Cant mix and match soft baits? 20lb flouro sucks!

[Cameramonkey]

Learned something new today.

Im just starting to dabble in artificial lures besides spoons and flashers and spinners. So Ive been watching the youtubes and getting tips. I now own about a dozen bags of various soft baits. Cool. Time to fish. Or maybe not.

So I decided to keep a telescoping rod and a single 3600 box in my trunk so I could be able to take a quick 20 and fish at the drop of a hat. I tossed in a handful of what I would need for a single trip. Some hooks, a couple of each baits, etc. nail clippers, pliers, etc.

So I tossed all the various baits in the same section. MISTAKE. My Yamamato and Bass pro lures were more or less OK. My YUMs and Zmans were TOAST. They were in the trunk for about 2 weeks.

First hint is there was an oily substance that from the outside looked like vaseline all over the lid where the baits came in contact with it. OK, some leaching, no biggie. NOPE. I had pretty much a solid mass of plastic. The Zmans were the worst, and were sticky and nasty. Where they touched the Bass pro stuff made the BPs hard and crusty. I had some Ned rigged baits of unknown origin that I was able to pull the hook out of like it was made of Knox Blox.

So time to get a second bag of whatever I want to fish and carry each in its own factory zip. Lesson learned.

Oh, and I HATE 20lb Flourocarbon with a PASSION. Tried spooling it 3 different ways and it refuses to play nice. It line dumps easily, and is constantly getting tangled/twisted. I had to cut tonight's fishing short because it ended up as a rats nest halfway up my rod and I ended up just saying "screw it" and cut it out and went home. Nothing was biting anyway, so no big loss.

Just put some 10lb 'carbon on the spinning rod and after a few casts, its smooth as butter.

 

[Expat]

I’ve had that mess with the soft baits. It is amazing how they melt right into some stuff.

 

[snapping turtle]

Last two weeks was the hottest of the season. Heat and plastic baits don‘t mix. I normally carry a few hair jigs a plastic frog, a couple rapalas, a couple spinners and some plastic worms. The worms come inside in summer.

At 9 or 10 we had a Chrysler 300 as a semi daily driver. After a fishing evening summer trip someone (me) forgot to retrieve 2-3 dozen nice fat nightcrawlers in the backseat of the car. Let’s just say it was worse then some melted plastic.

 

[eldirector]

I usually keep my fly rod in the Jeep, along with a small tackle bag. A few flies, clippers, pliers, spare leader, and a towel.

For years I had a short spinning rod behind the seat of my old pickup. Only needed two lures: Mepps #4 spinner and a chateaux rappella. Caught tons of bluegill and smallmouth after work or on a weekend.

 

[jsharmon7]

What are you fishing for with 20lb test?

 

[eldirector]

What are you fishing for with 20lb test?

Try to recover something from the infamous boating accident, I suspect.

 

[Cameramonkey]

What are you fishing for with 20lb test?

Something big. And lots of bottom rigs, so supposedly its more durable since Flouro sinks, gets dragged across logs and rocks, etc.

I dont care, its not worth it, 10 is MUCH easier to handle. That spool of 20 went into the back of the drawer for tying leaders after only 3 brief fishing trips. I'm never spooling that crap up again.

(and I dont want to tie flouro leaders on much more forgiving 20lb braid)

 

[Cameramonkey]

Last two weeks was the hottest of the season. Heat and plastic baits don‘t mix. I normally carry a few hair jigs a plastic frog, a couple rapalas, a couple spinners and some plastic worms. The worms come inside in summer.

At 9 or 10 we had a Chrysler 300 as a semi daily driver. After a fishing evening summer trip someone (me) forgot to retrieve 2-3 dozen nice fat nightcrawlers in the backseat of the car. Let’s just say it was worse then some melted plastic.

It wasnt heat. If it was EVERYTHING would be a mess. it was a mix of some things got harder, some things got softer, and ONLY where they touched. I had one zman riggged lure I found by its lonesome in another compartment. It was fine, but its un-rigged buddies in with the rest were toast.

It was some kind of chemical reaction, because Ive seen heat melted plastics (and gummy bears that turned into a gummy brick ) If it were heat it would be all or nothing, not just where some touched others.

 

[Cameramonkey]

I usually keep my fly rod in the Jeep, along with a small tackle bag. A few flies, clippers, pliers, spare leader, and a towel.

For years I had a short spinning rod behind the seat of my old pickup. Only needed two lures: Mepps #4 spinner and a chateaux rappella. Caught tons of bluegill and smallmouth after work or on a weekend.

Speaking of fly fishing, I need to get back into that. Meijer has an interesting starter kit for only $50. Its a rod, reel, and small tackle box (half the size of a 3600) that has a half dozen flies, and a couple leaders on it.

There are two rods in Dad's barn, but he was a hoarder, and I swear we are more likely to find DB Cooper's body than anything in that barn.

 

[tmschuller]

Something big. And lots of bottom rigs, so supposedly its more durable since Flouro sinks, gets dragged across logs and rocks, etc.

I dont care, its not worth it, 10 is MUCH easier to handle. That spool of 20 went into the back of the drawer for tying leaders after only 3 brief fishing trips. I'm never spooling that crap up again.

