Why i should NEVER use ......

4 lb test mono or less , thought i might try me some 4 lb mono on my newest member of the crappie ketchn crew . 6 lb seems a bit heavy on this here 5 5 rod i just got , she is a Vigilante and right nice but seems to be rather light weight . so i thunk i mite go with a new spool of some 4 lb to be all finesse like and such ....MY BAD :banghead
there was a large crowd on the public dock and my other half says WOW lookee there is some competition for ketchn sum fish out there! Now before i get on with this fishee story i want to say it isnt B S this actually happened in front of a crowd ! kinda embarrassing to say the least but sometimes it just is what it is.
so i walk up ask if they are ketchn fish and get a resounding NO ....1 pm rather hot at 97 degrees and sunny . i set my float at about 7 foot deep and then tried to cast it ....not easy with a 5 5 but it flew well with the wind to my back and hit about where i thought they might be . 2 twitches and a 4 inch drag and KABOOM the float goes down nice ! when i set the hook the lil rod arcs hard and its like i hooked the brush pile ...dont give an inch ...so i lean into it knowing its a fish .AND the folks are smiling thinkin i just hung the brush first cast ....:biggrin
well things kinda went real fast after that . the fish woke up and took off like a rocket , i though uh oh BIG bass ...then up to the surface it came with a bucket of a mouth wide open and BLEW up the water in a HUGE cartwheel !!! Cant say i ever seen a big ole 2 plus summer crappie do that ...man did she have game and all i could think is my bud is gunna be some kinda happy i just ketched the new lake record on his mighty fine hand tie ! but ya know it aint wise to count your lil chickens before they hatch :Rofl
in my excitement i had her at the dock and pulled the BIGGEST rookie stunt ever and grabbed the line to toss her up on the dock :banghead:banghead:banghead
line snapped and she was gone as fast as she was there ....and to make it worse i had it happen the next 3 casts as well ....
one snapped on the hook set ... one during the fight and YET another that ran under the dock !
and the dang things was biting like FIRE ...everyone was scramblin thru their tackle boxes asking what color are ya using :Rofl
anyway number 5 wasnt quite so big and i finally got to hold one and the ones later were the typical fish for this spot .
most of the folks left after watchin me lose several though ....and .....
to make me feel better .... the guy beside me was saying i dont think i ever seen a crappie as big as that first fish you "HAD" :Rofl:bash:Rofl:bash
so there you have the reason why i should never use 4 lb mono rotfl ......and for those of you that like old rides ...
it was model A day out that way as well .....pretty fun adventure and a schoolin to beat the band as well .....
hope you enjoy the read and photos ,,,,have a good day ....

Great story. I feel your pain. I did the same thing on a huge brown trout during a trout fishing contest in upstate New York. :yikes Love those Model A's.

Good post thanks for pic's.Started our crappie fish'n adventure on Lake Fork Texas.Have been to the lakes in Mississippi and they are good. Will be back to Lake Fork Soon.Switched to fluorocarbon 2 & 4 lb.Great line tougher than Mono no line stretch .We were shown Berkley Nano fill, Not Braid,Not mono,Not floro.Had a young cousin fishing with us He got his first nice crappie up to the top of the water out of range for a net.Hook Broke. Bummer. Thanks for the post enjoyed.Really enjoyed the Model A's.

Better remember to match line to waters , around brush I use 8 lb test but get that broke sometimes by Bass or Catfish

LOL What a drag or perhaps one should say lack of drag...

I see no reason to use any line for crappies heavier than 4#...

Great story and some fine pictures of vintage automobiles! I don't think you should worry about 4# test being too light. Just set the drag appropriately and fight the fish. :)

Good story and nice model A's.

Good write up, bad story. 4# line, not me!!

Good post. I think at one time or the other everyone loses a big'un every now and then. I know I have lost my share anyway.

Better to have lost sum than not get any to loose

I too learned that lesson. Hope I don't have to relearn it. Nice post.

