braided line: what say you?

D

DB731

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Feb 10, 2013
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I am hearing great things about braided line. Have not used it yet, though.

Is it true that it damages guides on the rod? If so, is this due to smaller diameter for the same test? If so, can this effect be avoided by choosing the same diameter (of the mono I would be replacing) with thus higher test? Or, is the effect due to the structure of the line and not just diameter?

Any other concerns with braided? I heard knots can be a little tricky, but Palomar should take care of that, no?


Thanks.
 
I haven't had it damage guides. Braid has it's uses like when fishing in heavy cover, or if you want to adjust the depth your lures run, or change fall speed. Braid floats. The only time i've have knots slip was when using teflon coated braid, but yes a Palomar knot will take care of that. I generally use braid when frog fishing or throwing jigs into cover / structure.
 
I'm an old fart and set in my ways so I stick with monofilament fishing line, I have used braided fishing line but just did not like using it, knot tying is much easier with mono.

The one advantage that I do like about braided line is the diameter / lb. test ratio, my spinning reel can hold a lot more line of heavier lb. test. As ixer mentioned, the braided line works good when fishing around heavy cover.

All of my fishing rods have Fuji guides and I have not had a problem with braided lines damaging them.

Keep in mind that when you have braided fishing line put on the spool of your reel, they usually will fill the first 1/3 of the spool in mono as a filler before adding the braided fishing line. The mono takes up space so you don't have to spend as much money filling the entire reel spool with braided line.

My .02 cents is, try it for yourself and decide what works best for you.

Tight lines and good fishing to you.
 
I am a braided user and I love the stuff, the thinner diameter cuts the water extremely well which means reduced slack line after a strike when down-rigging and deeper running crank-baits. Much greater reel capacity is another plus for me especially when down-rigging, you can lose a big chunk of line and still have plenty left to keep fishing, and also the option to use a smaller size reel as well. Just double up the line before tying your preferred knot, I tie a double palomar and have never had a problem as far as knots go.

One factor that could be an issue with some methods or species is the zero stretch of these lines, so I like to use a 5'-25' mono or flouro leader for a little give and that works for me so far.
 
I used to use braid on my heavier trolling rods only but now am considering a switch back to braid for some of my lighter stuff.

Reasons to use it: light and ultralight rods can have a soft bite masked by line stretch or line coil, you don't get that with braid. Also, for fish like trout and panfish you can use even smaller diameter line without giving up the ability to pull your lure out of a snag. It typically casts lighter lures better than mono also due to no line coil.

Reasons against braid: knots can be difficult, even using the correct knot cinching it down can cut you. Price, no way around it, it's expensive. Zero stretch can be less forgiving on a rod/reel, also it can pull a lure out of the fishes mouth. Need very sharp scissors to cut it. No teeth or nail clippers for this stuff.

I've never had my guides be damaged from it, even on my heavy saltwater boat rods. If you have a cheap non coated, no insert guide(s) on you rod and are fishing for some drag burning fish, then maybe I could see it happening, but typically guide damage is due to poor maintenance. Fishing dirty muddy water and not cleaning the rod after.


-Xander
 
Oh, one reason I forgot to mention, why I used it on heavy trolling rods, smaller diameter line will have less drag in the water allowing crank baits to dive deeper than a mono line would allow.

-X
 
I like it for the reasons mentioned, better feel, all that. One major downside is that if it starts to get lots of twist in it, it will tangle like mad. I've had huge snarls where two lines have gotten mixed up (lots of people fishing from the same rocks into the surf) and it just grabs other lines. I don't like using it any time there is that risk anymore, because its really embarrassing to pull someone's line out when the fish are on.

Knots can the a bit tricky but no worse than really fine mono.
 
I have switched the majority of my fishing rigs to ultralight setup in the last couple years, and I just don't like braids for ultralight. I will use braided line for 10lbs+ but everything else gets mono. There are pros and cons for both mono and braid, but for me the mono is just easier to work with. I think it is really just personal preference and you should try different things to see what you like.
Bruce
 
The issue Gadgetgeek speaks of has been taken care of with some of the new braids that have a round profile. Many used to be flat and would have issues with that.

Also, good luck if you get a nasty backlash in a baitcasting reel!


-Xander
 
The other thing you could do is tie a mono or flouro leader (usually a little shorter then rod length) onto the end of braid. The benefit is that the line that is closest to the fish disappears, this works well for finicky fish.
 
