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.
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