Is Braid A Bad Choice?

[22hertz]

I've been exclusivley using braid for years for its sensitivity and strength, but I keep reading fish get spooked by braid because its visible.

 

Anyone have that experience?

Maybe I should switch back to a clear line this season.

 

Ive been fishing 5 times this year and only caught one fish (and no other bites). Im not sure if the lake Im fishing is slow or if my line is the problem.

[ABW]

Tie on a leader if you think that the braid is spooking them.

[Darren.]

You'll get plenty of different responses.

 

Me? I use braid for mainline and always use a 

leader of varying pound test.

 

Problems eliminated. Connection knot should 

be either an Albright or uni-to-uni. I have 100%

confidence in my connection knots, and even 

caught my PB of 7.5 in thick salad on a bait-

caster setup with a 10lb leader.

[swallowmyjig]

power pro braid almost exclusively around vegetation.. which is what I mainly fish. No flouro leader either. No problem getting bit. Only flouro is for leaders on drop shot and tubes.

[QUAKEnSHAKE]

My first outing water still very cool water very clear using straight braid caught this one. Presentation long pause wiggle repeat.. Few other fishermen said they had no luck dont know the line they used though.

 

[SirSnookalot]

Tie on a leader if you think that the braid is spooking them.

I agree, but personally I don't feel bass are line shy.

I use braid and leader 99% of the time, the 1% is for fishing that most bass fisherman will never do.

The leader serves as stealth if one thinks it's necessary, it's a shock absorber and makes breaks offs easier.

The key factors in fishing success is both finding the fish and timing.  

[lecisnith]

I agree, but personally I don't feel bass are line shy.

I use braid and leader 99% of the time, the 1% is for fishing that most bass fisherman will never do.

The leader serves as stealth if one thinks it's necessary, it's a shock absorber and makes breaks offs easier.

The key factors in fishing success is both finding the fish and timing.

Well, what's the one percent? C'mon, I've always wanted to know how the one percenters felt...

[doyle8218]

_{You say you have used braid for years, have you always had bite problems? If it just started I doubt it's the line.}

[Diggy]

I took my friend to my favorite bass lake where he caught his 1st jig fish. He ended up catching over 5 fish on his jig setup on bright orange USA braid with no leader. I caught 2 in that same span with my jig on moss green cxx. I think the fish cared more about what was on the end of the line than the line itself based on the results. 

[HookdUP]

Fished 16lb sunline Fluro and my partner fished 50lb sunline braid and he caugh four jig fish I caught one .... This is yesterday in Virginia ... I don't think it matters anymore unless the fish are shy .. And when they're shy they're shy about everything .. Not just the braid

[Crestliner2008]

I have braid on almost all of my reels now, with the exception of crankbait and swimbait rigs. I use a fluorocarbon or mono leader, depending on whether or not I'm fishing on top or beneath the surface. The reason I use a leader is not for visibility reasons; rather I sincerely believe (through experience) that a leader affords a much greater degree of abrasion resistance than does straight braid. And the connection I use is the Alberto knot.

[primetime]

Here is my theory for what it is worth & I have experimented with all types of leaders & tying direct, and what I have found is that I like to tie direct with Braid in stained to tanic water color and I like the brown or green colored lines. If I am flipping I like the super slick 8 strand blue Power Pro since it is quit compared to a normal 4 strand weave which makes a lot of noise while casting or pitching in the wind, and when it rubs against the pads and weeds. I truly believe that the newer 8 strand braids with smooth coatings not only cast further, rarely dig into the reel & cause less casting issues, plus I am convinced that when fishing in weeds the fish here the braid, but I also use it since it helps me land fish because it cuts through weeds and allows me to fish places that 20-30lb would not, and if it could then I believe that the smaller diameter is an equal trade off....HERE IS A TIP THAT HELPS ME ALOT.. I love to watch my line when throwing texas rigs, drop shot, shaky rigs, punching etc...so if I am going with braid tied direct to the business end, I color the blue line black or dark green (the last 4-6') as it is important to set on a fish in heavy cover as soon as possible in order to get them out.

