Braided Line Users?

[joshm]

Never used braided line before and I am looking for some tips i.e. best brands, monofilament leader. If anyone has some info it would be very appriciated.
jm

[ownfl4g]

I use it on my spinning outfits for dropshotting, i use 30 pound braided line with a fluorocarbon leader. I like it because i can see my line on top of the water really well.

[rexford]

I use braid on all my stuff. You need to put mono
backing on to reduce reel slipping. Also I add
a mono leader. (blood knot) at the business end
to reduce shock breaks. Braid does not do good
in the rocks thus a leader is needed.

GL,
Mike

[joshm]

Thanks for the info. Didn't think about a mono backing. how long should the leader be?

[rexford]

For the backing I would use enough to completely
cover the spool maybe 2-3X deep. For the leader
I use 3-4 feet. With this set up I find I get the best
of both worlds. Everyone here has ideas to what
they like. This just happens to be my set up. Not
that its right , not that its wrong, just what I like


thanks,
Mike

[swimbait]

Just stick with mono, that way you won't have to say

" then I set the hook and the line just snapped for no reason! "

Story of every braided line user I ever met.

[Kelly Ripa]

We've never met Rob!!!!! I use 10 pound power pro and a 5 foot seagaur 10 pound flourocarbon leader. I use a dbl. uni knot. I have not broken the line at the junction EVER in 4 years of using it and my best dropshot fish is about 8 and change. That's why we have a drag system in the reel

Rip

[joshm]

Thanks for all the advise. Sounds like everyone has their own system. A good knot has to be key on the leader too. Great to know their are guys out there willing to give a little advise.
Good luck to you guys on the water!

[rexford]

Rob Who? No problems tossing mono when you have
a VW bus painted like a trout on the other end.
Prolly don't have to much line memory at all. (grin)

hehehe

[swimbait]

My partner John Lake taught me... if your line is getting too much memory it just means that you haven't caught a big enough fish in a while to straighten it back out

[rmcollins3]

Only thing I use braid for is flipping into heavy cover, tules or pads. It's great at cutting through that stuff. I'll also use if for topwater occasionally, because it floats and is very responsive to short rod tip movements. This could be because I fish mostly the socal lakes which are a lot clearer than the delta and "Clear" Lake.

I like flourocarbon for almost everything else.

[Fish Chris]

Only thing I use braid for "is every freaking species that swims close enough for me to stick a hook in its mouth" !

Seriously though, I have used basically nothing but braided line for going on 14 years now. For the first 8 years of that, I used a straight braided line, right down to my hook or lure. Worked just fine, but for the last several years, I have used a fluorocarbon, or regular mono leader connected with a bloodknot. "This connection NEVER FAILS on me". But here's the thing about that..... Even though I have tied about a million of these knots, sometimes still, I tie one that just doesn't cinch down right. I always notice this when it occurs, and retie those immediately. I think some guys (probably the ones that Rob always hears from ) fail to recognize a bad knot when they tie one, then it fails on them later, and in their own minds it was "for no apparent reason".

Anyway, speaking for myself, and my own purposes anyway (which is everything from little ol' 10 to 18 lb Largemouth's, to 300 lb Sturgeon, and from Bluegill to 100 Bat Rays, their is absolutely no better line combination on the planet, than a braided main line, with a high quality fluorocarbon leader.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Just a couple words of advice though, because of the near zero stretch of braid, it is best to run a lighter drag than you would with mono, and also, using rods which are a little softer, and which have a more parabolic (slower) bend, can be helpful too. Finally, if you are a really hard hook setter / rod swinger, you should try to remind yourself that this is simply not needed to produce the same amount of pressure at the hook point, when using braid.

Oh, and give braid "several trips" (like maybe 8 or 10) to decide if its for you. It is just SO different than mono, that many guys never get past the shock of switching from mono to braid (going from apples to oranges), and give up on it, before they have learned all of the ins and outs of it.
Sure glad I got past that curve though, as braided line was absolutely the single largest improvement in my overall fishing experience, in nearly 40 years of doing it.

Peace

[FATGUY]

one other thing no one has mentioned . a couple weeks ago i was out with one of the delta guides ( right froggy?) we were punching in weeds. he was using 65 lb braid. he set up on something ( he says a fish) he didn't give.... the fish didn't give ?? i looked up and there he was holding a three piece rod ( was a one peice before he set) it is possible to break a rod .. rare but possible ....

[Fish Chris]

well sure. When your using a line which doesn't give, something has to. This is where using a softer, more parabolic rod, and running a little lighter drag is important. When you say this to people, they often come back with, "Yea... But I have to stop em' .... I need to control them" etc, etc. Well sure you do, but with a non-stretch braided line, used in conjuction with a softer rod, and a lighter drag setting, you can can stop them, and control them just as well.... if not a touch better.

IMPO, if a guy breaks more than a rod or two, after he has started using braided line, he has not made the proper adjustments, and / or gotten used to using braided line yet.

Okay... Okay.... I broke two rods about 10 years ago. One was on an 11-11 bass that I still landed (so that was totally worth it And the other was when I set the hook into Northern California... a rocky part of it too ! Doh !
BTW, back then I had gotten all excited about the super high modulas graphite, super sensitive, yada, yada...... However, experience has taught me that a cheaper, lower modulas rod, actually works better with braid.... and is "even a lot more sensitive" than a super high modulus rod used in conjuction with stretchy *** mono.

Peace,
Fish

[FATGUY]

i agree about the cheaper rods.. even if they break its cheaper to replace..

[mark poulson]

Try the Albright knot to tie on a flouro leader. It's strong, and thin, so it doesn't stick in the guides when you're pitching or casting.
If you use Seagar flouro, which is stiffer, be sure to pull the knot down evenly, and use some fishing glue on it. Seagar is so smooth it is hard for the braid to get a grip on it. But it's woth the extra time, as it's the toughest flouro made.

[Phil]

I AGREE WITH ROB.....WE USE BRAID EVERY DAY TO WRAP PACKAGES WITH THAT WE SHIP OUT AND HANG DECORATIONS. OTHER THAN THAT, YOU WILL ONLY FIND TRILENE PRODUCTS AND CAJUN PRODUCTS ON OUR RODS. TO MANY BREAKAGES TO MANY TIMES.

AGAIN OUR OPINION ONLY .

JIGS

[Fish Chris]

when I hear these kinds of things about braid, after having had nothing but positive experiences with it myself, for nearly 14 years, I can only summise that guys such as yourself and Rob, simply did not give yourself a sufficient chance to learn how to use braid to it's fullest extent.

But it's cool..... I do appreciate you guys leaving me with the braided line advantage

Peace,
Fish

PS, In the last 5 weeks, I have caught approximately 65 Bat Rays, with an average weight of 45 lbs (yes, close to 3000 lbs of Rays... oh, and maybe another 1000 lbs of Sharks) (the biggest Ray was a 110 lb'er yesterday ) with a total fish-fighting time of about 25 hours....... all on one (full reel) spool of 50 lb braid. I've had to pull anchor and chase about 8 of them, to keep from being spooled, and my reel holds 275 yards !

Mono would have been thrashed after the first trip.

This kind of fishing really shows you how much pressure you can put on wimpy little 10 to 15 plus Largemouths with braided line too ....since I am using the same rod and reel for them (my swimbait rod).

So, why do you suppose I have yet to break off on one of these very large, super strong Bat Rays, with my braided line ???