Bass And Line Strength 2024

LWD reply :

Hi, can a 2-4 lb bass break a 10lb test line?

Thanks,

LWD

Packard reply :

Not unless it has nicks or frays in it.

dmac14 reply :

On 8/12/2011 at 9:41 AM, Packard said:

Not unless it has nicks or frays in it.

or a bad knot...

Packard reply :

On 8/12/2011 at 10:34 AM, dmac14 said:

or a bad knot...

That would be a line slip not a break off.

LWD reply :

My line didn't have any nicks or frays and it didn't break at the knot.

tomustang reply :

Did you see the bass? If you didn't it could've been a toothy predator instead

Packard reply :

You're sure that it didn't rub off on a rock or something? I don't know where you live but it could have been a small pike.

LWD reply :

The line broke right above my reel actually. Also not a pike since where I fish they only stock bream, catfish, and bass. Wasn't a rock.

Packard reply :

Well there really isn't a conclusion based on your answers.

LWD reply :

My guess is it was just a big bass.

zachb34 reply :

Could have been a big log those things can fight.

LWD reply :

I had logs on before. But it's that gut feeling when you got a fish on man that's different than a log.

Bluebasser86 reply :

When did it break? On the hookset, while you were reeling, or did the fish bulldog off. A fish, especially towards the top end of the size spectrum you gave, can certainly bulldog off and pop 10lb mono or fluoro if your drag is clamped. It would be kind of like tying a 2lb dumbell to 10lb test and dropping it. Sure you can pick a 2lb weight up with that 10lb test but the force it would put on that line if it suddenly speeds up and hits the end of the line is a lot more than 2lbs. The fact that it broke just above your reel sounds a lot like you had a nick or some abrasion on your line though.

LWD reply :

The line was keeping itself together strongly. I could tell because I had snags where I'd pull the line and test it's strength. Well this held on until about that much force. I had it reeled close to the boat. Felt it move from left to right. It had almost surfaced then I didn't see a tail but I seen something leave waves. From what I recall the force was tugging underneath my boat and that's when the line broke. I believe my drag was clamped and like you said may have bulldogged it. What does a 4lb bass feel like? I'm used to boating a 14' inch and this thing fought with about 3-4 times as much force as that. 4 lbs been the biggest reported bass in this particular lake.

Bluebasser86 reply :

Each fish fights differently. I've caught 4 pounders that didn't fight any harder than a 15 inch fish and I've had 4 pounds I thought were going to be 7 or 8 before I saw them. Usually they just feel a lot harder and stronger than a small fish. When you set the hook they normally don't immediately start coming towards the boat and you can't just crank them in like a smaller fish.

It's possible that if you had a small nick in your line it may have held up to the steady pressure of you pulling on a snag but a quick, sharp pull from the fish may have caused it to break.

Packard reply :

Yeah but a 4 lb fish isn't deadweight. When the fish is in the water it weighs less than on land. This is proved by Archimede's principle because the water pushes the fish upwards known as water displacement. So there is little to no chance that a 4 lb bass could have snapped your line if there was nothing wrong with it, especially at the reel. Once again you most likely had a nick in the line so I would check to see if the ceramics are in your rod's eyes and in your level wind.

LWD reply :

Thanks. It was a bunch of quick sharp pulls actually. I never thought a fish would ever be that much of a battle. Whew, it's what makes it fun. Nick on my line or not I switched to a 30lb braid. I always thought a 10lb test would be enough for anything I was going to face. Have a good night.

Bluebasser86 reply :

On 8/12/2011 at 2:58 PM, Packard said:

Yeah but a 4 lb fish isn't deadweight. When the fish is in the water it weighs less than on land. This is proved by Archimede's principle because the water pushes the fish upwards known as water displacement. So there is little to no chance that a 4 lb bass could have snapped your line if there was nothing wrong with it, especially at the reel. Once again you most likely had a nick in the line so I would check to see if the ceramics are in your rod's eyes and in your level wind.

It's not the weight of the fish that is the problem, it's the force and shock of a fish that size hitting the end of the line. If it was a weight thing then in theory any fish below 10lbs shouldn't be able to break that line right? I agree that chances are there was something wrong with the line, mainly because of where it broke, but I've seen enough fish break line that tested heavier than they weighed enough times to know that a fish that size can break even fresh, new line, even if nothing is wrong with it.

Packard reply :

On 8/12/2011 at 3:10 PM, Bluebasser86 said:

It's not the weight of the fish that is the problem, it's the force and shock of a fish that size hitting the end of the line. If it was a weight thing then in theory any fish below 10lbs shouldn't be able to break that line right? I agree that chances are there was something wrong with the line, mainly because of where it broke, but I've seen enough fish break line that tested heavier than they weighed enough times to know that a fish that size can break even fresh, new line, even if nothing is wrong with it.

It's very hard for a fish to do that when you have pressure on them. If you let the line go slack and they run and you try to re apply pressure it will result in a rubber band effect with mono and flurocarbon which might snap the line.

dodgeguy reply :

a four pund bass can easily rip off 10 pounds of drag if it wants to. yes it can snap 10 pound line.

endless reply :

On 8/12/2011 at 3:01 PM, Lester Wayne Dobos said:

Thanks. It was a bunch of quick sharp pulls actually. I never thought a fish would ever be that much of a battle. Whew, it's what makes it fun. Nick on my line or not I switched to a 30lb braid. I always thought a 10lb test would be enough for anything I was going to face. Have a good night.

