When to use Different Kinds of Fishing Line

Anglers who fish professionally cannot afford to miss fish they have the potential to catch because of things like inaccurate pitches or failure to feel strikes or get good hook penetration. A single fish caught or missed can be the difference in making a cut or even winning a tournament, which can translate into tens of thousands of dollars. For that reason, pros give careful thought to their "tools," which includes the type of line that is spooled on each of their reels and the proper applications for each line type.

Most of us don't fish for thousands of dollars, but we still don't want to miss fish. We go fishing because we want to catch fish, so it's worth our while to consider those things that could help us add efficiency and therefore hook and land more fish.

Vicious-Fishing pro Marty Stone ranks among the best pros I've ever worked with at explaining why he does what he does in a way that's practical and easy to understand. In the video below, Marty details applications for using fluorocarbon, monofilament and braid.

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What's Your Line?

As I spent time in the boat with pros from Vicious Fishing earlier this week, we talked a fair amount about line preferences, and I was reminded how critical it is to fish lures on the best line for the task at hand. Although pros' opinions differ about the best line to use for specific lures and techniques, their choices are always well thought through and are made based on a line's characteristics and what they want the lure to do in the water. Stretch, visibility, toughness and buoyancy are just a few of the considerations.

Maybe the most noteworthy thing to me was a realization that some of the most touted characteristics of line aren't the best characteristics for every situation. For example, everyone always talks about the extreme low-stretch quality of fluorocarbon, which is perfect for many application. However, Kevin Short prefers Vicious Ultimate, which is a copolymer monofilament, over fluoro for many cranking applications BECAUSE the mono stretches a bit. With fluorocarbon, Short feels like he actually feels too much and he has more of a tendency to pull crankbait away from bass. The slight stretch in mono gives the fish a moment longer to take the bait, and Short gets better hook-up rates. Jimmy Mason likewise favors Vicious Ultimate for much of his shallow cranking because it's more buoyant than fluoro and then helps him stay out of snags.

The pros and cons of various line types for different applications could be subject of an entire book. The key is to keep in mind that mono, fluoro and braid are all different in character and to carefully consider the best tool for any given task.

Back to 'Bama

In just a couple of hours I'll be hopping in my truck and heading back toward Alabama to spend a couple of days fishing and doing photo and story work with bass pros from Vicious Fishing and Phoenix Bass Boats. I always enjoy the fishing, the fine meals and the time spent with other writers and fishing pros on these trips. Even more so, though, I appreciate the great opportunities to learn tips and techniques that I can share in magazine stories and on websites and to shoot photos to help tell those stories.

Last week's trip Alabama's Shoals Region yielded a load of great story material and hotos, plus a few fresh video clips. Nathaniel just posted the first video from the trip, which features Tim Horton talking about  fishing YUMBrella rigs on the Tennessee River.

I'm not sure how much phone or computer access I'll have this week. If it's possible, though, I'll share some of what I learn soon after I learn it. So check back!