Licensed To Reel

When should I be using braided lines, monofilament, or fluorocarbon lines? Does it matter?

Braided Lines: Best for bottom contact baits such as jigs, grubs, tubes, Texas rigged soft plastics, or fishing in super heavy cover. Braid excels in stained waters, heavy cover, and/or deep water for increased sensitivity and rock solid hooksets.

Fluorocarbon Lines: Best for clear water presentations. Fluoro excels when used for crankbaits, spinnerbaits, drop shotting and finesse presentations such as shaky head or jig fishing. Not recommended for topwater lures since the sinking properties will wreak havoc on your presentation.

Monofilament/Copolymer lines: Best when stretch is needed such as topwater fishing lures like walking baits, popping baits, buzzbaits, or chugging baits. Monofilament is also good for any horizontal presentation such as crankbaits or spinnerbaits in not-so clear waters. The floating properties of this type of line make it ideal for any open water topwater presentation or when less depth is desired on diving lures. This can be achieved by upping the line diameter causing resistance in the water.

Is there an easy way to fix the "bird's nest" that can occur when using a baitcaster?

Firstly, don't start putting significant pressure on the line trying to yank it free, as this will only make it tighter. The trick is to find the loop of line that has hooked over your lead line leaving your reel. Find that loop while the spool is free spinning and slowly work it out and away from your lead line. When you get it to the right spot, it should only take a bit of a steady pull to begin removing the rest of the tangle. Another trick is to keep pressure on the spool with your other thumb when trying to work out the remainder. This will stop the line from continually slipping under the mess.

Should I use braid, mono, or fluorocarbon line when pitching and flipping? What pound test?

When in heavy cover, using braided line at about 65 lb is recommended. When fishing in super clear water and flipping, it is better to use a 20 or 25 lb Fluorocarbon line. In general, however, braided line works best, and mono should hardly be considered.