Best Line to toss a Megabass MegaDog?

[Kacordy]

What line would you suggest to Toss the MegaDog? Straight Mono? Or Braid with a leader? If Braid what brand, and pound test? How long of a leader and pound test? My concern with the  braid to leader is the size of the knot and how well it would pass through the guides? Thank you so much for the advice and suggestions? 

[BassinMass978]

Straight braid to get the best performance out of it. 80# for something that heavy. If it was under 3oz you could go with 65# 

[Kacordy]

Good Morning Steven. I will be fishing Gin clear water for Spots and Northerns. What brand and color of 80lb braid would you suggest? What line has the best castability? Will the direct braid decrease or hinder bites in clear water? Thanks for the advice, Allen 

[5-20]

In freshwater I seem to have better success using straight #20 big game for these large top waters. 

Braid with short leaders work great in saltwater but I don’t really use this set up as much in freshwater. 

Yes, having long leaders can be a bit of a hassle and problematic sometimes. Maybe not for you though. Some people seem to actually enjoy tying the FG knot.  

[lurejunkie]

I use 65lb power pro in moss green for my lunker punkers. I dont like casting knots thru my guides so I dont use a leader but a 30lb monofilament leader would not get fouled on the front hook nearly as often as straight braid does. I personally dont think the braid scares line shy fish away on a fairly fast moving topwater bait. Just remember to adjust your drag so it isn't too tight or you will rip the treble hooks out of the bass.

Been there done that. It cost me a big bass.

[BassinMass978]

6 hours ago, Kacordy said:

Good Morning Steven. I will be fishing Gin clear water for Spots and Northerns. What brand and color of 80lb braid would you suggest? What line has the best castability? Will the direct braid decrease or hinder bites in clear water? Thanks for the advice, Allen 

No problem.  I also fish 20+ ft visibility water, and straight braid for walking baits has always done me good. Since it’s more of a reaction strike, I don’t think the line bothers them too much. Even still, for maximum camouflage, I like cortland master braid or daiwa grand 8 in blue to blend in with the sky. 
 

lunker punker is one my all time favorites, and I’ve tried everything from mono, to topwater floating copolymer, to braid to leader and nothing works as good for getting a good walk out of it than straight braid.  80# is still smaller line diameter than 20# mono, so it’s all gonna cast a mile with a bait like that. 
 

one trick you can do to help with the line fouling up in the hooks is to leave a bunch in knots with long tag ends to help keep the super limp braid out of the trebles. I can post a pic for you later.  Hope it helps! 

[bigpoppabass]

12 hours ago, BassinMass978 said:

 

 

one trick you can do to help with the line fouling up in the hooks is to leave a bunch in knots with long tag ends to help keep the super limp braid out of the trebles. I can post a pic for you later.  Hope it helps! 

Interesting never seen or heard of that. Looking forward to hearing more since I have that problem. I can usually get the braid off without apparent damage but I wonder if I am rationalizing that. 

[bigpoppabass]

I agree with lure junkie about using some sort of shock leader.  Short shock leaders of fluoro don't seem to affect action much if at all. 

PS. Bass touring pros also use suggest using a shock leader for most topwaters. You will have to google that to learn more. I always do cuz of the hook impaling the braid issue discussed in another post above. The shock leader also makes hooksetts better and smoother imo.  Gives fish more time to get bait. 

[BassinMass978]

3 hours ago, bigpoppabass said:

Interesting never seen or heard of that. Looking forward to hearing more since I have that problem. I can usually get the braid off without apparent damage but I wonder if I am rationalizing that. 

I’ll have some photos for you after work today.  I really personally don’t like leaders. Just another connection knot to go wrong, and if you’re using the right rod/hooks/drag setup then it shouldn’t be an issue. 
 

try our owner STX56’s. They are 3x strong but sticky sharp and thinner than owners normal hooks. Zo-wire is amazing 

[BassinMass978]

@bigpoppabass

this is what I mean. Stack the knots. I use some mono as whiskers too. Helps it from fouling and holds the knot where you want it. 

[bigpoppabass]

That's awesome! So do you  tie your line above the braid tags? 

[chevro1et]

@bigpoppabass @BassinMass978

I remember Jeremy talking on Cast and Crank about fishing the Lunker Punker. He advocated straight braid and usung super glue on a few inches of line near the bait to create a stiff pseudo-leader to prevent line fouling. I've heard of guys using wax for this application as well. 

Edited December 19, 2023 by chevro1et

[Kacordy]

4 hours ago, BassinMass978 said:

@bigpoppabass

this is what I mean. Stack the knots. I use some mono as whiskers too. Helps it from fouling and holds the knot where you want it. 

Thank you Steven for the photos and sharing this idea. Makes a ton of sense. 

[chefchris]

I fish the megadog a lot, super underrated bait can be fished fast or slow, super agressively with pops and jumps, just have to find what the fish want. I’ve had good luck working it pretty aggressively and then a long pause like a minute or two and then a short pop and it gets smoked the second it moves 

50lb braid (onyx color) to a 12-18” mono leader of 30lb test ande 

rod with a soft tip works great, LDC xxh is what I was using in these pics, first time throwing the bait 3 seasons ago and this fish sharked it clear out of the water, was working the bait along a rock line with deep water on one side. 

 

[Kacordy]

5 hours ago, BassinMass978 said:

@bigpoppabass

this is what I mean. Stack the knots. I use some mono as whiskers too. Helps it from fouling and holds the knot where you want it. 

Thank you Steven for the photos and sharing this idea. Makes a ton of sense.