It ia amazing that you can swing fish in on 4lb all day but every single time I have grabbed the line to lift one it breaks.

I too have played the 4lb test game and lost. Great story.

That is a bummer. The crappie I have been catching you would be fine with 2lb.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I would write that off to just one of those things. It happens sometimes.

I love using 4 lb. test on my light gear. Hit a pond today looking for crappie, but ended up bass fishing instead. The local bait guy was closed, so no minnows for us. We tried some BG stuff, but it just wasn't working. I started casting Rebel Wee Craw and Tiny Craw on 4 lb. test. Caught several large mouths in the 1-2 lb. range. No problems landing them and they fought pretty darn hard. Not sure if it would really make a difference, but I was using 4 lb. test Hi-Viz Green from Slater's Jigs.

Man I've done that many times! I use 4lb test almost exclusively and still to this day I will try to heave a biigin into the boat by the line. Lost a huge slab in Oklahoma this spring by doing that with my dad in the boat with me. He said "bet you never do that again"... I just looked at him, grinned and said "oh yeah, it'll happen again". We had a pretty good laugh and it was still a great day nevertheless.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by huntinslabs

It ia amazing that you can swing fish in on 4lb all day but every single time I have grabbed the line to lift one it breaks.

---

Is it breaking at the knot or above? If the knot, then you should maybe rethink how you are doing the tying. It is imperative with light line that you slowly snug up the knot, and use saliva to lubricate the turns. I always also cinch up my knots by pulling on the tag end, not the main line.

If you are breaking above the knot, then I can only suggest that you run your fingers (or lips) up the line to check for nicks or irregularities. If nothing can be found there, then check your rod guides for roughness using a Q-tip. The cotton will grab onto any irregularities and reveal a problem if it exists.

Beyond those areas, I can only tell you that I've been using 4# and 2# test mono and fluorocarbon for many decades now. It is sufficiently strong to handle crappie and even some big bass and northern pike.

I've been using 4lb line for 20+ years. It's an odd situation for me when I'm not using 4lb.

Set the drag, fairly limber pole, stay connected to the fish.

I've landed some pretty decent fish on 4lb. 17" crappie, 23" lm bass, 18" sm bass, 9lb drum, etc.

It sure doesn't hold up with a nick in it though.

I've always used 4lb on my ultralights. Caught an 6lb channel cat on a mealworm once. Several bass as well. Usually if it breaks it's because I'm snagged real good.

Sent from my XT1097 using Tapatalk

Let me be a bit more specific on a few things , I use 4 lb rarely , my style of ketchn fish is a bit different than most and especially when it comes to crappie I allow a very few seconds from hookup to out of the water . This of course leads one to need to rethink ones agenda when it comes to lighter set ups . I played the first fish rather well and let her pull drag ( that I set REALLY carefully ) before I ever got near the water and checked before I made the first cast once again just to be sure .
I also did a bunch of (stress) testing in my hands on this line before I ever spooled it up . I knew from its breaking point in my hands it wasn't much but still thought I could manage to ketch what in most cases in that spot are just average size crappie. Now mind ya second loss was because I tried to over think my original set up and tightened the drag just a touch . Now the third fish I am not sure but I think it hit something under the dock when I tried to lip it . in all 3 of the first break offs the line gave up between the float and the jig . the last break was much the same and it was on the hook set . I think that's the order it went in ,but I have to say I wasn't impressed with the light line much and have had these same issues on larger crappie with this light line before .
the up side is it casts well and is super sensitive .....had a similar problem back in the winter but that was because it was older line and I use pinch floats and it was breaking on the pinch .
like posted before it drives me to go back and find her once again , in the hopes I win the next battle ....
and to top it off I am out in a few to see if I can get myself schooled yet again with that there 4 lb test just for grins ....:Rofl
p.s. lost one more fish because the line diameter was so small it slid thru the eyelet pinch point of the road runner I was using as well :banghead