The back lashes are surprisingly easy to remove with the newer Teflon coated braids.
 
I run braid (PowerPro) on all my rods now. Its true that braid is more expensive per spool but in the long run I found I actually saved me money with less lost tackle and the line if properly cared for lasts much longer than mono and flouro. Ive only had one braided line cut into my rod giudes and that was Berkley Fireline. Fireline was by far the worst line I have ever used, doesn't hold a knot, the line twists and iced up badly when fishing late in the season.
 
Fast14, I use finns, and I thought it was round, but maybe it isn't as round as it could be? I think surf fishing is probably the worst possible situation for fishing line, so it doesn't surprise me that I run into a few problems.
 
I've actually always wanted to try bottle casting with braided, anyone have any luck with it?
 
Do you mean hand casting with a bottle spool? Because a casting bottle has nothing to do with fishing, lol!

Personally, I wouldn't use braid for hand casting, just too abrasive and not enough stretch to keep from cutting your hands. Without a rod a bit of stretch in your line is a good thing. An old style glass coke bottle works well if you let the line pay off the bottom while you hold it by the neck.


-X
 
gadgetgeek said:
Fast14, I use finns, and I thought it was round, but maybe it isn't as round as it could be? I think surf fishing is probably the worst possible situation for fishing line, so it doesn't surprise me that I run into a few problems.
Click to expand...

Fins PRT is a 4 strand braid, so it's kinda boxy-roundish, but also another issue is often times zero stretch lines become flat when tensioning around a bend. It's possible that is what's happening but in general, surf fishing or salmon fishing a river here is a pretty tough situation for line.

I'm taking some interest in this thread as I'm planning another custom rod this year and it will be a general purpose light action rod for trout/panfish/shad fishing, I'm interested in lines that have low memory and can cast 1/16 oz lures reasonably well. Either braid or mono. So hearing other people thoughts on various lines is good information.


-X
 
fast14riot said:
Do you mean hand casting with a bottle spool? Because a casting bottle has nothing to do with fishing, lol!

Personally, I wouldn't use braid for hand casting, just too abrasive and not enough stretch to keep from cutting your hands. Without a rod a bit of stretch in your line is a good thing. An old style glass coke bottle works well if you let the line pay off the bottom while you hold it by the neck.


-X
Click to expand...

Haha yep. Not the casting bottle ;)

Usually use the hydroflask, but the coke bottles are great too. Always used mono with those.
 
Love the braid.
Only use mono for leaders.
2-3' of mono tied on with uni to uni knots will give you a weak link to break if you get hung up.
30lb braid with 20-25lb mono. The mono breaks every time.

In the long run, especially if you fish a lot and in heavy cover, it can be cheaper than mono.
Braid doesn't break down from UV as fast as mono. Doesn't get knicked up like mono either.
I'd cut off 5' of mono after it got kicked and retie after every fish. Do that every Saturday and a couple weekdays it adds up.
Mono after being stretched over and over again (big fish and snags) loses it's elasticity and weakens.

I have braid on my surf ABU 6600 for about 5 seasons now. 2 years ago I reversed it so the new end is on the outside and the old used line is down on the spool.
Try that with mono ;)

The no stretch of braid makes for good hook sets.
Larger capacity allows you to use smaller reels.

If I do get wind (rhymes with bind) knots on my surf reels, fishing the in the dark... stuff happens...
I take what's left on them and use that for my casting reels and spool fresh braid on the surf reels.

The down sides to braid...
Since it doesn't stretch, you really have to work to keep your rod bent when fighting a fish. With mono and the massive amount of stretch that is has you can get sloppy when fighting a fish. Not so with braid. I've gone to softer/slower rods now for that reason.
St Croix Mojo for the beach and Berkley Shock Rods for LMB.

And most importantly...
Braid will cut you like a steak knife.
Once I was hung up and tried to break my line with a leather glove on.
Only took one turn around my hand, the line slipped and almost cut thru the Wells-Lamont work glove.
Imagine a bare hand.
:eek:
Now I take at least 5 turns or I use a piece of wood, stick or plier handle.

The best part about braid is the feel. You aren't guessing if you have a weed on your lure, you know.
Quick jerk of the rod will snap the weeds off too.
No guessing about bites either.
Like the commercial said:
Try it.
You'll like it :)
 
Does braided make sense for leader? Does it do anything better than single strand stainless wire?
 
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