its part of the game bud. the number of larger fish you'll land with the minute difference in line size is astornomical. switching from 4 to 6 is like switching from dental floss to rope. casting, fall rate, line drag. everything as a whole is affected. strength of line really doesnt mean much to me. if it were 20 pound and it fell the same as the 4 pound, id fish it. if you're gonna bust off on 4 you'll 100% bust off on 6.
Last edited by Matt_Magnone; 04-27-2011 at 10:08 PM.
I'm probably missing something here but....if 4# is so good why do NONE of the pros use it?
To say none of the pros use any one thing would likely be incorrect.
I think they would use anything that got them bit that day.
Seen as how they'll launch a boat full of cutom steez into the drink just to place!
I guess I'll clarify. I was being sarcastic when I said NONE, but why is it we never hear the pros talk about using 4#? I doubt it is the best known secret the pros have. I have never seen a bass fishing show or DVD that told me to use 4# test.Originally Posted by tacklejunkie
I used to lose lots of fish on 4lb also but lately after a few years of fine tuning my techniques I'm being able to yank and pull on the rod with 4lb line to keep the fish out of the weeds and away from going under my kayak and anchor wrapping me.
I'm gaining much more confidence in my line and knots and checking to make sure nothing will break the line or knots.
Only thing I find on 4lb is you either have to be careful to select light wire hooks or drive the hook home hard with thicker hooks.
3-4lb weed yak bass on 4lb fluoro
I can use an entire spool of 4lb line fishing bass in the weeds without breaking one off all day if everything is set up right. Numbers are usually great worming on 4lb. don't forget to retie often after fish or if you knick rocks and feel cuts.
Last edited by tacklejunkie; 04-29-2011 at 10:57 PM.
Use six on shore. Fish have more opportunity to bust you off on something.
I've had days I go down to 4lb line while not getting bit with 6lb on shore and sure enough I get bit. Sometimes it really is the ticket.
I think Matt D was standing right there. I took off some old six and went to new Vanish four and pegged a fish right away first cast.
If you have the skill to keep a good fish on the line, you can get away with 4lb on a good fish no problem.
Last edited by tacklejunkie; 04-29-2011 at 11:03 PM.
i get what you're saying. its funny. the whole idea of power fishing sells more tackle for tackle makers. everyone looks up to kvd, skeet reese and iaconnelli. these guys fish hard and cover water. we only encompass a small portion of the market here in southern california. we fish deep clear reservoirs while the east coast is generally shallow, murky cover filled creeks, rivers and lakes. we deal with rock ledges, points and structural changes with few soft cover areas when most of the water they tend to fish have minute structural changes with loads and loads of cover. pretty much a 180 to how we fish. dont get me wrong, there are a lot of similarities and there are dirty water lakes here and clear water lakes there. we deal with lots of pressure on our waters. they have little to no pressure back east. less pressure = up your line size and cover water. more pressure = drop your line size and make precise casts at slower speeds.
most pros rely on light line whether they show it on tv or not. ive had the privilege to talk to some of them either getting ready to shoot tv shows on dvl or just selling them tackle over the phone. its amazing how they will always have a light rod in the boat. i always thought they were all 15 to 20 pound test gun-slingers, but its amazing how finesse they actually get when trying to pick their brain.
fish will always eat the heavy line. lighter line just gets you bit better in most all circumstances. there's a time when you have to ask yourself. would you rather grind it out all day for a few good bites going the safe route with heavier line or would you rather take your chances and get several of the same bites in the same amount of time? i prefer to have more chances at the same size fish and just know i have to baby them.
all i can say is, if you give it the benefit of the doubt provided you have the right tackle; you'll be pleasantly surprised.
4 gets bit when 6 won't, pretty simple. I don't fish it alot, but when I feel like the fish aren't eating the 6 flouro as strong as they have been, I'll break out the 4 or change my leader out to 4 on my light d-shot rod. A 1/16-1/8oz darter setup on 4lb is a dead bite tactic for me, gets bit when the standard baits fail. As said, in most our lakes you can fish 4 without real issue. I won't even think about 4 here in some of the lakes up north or on the Delta, but in SoCal there aren't many lakes with tons of cover for those fish to really bury in.
Okay, I have to ask....A friend of mine mentioned throwing "light" braid with a flouro leader (using either a very small swivel or the uni to uni knot as a connector). I purchased some 4 lb braid and began throwing it with the above mentioned leader, both with the swivel and uni to uni knot. I LOVE the strength and sensitivity of the braid, but Matt's statements about the fish "feeling heavier lines as they fall through the water" has me thinking. Braid floats, and since it's being "pulled" through the water column by either your drop shot weight, Senko, darter head, or whatever light line tactic you choose, I assume the braid pushes more water than it's flouro and mono counterparts since the flouro and mono lines are smoother. Are you (we) sacrificing bites by using "light" braid with a leader instead of straight flouro??
Could be. When I feel the bite is really tough I don't use a leader so much as a topshot of 30'. I use a Tony Pena knot and have no issues getting a good cast out with a real long leader to start with. Remember 4lb braid has the same diameter as 1lb mono, so you can't really make a comparison is densities between 4lb braid and 4lb mono. It may float, but its a quarter the size of the equivalent mono, so you may actually find it to have less "drag" on your bait overall. I use 10-15lb braid, and have no issues, but thats JMO.
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