Sos Roofline Systems

Posts Tagged ‘saltwater inshore fishing’

Some hate it and others love it but spooling reels with braided line is an emerging trend filtering into the hub of the saltwater fishing scene.

Braided line is hardy and boasts more strength packed within a smaller diameter contrary to its stretchy cohort, monofilament. Braided lines especially uphold a presence in bay systems rich with submerged rock and shell obstructions-areas where monofilament often reels in short.

Greg Baby spends a lot of time fishing the Matagorda Bay system and switched to braided line for saltwater fishing several years ago. “I originally started using braided line when fishing for freshwater bass,” states Bagby. “Braided line is hard to beat when you have to horse those bass through thick weeds.” “It’s a lot easier to work a topwater; this is the main reason fro using it, especially in high winds and on the ends of casts.”

Greg Bagby, along with a number of other anglers, has taken a liking to the 8 diameter-30 pound test. “I rig my line with no leader, usually using a small connector or clip which works really well for changing out lures quickly”. Using loop knots are another good choice for connection.

First-time users will quickly learn how easily they can lose a fish when the drag is set incorrectly. “Remember to loosen the drag lighter that you would with monofilament,” says Bagby. He states that the lips of speckled trout are soft and a no stretch line with a tight drag will likely result in lost fish.

Bagby also says that the line offers great strength and durability, but he has found that the line will bury and knot on the spool occasionally. While the backlashes happen less often, the ones that do happen are significant. “Even so, the pros of braided line far outweighs the cons”, says Bagby.

Captain Bubba Simons, an offshore and middle coast bay guide says, “I don’t have to change the line nearly as often while saltwater fishing, the sensitivity is better, and the line slack has drastically decreased since I gave up the monofilament and started spooling braid. He also says he is starting to favor braided line while fishing for redfish and trout. “I’ll soon be spooling braid on my offshore reels as well.”

If you’ve already checked the fishing reports and are ready to go, remember that braid works very well when using live bait and spinning reels. While it’s critical to keep the slack from the line, Simons says that braided line will be less likely to create slack.

When rigging a 10 diameter-40 pound test braid, he chooses a fluorocarbon leader at the end of the line. “I have seen the fluorocarbon bring a lot more strikes,” states Simons. “One time last summer when the surf got real clear, I was fishing beside an angler that was using the same lure as me, but he didn’t have a fluorocarbon leader. The fish were definitely biting my lure a lot more often than his.