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Braid For Fishfinder Rig

437 Views 3 Replies 4 Participants Last post by  CoolDude, 
B
What is everyone's thoughts on using straight braid on a fishfinder rig? Quick preface, but I'll be taking 2 7' Penn Pursuit IV's combos (4000 reel size) for double drop bottom rigs fishing the wash and for quickly tying on a paddletail or spoon if I find fish busting. Straight 15#(ish) mono on these 2 setups. My fishfinder rig will be an Abu 5500 on a 7' M/H ugly stik catfish rod. The Abu has a levelwind so I'd really like to avoid having any sort of knot on the spool that could mess up my cast by getting hit on the levelwind. So I thought why not straight braid? Will be easier and will be able to hold much more line as well. I'm not trying to cast to the end of the world or anything, but do plan to put some cut bait on this setup and chuck it out towards the second bar for a chance at a red or something. This will be pretty casual fishing with my 6 year old during our yearly vacation next month to Nags Head, NC. He can proficiently fish with a 6'6" bass rod and spinning reel chasing smallmouth with me on our local river. Will probably mostly just soak fish bites and sand fleas in the wash for him, but figured I might as well have a little heavier setup for some cut bait as well. What do you guys think about straight braid on my 5500 for this situation? Should I use a mono leader for the fishfinder rig, or braid there as well?
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E
Can’t use straight braid on a fishfinder rig, unless it’s actually a fishfinder rig design for braid!
I’ll use anywhere from 40 to 80 pound braid as my main line depending on the amount of lead I’m throwing!
However, I never, ever fish bait without a shock leader, rated 10 pounds to every ounce, 5oz-50 pd. Shock leader!
Sometimes the shock leader is mono other times, I use heavy braid as my shocker, but never less than 65 pound braid as my shocker ever!
Even while plugging with light braid(30pd) sometimes I’ll still throw 10 feet of a little heavier braid upfront, usually 50 pd!
That way my braid doesn’t wear through from repeated casting with heavy lures!
If you’re worried about the knot getting caught up in the LW, spool up with light braid and then go with a braid shock leader!
If you’re only using three or 4 ounce weights, I could see you possibly getting away with 20 to 30 pound braid is your main line and 50 to 60 pound braid as your shocker or casting leader!
I haven’t had any problems doing this, even though most of my conv. reels don’t have a level wind anyway!
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WATERWALKER0311
I throw 17-20 lb mono w/ a 65 lb mono shock leader. I generally throw five oz sputniks w/ double pulley rigs & bait. Going a bit heavy on the shock leader never hurt anyone.

Besides, it beats losing rigs & leads in the surf. I despise unforced errors not only because they’re preventable, but they’re your fault as well.

For my own rigs, I use 100 lb mono mainline & 80 lb mono on the secondaries.
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C
Braid is a little "flimsy" to use as a fish finder rig. The hooks will always find there way to rig, tangle and knot up. You can always use mainline braid from your spool, to a snap swivel and a fish finder rig made out of mono or flouro w/dropper loops.
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