Selecting the best fishing line can be vital in landing more bass. It can sometimes be confusing with all the options out there, deciding on what fishing line to use.
So, how do you select a fishing line for your reel?
The main thing to consider is the techniques you will be using with that particular reel. This is why you see so many “pro” anglers and weekend bass anglers with so many different rods. Each one has been tuned to a specific technique and fishing line is a part of that tuning.
Each line has its own characteristics that may make it good or bad for how you want to fish your lures.
For example, monofilament is not the strongest line in terms of its pound test vs diameter. This may make some people think monofilament is a sub-par line compared to fluorocarbon or braid. But the advantage of monofilament is that it’s the only one of these lines that floats. This makes it an ideal choice for your topwater lures or suspending baits, in order to get the best performance from them.
On the other hand the sinking properties of fluorocarbon can help maximize the performance of your deep diving cranks. This characteristic will also speed the fall of your soft plastics to help get you that reaction bite. Another plus is that you can use less weight to get that lure down, so it will look a little more natural.
If you know that you will be throwing into some rough areas, or trying to punch a hole in some grass mats, then you want to have that braided line loaded up and ready to go because this is the line that can take the abuse those elements are going to dish out, to help you come away with your prize catch.
These are some great things to know when selecting a line for bass fishing, but make sure you understand the drawbacks to each of the lines also.
For example, as stated before, mono is the “weakest” line per diameter and you need to be aware of this when you do use it. Understand that you need to be careful and you may need to take a little more time and be a little easier when you get the bite and are bringing in that big bass.
Fluorocarbon’s properties can be a disadvantage in that it is a much stiffer line and can be difficult to use on some reels, especially spinning reels, where it may have a tendency to twist and make your fishing day very frustrating.
Braid is highly visible and also very expensive, even though it can withstand almost anything.
As you can see there are many things to take into consideration when deciding on a fishing line. Learn the characteristics of each and how they work with the way you plan on fishing that day. It’s these minor details that make the difference in being more successful at landing more largemouth bass.