, no. I do use light tackle for smallmouth though.

I use lighter tackle when I'm panfishing.

No chance I'd use it targeting largies. The vegetation and docks wouldn't allow it.

I am able to get away with lighter duty tackle chasing smallmouth. There's no weeds or dock posts to wrap around out there.

Does anybody have a good lead on cheap but quality 4 lbs test mono? I've been running Trilene XL and love it, but it gets expensive quick to keep fully filled reels. I've been using heavier mono as backing recently.

On 6/11/2026 at 12:43 AM, spoonplugger1 said:

you look back in the different line class records, they had a big clump of them happen in a relatively short time in the 80's and early 90's, the rods that were catching these fish were not UL in power, they were custom made by custom rod builders to have the right action and power to flex just enough in the tip to protect the line while the fish did their thing, t

That's fascinating! I love learning about the history of the sport. I was looking the other day at some IGFA line records (potentially seeing if there was one I could break in salt or fresh) and noticed a whole run of light line records in the 90s and was wondering what was up!

15 hours ago, Rucksack said:

Does anybody have a good lead on cheap but quality 4 lbs test mono? I've been running Trilene XL and love it, but it gets expensive quick to keep fully filled reels. I've been using heavier mono as backing recently.

That's fascinating! I love learning about the history of the sport. I was looking the other day at some IGFA line records (potentially seeing if there was one I could break in salt or fresh) and noticed a whole run of light line records in the 90s and was wondering what was up!

Shocking that the record in the 4lb line class is a 573lb Marlin. And somehow only took 18 minutes to land.

This fish was caught using 4lb InvisiX. 1/16 jig head with a 3” twister tail. Was on a ST Croix trout rod.

23.5” long

Took about 5 minutes to bring him in.

On 6/12/2026 at 7:49 AM, Rucksack said:

Does anybody have a good lead on cheap but quality 4 lbs test mono? I've been running Trilene XL and love it, but it gets expensive quick to keep fully filled reels. I've been using heavier mono as backing recently.

That's already amongst the cheapest of the quality mono lines on the market. I'd look to find other ways to make the experience cheaper, like trying to find a discount on bulk spools or stocking up on the pony spools when they hit a sale. It helps to store your mono in an ultra dark, climate controlled space to limit long term damage. Avoiding UV damage whenever possible drastically prolongs the life of mono.

14 hours ago, brophog said:

That's already amongst the cheapest of the quality mono lines on the market. I'd look to find other ways to make the experience cheaper, like trying to find a discount on bulk spools or stocking up on the pony spools when they hit a sale. It helps to store your mono in an ultra dark, climate controlled space to limit long term damage. Avoiding UV damage whenever possible drastically prolongs the life of mono.

You can buy. 1000 yard spool of 4 lb for $25.00 on Berkeley’s website and when you sign up for their email you get 10% off your first purchase.