(and I dont want to tie flouro leaders on much more forgiving 20lb braid)

Check bama beach bum on YouTube. He and several others have some great knots for flouro to braid. I only use flouro carbon for leaders. 20# braid is good for most fishing up here. Especially on a telescopic rod. Good luck. Tim

 

[Hatin Since 87]

I swear we are more likely to find DB Cooper's body than anything in that barn.

Thatd pay for a lot of bait.

 

[AtTheMurph]

Learned something new today.

Im just starting to dabble in artificial lures besides spoons and flashers and spinners. So Ive been watching the youtubes and getting tips. I now own about a dozen bags of various soft baits. Cool. Time to fish. Or maybe not.

So I decided to keep a telescoping rod and a single 3600 box in my trunk so I could be able to take a quick 20 and fish at the drop of a hat. I tossed in a handful of what I would need for a single trip. Some hooks, a couple of each baits, etc. nail clippers, pliers, etc.

So I tossed all the various baits in the same section. MISTAKE. My Yamamato and Bass pro lures were more or less OK. My YUMs and Zmans were TOAST. They were in the trunk for about 2 weeks.

First hint is there was an oily substance that from the outside looked like vaseline all over the lid where the baits came in contact with it. OK, some leaching, no biggie. NOPE. I had pretty much a solid mass of plastic. The Zmans were the worst, and were sticky and nasty. Where they touched the Bass pro stuff made the BPs hard and crusty. I had some Ned rigged baits of unknown origin that I was able to pull the hook out of like it was made of Knox Blox.

So time to get a second bag of whatever I want to fish and carry each in its own factory zip. Lesson learned.

Oh, and I HATE 20lb Flourocarbon with a PASSION. Tried spooling it 3 different ways and it refuses to play nice. It line dumps easily, and is constantly getting tangled/twisted. I had to cut tonight's fishing short because it ended up as a rats nest halfway up my rod and I ended up just saying "screw it" and cut it out and went home. Nothing was biting anyway, so no big loss.

Just put some 10lb 'carbon on the spinning rod and after a few casts, its smooth as butter.

What are you fishing for that you need 20lb fluorocarbon?

I don't even use that in the Gulf!

 

[Cameramonkey]

What are you fishing for that you need 20lb fluorocarbon?

I don't even use that in the Gulf!

I'm not telling you. I only answer questions from people that read the whole thread.

 

[AtTheMurph]

I'm not telling you. I only answer questions from people that read the whole thread.

But you never answered the question. Just said something "big". Now something big to me and something big to you could very well be 400 lbs apart.

 

[Cameramonkey]

But you never answered the question. Just said something "big". Now something big to me and something big to you could very well be 400 lbs apart.

Its more about abrasion resistance and bottom dragging. But its not worth it.

 

[snapping turtle]

I use 20 lb flororocaebon on my cane pole.
it gets place into the tree limbs and such all the time.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

But you never answered the question. Just said something "big". Now something big to me and something big to you could very well be 400 lbs apart.

Its more about abrasion resistance and bottom dragging. But its not worth it.

I don't think I use anything heavier than 10 lb. test monofilament. And that's primarily for bottom fishing for catfish. If your drag is set properly, you can definitely punch above your weight class with that. I like to use the lightest line possible for any given situation, just because it handles more easily.

On my ultralight rods, I usually go with 6 lb. test, and for general purpose/bass/larger pan fish 8lb. test.

Now if fishing for pike up north, I would put on a steel leader for the abrasion protection from their teeth.

 

[Cameramonkey]

Yeah, Like I said, I'm graduating from primarily live worms and a hook to chasing the bigger fish like largemouth that largely ignore a static worm sitting on a hook. And multiple bass anglers were either runnning 15-20 FC or 20 braid with a leader tied on. FC over mono because mono has a LOT of stretch and you're less likely to set a hook due to the stretch of mono. (and if you are rigged weedless its gotta also punch through the lure too)

So Ive backed down to 10 FC and we'll see. I may lose more lures, but I'm sure I'll have more fun doing that than I was fighting the 20.

So now my travel pack is just a little bigger. with one of these as well.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

Yeah, Like I said, I'm graduating from primarily live worms and a hook to chasing the bigger fish like largemouth that largely ignore a static worm sitting on a hook. And multiple bass anglers were either runnning 15-20 FC or 20 braid with a leader tied on. FC over mono because mono has a LOT of stretch and you're less likely to set a hook due to the stretch of mono. (and if you are rigged weedless its gotta also punch through the lure too)

So Ive backed down to 10 FC and we'll see. I may lose more lures, but I'm sure I'll have more fun doing that than I was fighting the 20.

So now my travel pack is just a little bigger. with one of these as well.

I grew up fishing with Dad back in the days when we mainly used "purple worms" (just rubber worms, but they always seemed to be purple) for bass. Back then, the general rule was, if you got in more than 3 casts in a morning, you were fishing it too fast. The "technology" has changed since then though.

One of my best friends (nextdoor neighbor when I was growing up) is now a professional fisherman. I'd like to go out with him sometime and have him show me the latest tricks of the trade.

Bill McDonald Fishing

Bill McDonald is a successful Professional bass fisherman and fishing guide.

www.billmcdonaldfishing.com

 

[DoggyDaddy]

Here's one of his videos about fishing line...