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Posts: 4
| Here goes  I am spooled with 50# Powerpro. I used the logic that 50# mono used to be considered acceptable for Musky. If 50# was, 50# should still be.
But... I was recently told 85# braid or 100# braid is proper because 50# is just too light (it was always ok as mono though). The same person told me never to use fluorocarbon leaders also (doesn't seem like that's a rule I'll go by as an absolute "never do this" type of thing)
What I'm not getting is "why" use 85# or 100#. I hate the stiffness and crappy Polomar knot tying that I am still pretty OK up to 50#.
I'm also a bassin' type of guy, and didn't feed into certain pros hawking 50# braid for largemouth either when 20# mono always worked fine... We even used 10-12# Trilene XT as a kid in local stump filled ponds and kept more fish than lost because of line breakage.
Sooo… Why do I want to use line > 50#? "Just because it's there" isn't an answer. It's stiffer, harder to knot tie and keep a tight knot (for me at least). With 10# or 100#, I'm still checking for any areas that don't look normal and stripping it off. (sorta eliminates "it's thicker and won't cut off as often" then). I'm going to be using the right leaders (length & material), so rock abrasion should be OK with either line then, no?
I won't use mono because it has something like a 50% stretch. I've set hooks on monster casts and stepped back 3 steps to hit the end of the stretch to drive a hook home.
My reel only has a 20# drag (which doesn't seem to be on the low end of drags it seems)
Oh yeah, and I'm a newbie with picking up musky fishing this year so I figured I'd throw it out here and see what you ya'll think | |
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Posts: 8782
| 65# is fine for smaller lures, but for the "normal" stuff, 80# - 100# is best. Tried the 130#, and found it to be a bit too heavy. Lost a LOT of casting distance.
I used 50# for a season. Then I decided I liked my lures and wanted to keep them attached. It never cost me any fish, but I decided if it snaps off on a cast that easily, it was only a matter of time before I'd be watching a fish swim off with its mouth pinned shut and a $30 lure gone in the process.
As for rock abrasion, you'll get that with any line. Best to cut a few feet off now and then no matter what line you're using. What brand? That's a matter of preference. I never liked powerpro because it's noisy, it soaks up a lot of water even when relatively new, and whatever dye they use winds up all over your hands (and eventually everything else) Line doesn't need to be dark green anyway. Even at 80# it seems to be far more prone to breakoffs and backlashes than other brands. | |
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Posts: 2327
Location: Chisholm, MN | The reason is because the line cannot stand the strain of casting big lures all day. It will wear out easily and break on hooksets but the most common thing is that it will break on a cast with even the slightest backlash. There goes your $30 lure. 80 pound is good, 65 can be acceptable and 100 is great for the really big baits.
Maybe breaking off a fish once in a while is ok for bass fishing, but it's not acceptable for muskies. Each fish is very valuable and you will probably kill it. | |
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Posts: 256
| very heavy braid helps with a lot of things:
The lures are often heavy and expensive, since braid does not stretch like mono, you want to buff it up in order to avoid breaking in a fouled cast.
Pike (im a pike guy from europe but use mainly musky gear) and muskie have a lot of teeth. When fishing with big plastic lures, these teeth will sink and grip into the plastic, this means that you need alot of power to set the hook in and heavy braid helps you do that without worrying about breaking.
Pike and musky are sprinters, not joggers. They tire fast and have a hard time surviving long fights compared to other fish. Thus having overkill braid allows you to quickly get the fish in and releasing it without exhausting it.
As for the leader, im guessing the guy who told you that fluro is a no go thinks like me. Fluro is abrasion resistant, not bite proof and there will always be a risk that a fish will be able to bite through it, although that rarely happens when using thick diameter fluro. If you dont feel like taking the "risk", steel or titanium leaders are a safer alternative in terms of bite protection.
Hope this helps | |
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| 40 pound would be more than enough to bring any musky without killing them due to a fight that last too long.like some thold you it is more about backlash with hvy lure. don't change it each year like you would do whit mono. these lines last couple of years without any trouble. if it'S visualy nice then your good to go.always a good idea to add big mono like trilene xl as backing then it will not slip and will cost you less expensive braid. if you don'T troll 150 to 175 f of braid is enough | |
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Line details?