Going "Micro-Light"

I'm not a huge fan of braid. In fact, about the only thing I've ever used it for is frog fishing in heavy vegetation, or sometimes tossing spinnerbaits or buzzbaits around heavy emergent weeds. But this year I've been playing with it quite a bit more, and I've caught a buttload of fish on it. But I'm not fishing what you might consider traditional braid-style. I've been fishing it "micro-light".

Don't confuse micro-light with ultralight. The diagram above is a representation of what I've been doing. This is all based on a system that I first heard of via "Fish Chris" Wolfgram. Chris is the site owner of "Trophy Bass Only" and coined the term some time ago. You can find an article he wrote about it on his site: Fishing With Micro-Light Gear. The rig in the picture above is actually geared toward his catfish trips, but remove the shot and sinker and you have the basic outfit for bass.

I've been playing with several different brands and colors of lines. I've shown the 3 I've spent the most time with above. They are Fireline in smoke, Fireline in flame green, and Power Pro in Hi-vis Yellow. So far there have been very few times where the hi-vis lines have caused what I think are a lack of bites, even in clear water. I actually like the ability to see the line so much easier compared to the smoke color, but smoke will work OK, especially for a casting and retrieving type presentation.  

In most all cases I'm using a fluoro or copoly leader of about 4'-6'. In the diagram above it shows Chris using a blood knot. I haven't tried that one yet, but I've used uni-uni's, J-knots and just a simple triple overhand knot. They've all worked well which kind of surprised me. With the uni-uni I actually double the braided line before tying. It's what I've used the most. The J-knot looks simple, but I have a hell of a time trying to tie it with the leader length I use. Not sure if I'm doing something wrong or not, but it isn't as easy as it looks. The triple overhand knot is the simplest, but it is also probably the weakest (I haven't tested it though, just a guess) and it makes for a larger and somewhat offset knot. It would probably work fine for shorter leaders though.

I'm also using a longer rod than what is in the diagram. I've used a 6' length with success, and have also done well with a 6'2" length, but I really prefer a longer 6'6" outfit in most cases. Overall it is probably personal preference more than anything. I even plan on trying the setup on a 7' outfit soon.

The past two weeks this outfit has been used largely for whacking the white bass while they've been running to the tune of 100+ fish. Earlier in the spring it was strictly a largemouth bite, again with well over 100 fish to its credit. Starting this weekend I hope to give it a try on crappie to compare it to my straight fluoro setup. To date I can only remember breaking off 2 fish, both on hooksets and both probably more my fault for not retying than anything. It could also be the nature of small diameter fluoro and knots. Regardless it has been rare enough to not cause me any alarm at all.

I'll post more details and learnings (both positives and negatives) a little later this year after I get some more time on the water and try a few more presentation types with the outfit. But if you're looking for something a little different to try, you might consider giving this a try soon.

Comments

[RS]

I too have found a place for this type of rig. The one suggestion I have is to use a long enough leader so there is at least one wrap of leader already on the spool when you have the fish to the boat. This way the leader to braid knot is somewhat out of the equation when dealing with a big fish during the critical point at the boat.

I use a 7' spinning rod, 15# Power Pro with a 10 or 12# Seaguar Fluorocarbon leader up to 10' long. This has been a good rig for shakey worms, wacky jigs and t-rigs such as flukes, senkos and floating worms.

The advantages are improved casting distance, hook sets and the leader provides a small amount of stretch providing a little "bounce" in the line when a fish strikes vs. straight braid.

There are still 2 things I really dislike about braid. The sound and feel when reeling in a fish - like fingernails on a chalkboard to me - and the lack of body that makes it so it easily loop over the end of your rod tip and not unloop just by shaking the rod tip down, you often have to reach up and unwind it by hand.