Braid to fluorocarbon for jigs?

[Les Young]

I have some 65lb. Diawa j braid in fluorescent yellow & some 17 lb. stren clear blue fluorescent fluorocarbon. How would this work? Thanks

[DrewFlu33]

You don't say how you're planning to fish the jig, so I think that matters a little bit. My flipping and pitching rod I use for big weights (1/2-1+ oz "punch" rigs and jigs) I do braid to a leader. I use high vis 50 lb, I think it's Smackdown, to a 25 lb Sniper leader. Works great, and it's been really eye opening just how much being able to line watch that high-vis line has improved my catch rate since I can often set the hook into a fish without ever feeling it. The thing you have to watch is not to have the knot near the tip top of the rod when setting up for a pitch, else it will catch. Two possible solutions for that: either make the leader short enough to stay out of the tip, or make it longer so that it has enough momentum when it gets to the tip not to catch. I choose the latter, and tie my leader knots so that the knot is between the reel and first guide when setting up for a pitch. This allows several reties before it becomes a concern, at which point I'll just change out the leader.

If you're casting, it's easier as you don't really need to worry about the knot catching, and realistically a 17 lb leader should catch less than 25, though I'm not sure how diameters of 17 lb Stren compare to 25 lb Sniper. I will say that if this is a jig you're dragging through rocks or something, you probably want to avoid the braid to leader. I used to try this on C-rigs and football jigs and the like and found that I got hung up a lot more than with straight fluoro. I can't quite figure it out, but somehow that lack of stretch made the weight or jig more prone to wedging in the rocks.

One lesson I learned the hard way is to back off the drag a bit from being completely locked down. If your drag doesn't slip a bit when you set the hook, you're gonna bust some fish off. The lack of stretch in the braid is murder on your line to lure knot if there's no give from the drag. Two clicks back from locked down for me is perfect.

[cdc2010]

Works great. I like a double uni knot with ends clipped real tight.

Like he says, turn the drag down a notch or two to help things.

[Les Young]

I tried it lastnight, but my buddy got way more bites then me. I noticed the jig fell a lot different with the braid to flouro leader & wondering if that's was the difference since we both were throwing the same identical jig & trailer? The feeling was alright, but i personally wasn't convinced that it was much if anymore sensitive then the 20lb. pline cxx xtra strong. I was hopping it 90% of the time, but when dragging it did seem a little more sensitive. I'm going to give it a fair chance & if convinced i"ll stick with it. Any suggestions of things to try? Thanks

[SPOONMINNOW]

Jig weight used? Depth fished?
Regardless, I use the smallest diameter line I can get away with for best lure action regardless the lure and to not distract attention away from it. F/c leaders sometimes help with lure action but generally I don't need them for jigs in particular. Lighter lures - sure. Spinnerbaits - braid only.

[Alumicraft145]

65# is a bit of overkill. Try it without the leader. Tie it straight to jig and color the first few feet with a sharpy.

[Fishysam]

On swim jigs I am using 40 j braid to 20 sniper fluorocarbon I like this combo. ?

[hekistner]

Learn to tie the FG knot, it is one of the strongest knots when tying leader to braid and the smallest for very smooth movement through your guides even the micro guides. There is one method of tying the FG knot by not having a tight line to tie it and that's the method I use. Works for me I've been using braid for several years now and have tried several knots for leader to braid and they all work to a certain degree but I am tying the FG knot elusive now and really like it. When using braid be sure to reduce your drag settings on your reels to prevent tearing the hook out of the fish..

[Les Young]

Thanks guys. I tied a double uni, but now I have an r p knot tied instead. We’re talking Flippin sticks here too which is why I went with the 65 lb. test. I’ll try lighter braid though. Thanks.

[Les Young]

65# is a bit of overkill. Try it without the leader. Tie it straight to jig and color the first few feet with a sharpy.

Thanks i’ll give it a try.

[Stickworm420]

If your just dragging a jig id go with 30 pound braid and go to a fluro leader 65 is too thick and mono floats so you will always have a bow in your line especially if your stroking it you will be more connected to your bait with fluro leader if that makes sense

[Les Young]

I’m using a floor leader. Thanks

[ifishinxs]

30lb braid to 10 to 15lb floro works fantastic.

[cbburke74]

Learn to tie the FG knot, it is one of the strongest knots when tying leader to braid and the smallest for very smooth movement through your guides even the micro guides.

That would be my first choice but I need to have a device to hold for me :)

However, I have been using Shin Fukae's knot lately with suffix 832 ghost braid with 10 feet leader (12 lbs hybrid).
It goes through the guides way better than uni/uni on my NRX 803C & 873CCR. So far, I haven't had a break yet ...

...

[Les Young]

I’ve been using the r p knot & it works good. Thanks

[MattVT18]

I've tried so many times to like braid to fluoro but just can't. I've learned about a dozen different knots and tried all different combos of lines. While the FG is skinny, it ends up being long, and that will cause it's own issues. One thing I will say is that the heavier braid is often not necessary. I bought into the 65 lb. braid stuff a while back. For me, I don't like how it handles. It's still on one of my punching setups just because it was new last year and I hate to just strip it off and throw it away. If throwing braid, I have scaled back to 30 or 40 lb on everything. If I use a leader I follow the advice of DrewFlu33 on the length. I've pulled bass with huge wads of grass on them out on frogs and punch rigs with 40 lb braid. I use 30 lb. for swim jigs and topwater. I use straight Berkley Big Game mono for bottom contact and flipping/pitching around wood or jagged rock or 30 lb. braid with leader on occasion. Watch some of Seth Feider's vids about line and combo selection...he has really scaled back his rod size/power and line size and still does great.

[DaveBrabec]

Tried the leader thing and just dont like it . 17 lb floro for me

[RFSims]

Tried the leader thing and just dont like it . 17 lb floro for me

I no longer fish bottom contact baitcasting presentations on braid. Yes, braid has more sensitivity on a TIGHT line, however most bites are on the fall and slack line. Fluro will transmit slack line bites, braid will not.

[Les Young]

[Dawnpatrol]

That would be my first choice but I need to have a device to hold for me :)

However, I have been using Shin Fukae's knot lately with suffix 832 ghost braid with 10 feet leader (12 lbs hybrid).
It goes through the guides way better than uni/uni on my NRX 803C & 873CCR. So far, I haven't had a break yet ...

...

This knot is almost like a Albright knot. That's the knot I use when tying braid to floro.