PowerPro Braided line for Catfishing…..?
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This past season I made the switch from mono line to braided lines. I used Spiderwire camo braid in a 50lb line. From that point on I was hooked on braided line for cat-fishing. I quickly made the step up to using 50lb PowerPro moss green line. This year I purchased two new Ugly Stik Catfish spinning combos from Bass Pro Shops and I am looking for suggestions for line to put on them. I am leaning toward putting 65lb PowerPro on them, but I have been reading a lot about using red line instead of green because it disappears better under the water. I am a little wary about making the switch from green to red, but don’t want to miss out on catching more fish. Hopefully someone who is a die hard cat-fisherman sees this and can give me their input. I am also wondering whether or not going up from 50lb to 65lb is going to make it that much harder to cast. Thanks.
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Power pro has a very small diameter for the test that it represents. I don’t think that casting 65 lb as opposed to 50 lb is going to be that much more difficult, I just think that it is a little overkill. Even with a 50 pound line, you are going to be hard pressed to get a cat on there that will even come close to breaking that so 65 is no fun. I am the type of fisherman that wants to fight a 200 pound sturgeon on 10 pound line… (yes that is a bit of an exaggeration) but that is just me. The only time I overkill on line is if I am trolling to ensure that my gear comes back to the surface.
If you want to go that route, it’s up to you and I would have nothing negative to say about you, just my way would be different.
As far as color goes, your red line disappears completely under water so if you have line shy fish like bass, you want to go red. For cats, your line will be at the bottom which is covered in moss and therefore green. Your green line will blend in with the bottom (though cats are not line shy most of the time). Clear is more visible under water than red though, so for your future endeavors, if you are fishing a line shy fish, go with red (cajun line in my favorite).
Good luck fishing.
It sould not make to big of a difference on casting, I am a bass fisherman, and i dont belive in line color spoking with fish, I have used yellow, clear,blue,green,light green. All works the same for me….but REMEMBER ALWAYS use a leader with braid, i would use some type of flurocarbon, prob 30 to 35lb
Good fishing OMB
that would be perfect because catfish live in cover that could break you off. just remember to just a floro leader for shock (don’t pull the hook out) and to make the braid dissapear
The diameter difference between 50 and 65 lb lbs is negligible so you should notice muck difference. That being said braided line casts pretty poorly all the way around.
I catch more trophy catfish in a year than most people will in a lifetime and I use 20 lb monofilament line. Whats the reason for using the heavy line?
Braided line is much more expensive than mono and it tears up rods and reels.
Check my website at http://www.txcatfishguide.com and email me if you have questions.
Braided line has up sides and down sides from my experience. The thing i dont like about braided line is because it lacks memory, when i get snagged instead of the line breaking near the knot like with mono it can break anywhere.This mean you might lose 100 yards of line etc. I had this problem a lot with berkley fireline. also if you get a rats nest you end up losing more line than you save in most cases. I do like the powerpro line better than fireline. The spiderwire is good too.
I use both braided and mono.My favorite type of braided for catfish is called tuff line. I think its the best. It dont eat rod eyes up so bad and i think it has more strength than the other. A lot of guys that fish the mississipi for hope of landing a record blue cat use tuff line. The color of the line wont make that much difference in murky water and fishing at night.
I watched a fishing show a couple years back on “red” colored line. They did some testing with scuba divers in various depths to see when (or if) it actually disappeared. (I also read a corroborating article on this subject in Florida Sportsman Magazine.)
The results???
To the human eye the red line BEGAN to disappear in 20-22FT of water. Above that it was MORE visible than blue, clear or green. Ironically, ALL line starts to disappear in depths around 20 ft……
They hypothesized that the red color may attract fish because it replicates blood in the water.
In my opinion, line color is a “confidence issue”. What works for one angler may not work for another.
The only scientifically proven line that is invisible at any depth is Fluorocarbon.
If I were you, and wanted an invisible line, I would use a 25LB Fluro leader.
I have to agree with Devyn. 50LB Braid is PLENTY heavy for most US freshwater catfish applications. I’ve watched the TV show “The Hunt for Big Fish” where they were catching world record Mekong Catfish and the Host was using 25LB braid, (equaling 100LB Mono).
We don’t have cats in the US that will rival the Mekong’s……
Here’s a Youtube of a guy catching a “baby” Mekong-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jcaRq8BZFE
Like others have suggested, you SHOULD use a leader when fishing deeper water for big cats. Otherwise, you will eventually get snagged and lose uncounted yards of expensive Braid…….
Hope this extra info helps ya? Thumbs up to D.