Done with light weight mono!

I was at Eufaula in the dutchess creek/porum area yesterday with my grandpa. We had about seven decent crappie in the boat when a pole bender hit my rod. First two cranks and my line snapped. Ten minutes or so later, got another BIG hit on my other pole. After I finally got it up to the boat I saw it was a huge largemouth bass! As I reached down to grab it, my line snapped! Talk about bummed out!! One pole had 6lb mono and the other had 8lb. I will NEVER use anything lower than 12lb again, ever. I was thinking of trying out some PowerPro or something.

How old was your line? 2-3 yrs old? 6 -8 # test should have been fine.

I have caught 9 to 12 lb stripers on 6 and 8 pound line. Just got to set the drag loose so you can play the fish.

cant exactly tell you what the problem is either..could of been ur drag maybe alil to tight, or your line may of been alil on the brittle side being alil to old, or could of been an off brand of line. Not all Mono's are created equal as they say they are. Could of been from a knick in the line. WHO KNOWS..but I can tell you that I have landed some very big fish on 4lb mono..for example 5 yrs ago in the upper end of Tenkiller I landed a 29 1/2lb flathead on 4lb Trilene Solar XT (while crappie fishing) which took me alil over 30 minutes to do and without a net. Took her to the Petit Bay Marina and called a Ranger thinking maybe I had a line class record..NOT..try over 45lbs..cant remember the exact weight but I wasnt even close..plus I use 6lb in the lower Illinois River Stripper fishing using a 5/16 oz leadhead jig and 3" sassy shads and have caught Strippers up to 31 lbs using the same reels and rods I crappie fish with also trilene line..but I know what its like to loose a whooper..sorry better luck next time

The line was new, just bought it and spooled it up last week getting ready. I can pull it in two pieces with my hands, may be a bad batch??

I have reels spooled with both braid and mono. Each has a specific reason. like was asked before how old was the line? Next take the line between two fingers and run up and down the line feeling for rough spots you will be surprised at how many burs you will feel. If you find some rough spots unspool enough line to get past them and retie you shouldmbe good to go. On mymreels with mono i always cut off about ten to fifteen feet after each hard fishing trip that way i lose the rough spots for the next trip.

Yes sounds like you may have gotten a bad batch. i dont know what brand you are using but in mono i use nothing but trilene. I used to be a die hard bass fisherman i know what it is like to lose a fish at the boat i could have won a tournament on sardis if the line wouldnt have broke. Most of the name brand lines have a date when manufactored on the lid. It is sometimes a code number just look at several boxes and you will figuer it out. When storing your extra line put it out of direct light. Light is what breaks down mono the quickest even the reels need to be stored out of the light if possible. if you but your line at the bait shop dont get the first box if it is line with a window where the sun has hit it. These are just tips i have learned over the years of fishing.

If you can hold it between your hands and just tug and break it then it's bad line for sure. You need to replace it. I use Trilene 10 lb test and almost never break my line. Even when I get stuck on a rock or brush, my hook straightens before my line breaks almost every time.

I am done with 6 pound as well....I have lost at least 25 jig heads over the last two days.....I have used three different brands of 6 pound and the all have the same result!!!!!....I am for sure going bigger!

Okay fellasmgombuy some powerpro 20lb test it has a dia of 6 lb mono. Works great

If it was Viscious line, then I'm not surprised. I know a lot of folks like this line, but I've tried it in three different weights and it pops a knot quicker than just about any other line I've tried. It won't be on any of my reels any longer.

On the other hand, I see no need to use light line when Crappie fishing. At one time, I had reels with 6lb and with 10lb but there was never an increase/decrease in catch based solely on line size. So now all my Crappie reels have 10lb Hi Vis P Line or Golden Stren. I did use Gamma line last year, but it's pricey and I didn't see no advantage over P Line. Spool up with some 10lb and be done with it!

Okiedon used a key word. That word was knot. What kind of knot are you using. That may be the whole problem.

Power pro will not let you down. I even have to re tie mine once a year or so.:D:rolleyes:;)

Grubby, like your signature "MT.DEW AND JP8 IN THE MORNING GETS THE BLOOD FLOWING." I resemble that remark!

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Originally Posted by SmokyOkie

Power pro will not let you down. I even have to re tie mine once a year or so.:D:rolleyes:;)

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What size do you use?

