Cranking Rod Line and Other Uses?

[wordty]

Here is my moronic question of the month...Waiting for February 28 to get a BPS Spring Sale deal on a Crankin' Stick...I only use smaller crankbaits, like 3/8 to 5/8, so I will use a 6.3:1 baitcasting reel...leaning towards a 7 foot medium rod...so, what line (type and strength) should I put on this and could I use it for other applications? I mainly fish from a boat if that affects your responses, and I have a few other rod setups for other things...just wondering if any other applications may work with this set up well.

[Reel Tune]

For cranks I prefer mono and fluoro, stuff with stretch. With braid there is no stretch and it's easy to pull hooks with the non-stretch braid. If I'm fishing heavy cover with cranks I like 12-14lb, but if I'm fishing moderate to no cover I go with as light as I feel comfortable which is 8lb. With 8lb I feel I can get down deeper and I'll use fluorocarbon due to it sinks faster. For shallower cranks I usually throw either fluoro or mono, because I'm not worried about the mono negatively effecting the sink rate, by pulling my crank up at a faster rate.

Shallow cranks 8-10lb Fluorocarbon, or Mono
Deep cranks 12-14lb Fluorocarbon

[Travis C.]

Like Jeremy said something with stretch so I mainly use mono. My preference is 10 lb line because its easier for me to keep tabs on how deep its running. That is the line size most all lure makers test their depths for the lure ratings on the package.

That said, there are some situations (summer) where I will run a 8lb or even smaller on the bigger cranks like a #9 shad rap or down deep fat rap to get it way down in the channel. On a long line with 8lb fluoro you can really dig out on the main channel ledges.

The flip side in early spring when the bass are up the in emergent grass or sticks you can go up to 14lb or even bigger sometimes and work a fat square bill around the objects without worry of losing it.

[Pinwheeled]

I'm with Travis. I typically throw 10-12lb flourocarbon with deep cranks when I'm ledge fishing or working deep points just to get a little more depth. Heck, ill even throw 4-6lb flourocarbon with #5 and #7 shad raps. Throwing square bills and other shallow cranks, I typically throw 14lb flouro.