Grrr. This is war. Going to 4 lb line...

I really like the 3 lb twitch master, but today I lost two heartbreak fish...

First was a dang ol' Greenmouth about 5-7 lb estimate that rose up and snatched my jig just as I was reeling it the last 3 turns. It scared the crap out of me! I held on as drag ripped zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz - pop - nothing. Well, shoot. I don't know about y'all, but when I hook a fish, regardless of circumstance, I want to bring that fish aboard. So, dang it. I hate being under gunned.

Second snafu was a huge deep blowdown I could see big crappie hiding in on LS. It was windy, spot-lock was fighting the wind, boat was swinging around, hard to get it right there without snagging a branch, I hung up twice and had to break off. I had seen some aggressive followers on LS, so I hurried to tie another jig on and get back in there. I threw, and - got hung. When I wiggled in frustration, the jig came free, i felt THUMP. I auto-set the hook and this felt heavy. I got him up to the surface for one good flash (hubcap) at the boat, and - pop - nothing. That. Was. A. Big. One. Dang.

I had the drag loose, or so I thought maybe enough, but I was also dragging the line thru brush here and there, and maybe not being meticulous about re-tying. Heat of battle, ya knw?. I think the knot was good, always a Palomar.

i did catch some nice crappie over the day, and kept six 12" - 13", and a fat 3/4 lb redear that swallowed the jig, for Good Friday fish supper with the fam. The full moon didn't really have any noticeable benefit from last week - it was tough fishing. Water is 67F.

I got home and just went ahead and re-spooled both STS and the Limber Tip reels with K9 4 lb flouro hi-viz (Ballistic FW, Presso, Revo MGX). You can tow a truck with this line, but it casts pretty good. I put some silicone spray on a rag and reel it thru that when I load the reel. Stays limp for weeks. I like it for what it is.

I have been waiting for the big redears in this lake to get hungry, watching the moon, checking beds - nothing yet. I know when I find them from past experience, I need to be able to yank them out from cover. Forget 2 lb line, or even 3. I love Twitch Master, but the 3 lb ain't enough for this lake. I do have some 4 lb to try next, but I know that K9 will hold in the meantime (prob around 6). I can't risk it the next month or two.

I like the K-9 braid I have

Just go with 2lb SOS line. Randy has stated it breaks at 3.5lbs and it's good stuff. I use it here on Lake Barkley and have caught 5lb catfish on it.

Thanks for you insight. I have some K9 on order.

I know the feeling . I’ve lost at least three nice ones using 2# P-line Floroclear, that I probably could have landed on 4# .
But I probably wouldn’t have hooked them to begin with with the 4# .
It just doesn’t cast the same .
I tried braid , but don’t like using a leader with two different materials .
The ones I lost , the line was cut by teeth that spotted bass have .
Sometimes you win , sometimes you lose.

Sounds like you are breaking out the heavy guns! Nice you have some monsters to hunt!
Bob

If you’re fishing heavy cover I’d go even heavier than 4# line if it was me. :twocents

Always hate losing a big fish...no matter the specie. I am setting up 2 rigs right now for use on the White River. Will still be using my UL reels and rods but am spooling up with the Varivas Double Cross Braid X.....9.6# test. And if that doesn't get it doe will go to the 11.4# test....LOL.


Regards

Randy, the next big sale at Varivas I might get a spool or 2 of that Infinity PE to try. I hate paying that much for line, plus I'm not sure about abrasion resistance.

I already had the K9 ; it comes on 550 yard spools pretty cheap, but I don't think it is a pure flourocarbon line (copolymer I think). I checked my line stash, and I have 3 spools of the 4 lb and 5 spools of the 3 lb Twitch Master.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jawjatek

Randy, the next big sale at Varivas I might get a spool or 2 of that Infinity PE to try. I hate paying that much for line, plus I'm not sure about abrasion resistance.

I already had the K9 ; it comes on 550 yard spools pretty cheap, but I don't think it is a pure flourocarbon line (copolymer I think). I checked my line stash, and I have 3 spools of the 4 lb and 5 spools of the 3 lb Twitch Master.

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Yeah the line is expensive. You can use the code TROUTMAGNETMAN and save 10 percent. I like the Infinity but it’s becoming hard for me to see it. My nephew had a great 3 days on the White River last week. He was into 18-23 inch trout big time. He caught all of them on the Infinity but when he got back home he decided he was under gunned…LOL. I just spooled up one of my Zenons with some 4# Twitch Master hoping it will be enough when fishing the small cranks and spoons. Never thought I would say this but I may have to get some Twitch Master in 5 or 6 pound.

Regards


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A 3-7lb largemouth in cover is going to be hard to tame with any light line. Your just gonna have a difficult time turning one in heavy cover. One the lakes I fish has a healthy population of hybrids. I use 6lb test when fishing for crappie in this lake because those hybrids are hard fighters and you have turn them quickly to have a chance in catching one.

True, but in deep water, I can usually get a big bass to the net, and have many times. My PB LMB was a double-digit monster I hooked while dock-shooting for crappie, with the same K9 line, on a Major Craft JDM rod. This wasn't in cover, he just popped the line with sudden acceleration. Time rate-of-change of acceleration (dA/dt) is "jerk", and jerk he did.

You have to pick your battles when fishing UL .
4# used to be my go to line .
While fishing my local reservoir from my Jon boat a couple years back , I lost two green fish in the moss .
Hard to haul them out of the moss once they get into it .
Now , I do most of my fishing with 2# but try to stay away from cover .

Having been the dumb guy in most crowds of local fishermen, I’ve been using lighter than normal line for a long time. Learned a long time back that I could throw a weightless plastic worm across the lily pads and when a bass hit it they were fantastic. However, I had to use 6lb mono to do that and got broken off more than I like to talk about. Luck is always involved when a good fish gets on one of our little rods. I haven’t used braid but a little bit when chasing green fish and had the leader fail most times. I had gotten broken off at a place I’d been throwing 1/32 jigs a couple of times with the 2lb Nanofil. Next time I brought the 4lb mono rod. What I caught the next trip was a 5lb 1oz Tilapia on a tiny chartreuse jig that must have looked like some of the moss they feed on. Had to hold the spool and fight him with the rod. Attachment 454657
Got a picture of the scale too. Hope you get them figured out, always gets my heart rate up.

Dang, I bet that thing fought like the dickens.

If you are dropping in heavy cover for spring fish , it would be a good idea to use some light braid or 8 lb mono .
Anything less and some unfortunate occurrence will take place on what might “have” the fish of a lifetime...just saying