4/15 or 6/20 is a good starting point for crappie, DeerhunterOdie uses the 6 / 20 and I never seen him break off the day we fished Gaines. I did several times trying out some new 8/2 braid...{ripped that off and trashed it} I have one reel spooled with Spiderwire Stealth Braid in 4/15 tracer yellow and it has performed great.
Use a good quality braid and you wont lose any again over broken line, back your drag off or you can straighten a hook easily.
I love the way braid cast and handles, and the sensitivity cant be matched using mono.

Can you cut any of those specialty lines with your teeth? I like the fact that I can just bite my mono line to cut it.

Robert, no you can't cut PP or Spiderwire with your teeth but I carry a pair of cutters. Your dentist would cringe at that thought. LOL!!

For those of you who are wondering, I don't own any stock in PP or Spiderwire.:D:D:D

With that said I just don't think you can go wrong with either one. Let me give you several reasons.

1. You only have to use a small amount of braid. Spool your reel 2/3 to 3/4 full with a CHEAP mono then spool on 20/6 braid. I am on my 3rd spool of braid in 5 years and I fish a lot.

2. You will rarely lose any jigs. The hooks will straighten before the line breaks. Plus I have less snagging on structure because I can determine structure from a bite with the braid. You will more than make up the cost of the braid by the amount of jigs and bodies saved.

3. You can feel the fish BREATH on your jig. My hook-up rate has gone way up since I started using braid.

4. You get to fish more. The more time you spend re-tying the less time to fish. As much as I like my buddies I don't stop fishing while they are re-tying.:D

Odie

Amen to ALL of what Odie said!Thumbs UpThumbs Up

Odie is dead nuts on. I use 20/6 Suffix on all my crappie jiggin/dabbin poles. Hate to loose a 3 pounder at Granada in the brush. Pull the whole darn thing up with you. lol

One thing with braid.......be sure to tie a quality knot. Some times when it gets wet it will slip a bit.

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Originally Posted by danieldelarosa

What size do you use?

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I use 15/4 hi vis yellow, but After reading Odie's post, I may move up to 20/6. If there is a fault to the Power Pro, it is only that the color will fade over time

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Originally Posted by meatdragger

Can you cut any of those specialty lines with your teeth? I like the fact that I can just bite my mono line to cut it.

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And so can the fish given enough bites.

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Originally Posted by deerhunterodie

Robert, no you can't cut PP or Spiderwire with your teeth but I carry a pair of cutters. Your dentist would cringe at that thought. LOL!!

For those of you who are wondering, I don't own any stock in PP or Spiderwire.:D:D:D

With that said I just don't think you can go wrong with either one. Let me give you several reasons.

1. You only have to use a small amount of braid. Spool your reel 2/3 to 3/4 full with a CHEAP mono then spool on 20/6 braid. I am on my 3rd spool of braid in 5 years and I fish a lot.

2. You will rarely lose any jigs. The hooks will straighten before the line breaks. Plus I have less snagging on structure because I can determine structure from a bite with the braid. You will more than make up the cost of the braid by the amount of jigs and bodies saved.

3. You can feel the fish BREATH on your jig. My hook-up rate has gone way up since I started using braid.

4. You get to fish more. The more time you spend re-tying the less time to fish. As much as I like my buddies I don't stop fishing while they are re-tying.:D

Odie

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What Odie said.

A well tied Palomar knot holds very well. I don't know if they still do, but Power Pro used to put an insert in every package that showed knots that worked well. the knot they showed were pretty complicated to me, and you can tie a Palomar with your eyes closed. I have scaled tested its strength to 4x test strength on a dead pul and it didn't break.

Don't try to skip the mono backing on your reel though. The whole spool of line will spin on your spool like a broken drag if you do. You have to at least put a few wraps of mono under it. Ask me how I know this :o

SmokyOkie, I just checked out the Power Pro website and they said to put a piece of Electrical tape on your spool before spooling to prevent slippage.

I may get a little of it and try it out. I've used the original spiderwire and hate it but this seems different. Now, if I could just find those clippers;)

Does 6/20 mean 20lb test and 6lb test diameter? I just went to walmart and got a box of PP 20lb. It says that it is 6lb diameter. $13.96 a box, hope its good!

