Show off your fish

Question: I brought a rod and reel with me from HI and it’s loaded with braid (40lb I think) Does braid have any place in lake fishing?

It was casting well with a larger lure but not so well with a smaller lighter one, frequently knotting.

Thank you, A Novice lake fisherman…

 

Alot of folks like braid...I'm not one of them. I use 14lb Stren mono; sometimes you just need a line to break, braid will just cut your hand open and it has no stretch.

 

Yeah I used it for jigging off of a kayak. I like the sensitivity of it but have been using a leader whilst spinning over here. Like you said sometimes you just need it to break.

I think I’ll swap it out for something like the 14lb you mentioned.

Now need to learn how to rig up floats and bait n stuff.

Cheers!

 

If you have any other questions please ask away
Several folks in here know what they're talking about, I just kind of wing it!
Good luck to you!

 

Caught 4 20" flounders this Monday wade fishing. Haven't been out in the water in a while. It felt good to get something hooked again.

 

Drove 17 miles down a gravel road from Pagosa Springs to get to Williams creek reservoir where apparently it is stocked with 1/2 a dozen types of trout and kokanee salmon.

No fish today, saw one rise on the lake and saw nothing below the dam so here’s a picture of the view when I started and one of when we left…

A bad day fishing is still a good day…

 

Is that Whale Harbor marina?

 

Yes it is! Every time we are down we get with John and go do some back country fishing. My son is now old enough, so our next trip will be for tarpon. We may also go out for some deep sea fishing as I haven't even done that.

Side boob: the manatee love swimming up to the drains and drinking the water from the drains when they are cleaning fish at the dock. And the tarpon love the free meals.

 

I have 4 year old 40lb (if I remember right) braid on a spin reel that I used for jigging. I’m looking at spooling some new mono.

1. Should I remove 1/3 of braid and add 1/3 of mono as a leader of sorts?

2. Should I just get rid of the braid and put the mono on.

3. Should I save the braid for a later time?

Many thanks and tight lines…

 

First question to ask is what are you targeting? Are you bait fishing or fishing artaficials?
What size baits/lures are you throwing?
What size reel and rod are you using?

 

Thanks for your response.

Rod - Daiwa BG802 8’ M CT WT: 3/4-3oz Line: 12-25lbs/Braid 40lb

Reel - Penn Battle 2 4000

Basically I want it to be a jack of all trades. I’m primarily a fly fisherman but I have this Daiwa/penn with me and am on a loooong travel so would like to be able to use it for lure and bait fishing.

I used it for the first time since leaving the HI waters on a lake the other day with a little rattle lure. Did fine until I lost the lure and then used a lighter lure. Upon casting, the line half way through cast would knot up some. Either not enough weight in the lure or I’m not reeling the line in consistently taught…

I did buy this cheap stuff to get me started…

Thoughts and input appreciated.

 

How should I join mono to braid? Like this or use uni knot?

Maybe obsolete if I’m respooling with mono but would be good to know either way…

 

Double uni definitely

 

Seconded

 

YouTube is my friend here

 

Reel good knot .. pulled out abunch and broke the braid.. never da knot .. only reason I use a fluoro carbon leader is bc of da rocks , shell even red fish scales r gill plates will do damage on braid

 

Yep

 

40 lb test is too high for a 4000 spinner. That’s something you would put on a 6000-8000 and use offshore. Remember, you don’t want heavier line than your rod advertises. You want your line to break first, not your rod. Also heavier line means less length.

Personally I would spool that Battle 4000 with 20 lb braid and then use a double uni to add a 10 foot fluoro leader. 20-25 lb test. Fluoro gives you invisibility underwater, abrasion resistance, and stretch.

If you’re getting knots in braid you’re likely casting something very light into the wind. That’s why they call it a wind knot. It doesn’t happen much with mono because mono is less flexible than braid.

Also when you respool your line you may want to start with about 20 feet of mono, easier to tie on, better friction on a bare spool.

Also the other reason you may be getting knots is using a lure too light for your rod. The rod specs for lure and line weight are both important to adhere to.

 

try this...

https://www.animatedknots.com/fishing-knots