What brand of line was you using? I still wouldn't gave up on 10# test. I use it in Suffix flouro with no problem and Trilene flouro no problem. I actually brought in three 4# fish this year with the Trilene. 2 bass at 4.9 and 4.8 and 1 bowfin at 4.6. I am a little weary of my 10# BPS CarbonGold right now but that probably cause I don't like the line. I prefer BPS Flouro as of right now.

I do agree with Dodgeguy and Bluebasser86 made allot of sense also.

Edited August 12, 2011 by endless

Goose52 reply :

10lb line...37.1 pound fish. Open water, no rocks or slop. Keep a tight line, have the drag set properly, have enough line on the spool, and in open water you can catch about anything in fresh water with 10lb (except perhaps for the toothy critters mentioned earlier).

Grey Wolf reply :

That doesn't sound like a bass , possible a big cat/carp.

Stasher1 reply :

On 8/12/2011 at 8:15 PM, Grey Wolf said:

That doesn't sound like a bass , possible a big cat/carp.

I was thinking turtle, but could've been a big cat/carp.

LuckyHandsINC. reply :

On 8/12/2011 at 9:18 PM, Stasher1 said:

I was thinking turtle, but could've been a big cat/carp.

I don't think it was a turtle. I caught a few very big snapping turtles and the dont fight at all they kind of just float in like dead weight. Unless its a different type turtle but around here the only large turtles are snappers.

Delaware Valley Tackle reply :

Lot's of bass are landed on finesse rigs using 6lb test. 10 should not be a problem if used with a suitable rod and under appropriate conditions. Different brands of the same test weight can vary in breaking weight, shock strength and knot strength too.

SirSnookalot reply :

If the drag is set near where it should be fish won't break the line unless the line had a nick. We got guys out here catching sailfish on 10# line, I use 20# and they laugh at me for fishing too heavy.

endless reply :

On 8/12/2011 at 9:30 PM, NYBASSIN36 said:

I don't think it was a turtle. I caught a few very big snapping turtles and the dont fight at all they kind of just float in like dead weight. Unless its a different type turtle but around here the only large turtles are snappers.

So True about turtles. I pulled in a American snapper, it had to be 3 feet with no problem. Trying to pull him up on land was though. Soon as he got to use his legs, the turtle snap my line.

I'm not sure what an alligator snapper would do. Never caught one of those yet. I know I have seen one close to two foot near my house in the road. I tried removing it and when it snapped at me I Grab I long stick and tried to nudge till it made a run for the creek. Before that it was putting up a mean fight.

K_Mac reply :

In response to the original question: Yes a 4# can break 10# line if the drag is not set properly. While I have caught bigger fish on considerably lighter line, the fish being able to take drag during runs is what makes this possible.

Packard with all due respect to you and Ole Archimedes, if you lock down the drag on a reel with 10# line you will eventually be broken off, and I guaranty it will not take anything bigger than 4 pounds. This is the reason drag settings are recommended to be set well below the line rating (around 30% as I recall).

LWD reply :

On 8/12/2011 at 5:56 PM, endless said:

What brand of line was you using? I still wouldn't gave up on 10# test. I use it in Suffix flouro with no problem and Trilene flouro no problem. I actually brought in three 4# fish this year with the Trilene. 2 bass at 4.9 and 4.8 and 1 bowfin at 4.6. I am a little weary of my 10# BPS CarbonGold right now but that probably cause I don't like the line. I prefer BPS Flouro as of right now.

I do agree with Dodgeguy and Bluebasser86 made allot of sense also.

Berkeley Vanish 10lb floro

endless reply :

On 8/13/2011 at 6:28 AM, Lester Wayne Dobos said:

Berkeley Vanish 10lb floro

I never used that brand but from what others say I would when can unless you truly like the line upgrade to better brand.

Here was a topic what people thought of it. Probably more reviews in search. Some did though like the line but majority hates it.

brushhoggin reply :

that's really funny, before i saw the post asking what line you were using, i was gonna ask you if you were using Vanish. i had the problems your having when i tried the stuff almost a couple years ago. i actually just ended using up the rest for leaders and never had any problems after that

Raul reply :

On 8/12/2011 at 9:37 AM, Lester Wayne Dobos said:

Hi, can a 2-4 lb bass break a 10lb test line?

Thanks,

LWD

It depends, that´s what the reel drag is for.

dodgeguy reply :

On 8/13/2011 at 6:28 AM, Lester Wayne Dobos said:

Berkeley Vanish 10lb floro

it's called vanish cause that's what your fish does.

Packard reply :

On 8/13/2011 at 6:16 AM, K_Mac said:

In response to the original question: Yes a 4# can break 10# line if the drag is not set properly. While I have caught bigger fish on considerably lighter line, the fish being able to take drag during runs is what makes this possible.

Packard with all due respect to you and Ole Archimedes, if you lock down the drag on a reel with 10# line you will eventually be broken off, and I guaranty it will not take anything bigger than 4 pounds. This is the reason drag settings are recommended to be set well below the line rating (around 30% as I recall).

I assumed he had everything set properly and was using a somewhat decent line. I'd fish with yarn before Vanish.

Bluebasser86 reply :

On 8/13/2011 at 10:26 AM, dodgeguy said:

it's called vanish cause that's what your fish does.

Or your baits, and maybe your tournament check

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