Does a loop not work well with the Power Pro or other braids?

Daniel thats the stuff. Be sure and leave a few wraps of mono on the spool as the braid will slip if you dont. I splice mi e together with a blood knot. You cant bet pp line. It will last for years i have some on my catfish reels thats at least 8 years old and still strong as the day i put it on. The only thing i can say bad about it is dont set the hook like you did with mono. If you hook one in the bottom or side of the mouth it will jerk the hook out. Braid will not stretch like mono is why.

Slab it will work just be sure and tie a knot in the tag line as close the other knot as possible

20 lb power pro has 6lb diameter. works great for me.

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Originally Posted by SlabHungry

Does a loop not work well with the Power Pro or other braids?

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What kind of loop knot do you tie? If you use the one htat is like an improved clinchknot, it will slip.

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Originally Posted by meatdragger

SmokyOkie, I just checked out the Power Pro website and they said to put a piece of Electrical tape on your spool before spooling to prevent slippage.

I may get a little of it and try it out. I've used the original spiderwire and hate it but this seems different. Now, if I could just find those clippers;)

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You can use electrical tape as they say, but if you fill up the spool with mono followed by only 75 yds or so of Power Pro, you will save a lot of $ on line.

Any kind of small sharp scissors seems to work well for me. I like to use fly tying scissors, or else even lay the line down on something plastic and cut it with a pocket knife.

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Originally Posted by kdlong

Daniel thats the stuff. Be sure and leave a few wraps of mono on the spool as the braid will slip if you dont. I splice mi e together with a blood knot. You cant bet pp line. It will last for years i have some on my catfish reels thats at least 8 years old and still strong as the day i put it on. The only thing i can say bad about it is dont set the hook like you did with mono. If you hook one in the bottom or side of the mouth it will jerk the hook out. Braid will not stretch like mono is why.

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I learned a real easy to tie alternative to the blood knot. I never could tie a blood knot worth a $hit. Seems like I need another set of hands. If anybody is interested, I'll see if I can describe how to tie it.

The loop knot I use is like the one shipahoy shows on the main forum. That sticky about knots and rigs was very helpful to me.

Looks like it would hold, but you could always tie on a swivel, hook it to somehting and pull to see.

How does PP work out on the old school reels, like zebco 33's and zebco micro 11's?

You siad Old School and I thought you were talking about 4500CB Ambassadeurs . I have no idea how it would work on spin cast reels. I can't see why it wouldn't, but that doesn't really mean annything. Why don't you spool one up and see then come back and tell us?

Tried it in my sons zebco 11 micro. Didn't work too well. The farthest I could cast was about ten foot.

what weight?

20#

I looked at it this weekend at Academy. It's not for me.

Well I went and did it..bought some 10lb PP..with all the talk I had to try not saying I am converted or anything but I never lost a jig yesterday..works well with cork and jig..not to bad in brushpiles either..big advantage there but I also use stick guards on my jigs and its a disavantage when you catch a few crappie and you have to cut your line to put another stick guard on..I can see the advantage at Eufaula and the off colored water the crappie dont spook as easily even if you move the brushpile around..well it didnt work at Tenkiller as well..when you jerk a pile around there as I did today they spooked and never caught another 1 out of it when I pulled up half a tree..lol..ok a lil limb..switched back to 4lb mono and didnt have that problem the rest of the day..so on the BIG EASY its PP and on Tenkiller its mono

Do you heat your jig hooks so that they will straighten out?

heated em up Smoky but after fishing for yrs with mono I sure lost alot of crappie from jerking maybe alil to hard..straight'n those hooks right out..so i stopped smokin those hooks and it worked better for me..lost 1 huge momma right up against the boat from a hook straightened out so I stopped and thru my BIC FLICK to the water gods..to each his own i guess..lol

I don't heat mine. I just wondered. Years ago, a fella from north Arkansas taught me to heat the hooks. When I lived in Illinois, we didn't catch fish the size that we catch here. I lost a few fish due to hooks straightening and quit doing it.

I am curious though. I learned to heat them at the bend. I wonder if you heated them right behind the bend if you might not lose fewer fish, but still come loose from brush easily.

I watched my son yank a couple or three 1`# plus fish straight out of the water an into the boat the other day because of the Power Pro.