Just got some advice from a friend in Kentucky that for our upcoming trip I should spool my baitcaster with flourocarbon vs. braided, in this case 14 lb. fire line crystal. Any thoughts??

If you already have braid spooled, instead of respooling, just add a 15-20 foot flouro leader, spliced to your braid.

I imagine it is either due to gin clear water or rocks, that he is suggesting this.

we're going to kentucky lake so I know it isnt clear. what other reasons would there be. he said he prefered it for jigs

Sensitivity maybe, but I am a braid convert.  Flourocarbon has its place, but I have spooled all my plastics reels with braid.   If I feel the fish are seeing the line, I just add a flouro leader.

I use fluoro now for pretty much everything except for topwater and heavy cover flippin, I feel it has greater sensitivity and minimal stretch when compared to mono. Although braid has zero stretch and is also extremely sensitive, I only throw braid when I am flippin heavy cover or throwin a frog. This is because braid is like rope comin through the water and can be seen from a mile away even in stained water, you could add a fluoro leader as was stated above but I just wouldn't feel comfortable throwing braid in that situation.

One drawback for using braid in timber applications is the zipping/sawing sound emitted when pulling over limbs etc. There are a few Braid producers that have tried to eliminate the problem and I can see some improvements but they all still need work in my opinion. Another problem is original color tint quickly fading out making line visibility obvious. I fish primarily at night so this one is not a big factor for me.

7 of 9 rods on deck have braid and I am still waiting for that quiet braided line that doesn't lose its green color tint.

Big O

ww.ragetail.com

I have never used a flouro leader while using braid and still catch fish along with others who use braid without a lead i don't believe in that stuff.

so it sounds like flourocarbon has less visibility. I may try it and see how it goes. The guide prefers it, so I'm comfortable with his opinion.

Big-O - that's a good point. I've never even thought of the sound braid makes while going over limbs, although I've felt it. I use a pretty long flouro leader so it's not as much of a problem in my case.

But do you think that the sound repels fish or attracts them? If I didn't know that the sound a rattle trap makes worked, I would have no doubt that it would scare the crap out of the fish and repel them  

do you have any fear of your leader snapping at the knot? how long of a leader do you need? 25'?

I splice mine with a uni knot.. I use between 15-20 ft. of leader, so I can take a few wraps on my reel with it.

No, it does not affect casting.

If you already have braid on it I would just add the leader.  If you were going to respool I would go with fluoro or a copoly.

You did say deep water bass, and you have experience with the sensitivity of braid, so I think you will be disappointed with the stretch of anything else, including flouro.  I just tried the Yozuri Hybrid Ultra soft 12# on a casting reel, and while it casts very well, and is smoother than braid through the guides, I just cannot get used to the stretch, even when jerking sticKbaits, let alone feeling fish strikes.  I guess I am spoiled by the zero stretch of braid.

A friend has tried the crystal you mention, and I see it coming off his reel in loops-looks like it has a lot more memory than the Power Pro I normally use and like.  For bait casters I find that braid of similar diameter to 12 pound mono performs very well.  That puts it into the 40 pound test range.  I have used lighter and found some problems with it digging in on the spool.

Guides never like braid, and I think it is because they don't want to compromise at all on visibility, they think braid will scare the fish and you will have a disappointing trip with them.  

I use, as others have described, a flourocarbon leader with braid just to make sure the braid doesn't scare off the fish.  I like it, but it has the down side that you should rety the leader fairly often depending on how much you are casting and catching.  If I fish all day I usually retie every other day.  The Uni-Uni knot is easy with some practice and is reliable.  The Albright is smaller, also easy to tie, and reliable.

I WOULD NOT GO ON ANY BIG, IMPORTANT, FISHING TRIP WITH A SETUP I HAD NOT ALREADY TRIED OUT.