 

On spinning rods, I will use green or brown braid and I feel that a 20lb test 4lb diameter or 10-15 2lb is better than using a mono or fluoro which is much thicker and fish can feel. As mentioned, a leader is always a good option, I like braid for Carolina rigs or any bottom rig so I can feel the bottom composition and I use a copoly or Fluoro leader tied direct or with a swivel. I find in clear water or open water I think I do better with 6-10lb test mono but that is a confidence thing when fishing a slow bait like a wacky worm etc.

 

Here is a good rule of thumb that a few people who know a lot more than I know have helped me with...If fishing treble hooks on a lure than it is best to use a line that stretches plus you are reeling fast so if fishing a wake bait or zara spook I will put 15lb test trilene big game and go to town, but if I am fishing a rod with a slower action and lots of bend like a cranking stick in heavy cover, I then go with braid and keep the drag set properly, and I only use leaders for c-rigs or slow presentations, topwater I like a clear line for some reason.

 

Now, I know people who fish braid with everything, tie direct and never look back and they do fine. I also know people that hate it and do fine, but I could not live without braid for casting distance, and thin diameter plus the strength. They make braids in colors that are tough to see underwater and you can always copy the Triple fish camo line of coloring 3 strips of brown, green, purple for a good 6 feet and that line and color combo works in the water here in Florida.

 

I would not tie direct with Red braid or Bright blue or white solid colors. Fluoro leader helps me in my mind when I feel as though fish can see my line, so I will at times use 30lb braid on a spinning reel, and a 10lb fluoro leader for the fact I believe in the sinking and invisible properties that may or may not be true, but based on my ramble, there are not right answers, since you are not doing well with straight braid, I would simply change just for some New positive Energy....

 

Aaron Martins has some great videos on braid and leader etc....Hope that helps a bit.

[Felix77]

I am SO torn on this subject it kills me.  

 

I have Braid on one setup only.  My flippin stick in a lot of veg.  I like Fluorocarbon a lot.  Have a lot of confidence in it.  

 

This year I committed to trying braid to FC on a few of my baitcasters just to see if I can gain enough confidence in it to convert fully.  Save money on the amount of Fluoro I go through.  I already do this on my spinning setups.  My experience on Toledo Bend a few weeks ago made me rethink this however.  My boater was getting bites on straight FC in stained waters.  I was using braid.  No bites.  I overhauled my setup one step at a time.  First the weight, then the lure and finally added a leader.  Magically (or coincidentally) I began getting bites.

 

Never, ever thought it would make a difference until that experience.  We were around fish.  Very apparent by his catches.  That switch was literally a night and day difference for both of us.

[Darren.]

I am SO torn on this subject it kills me.  

 

I have Braid on one setup only.  My flippin stick in a lot of veg.  I like Fluorocarbon a lot.  Have a lot of confidence in it.  

 

This year I committed to trying braid to FC on a few of my baitcasters just to see if I can gain enough confidence in it to convert fully.  Save money on the amount of Fluoro I go through.  I already do this on my spinning setups.  My experience on Toledo Bend a few weeks ago made me rethink this however.  My boater was getting bites on straight FC in stained waters.  I was using braid.  No bites.  I overhauled my setup one step at a time.  First the weight, then the lure and finally added a leader.  Magically (or coincidentally) I began getting bites.

 

Never, ever thought it would make a difference until that experience.  We were around fish.  Very apparent by his catches.  That switch was literally a night and day difference for both of us.

 

What about using a longer FC leader? 

Gary Yamamoto talks about using 25 or so

foot leaders....

[new2BC4bass]

Interesting thread.  I use braid on 4 B/C reels and 2 spinning reels.  I did try a leader once when jig fishing, something I seldom do.  I've always tied direct other times.  I don't worry much about fish seeing my line, but a fluoro leader on my 10# white 832 braid sounds like a worthwhile try.  Last year while in Florida I went to 40# Original PowerPro on one of my reels and immediately noticed how much noisier it was coming thru the guides.  Never gave a thought to how much (if any) more noise it might make being dragged thru the lily pads.  Just one more thing to consider.  Not being the world's best fisherman, I need all the advantages I can get.

[bass1980]

I use straight braid most of the time. Even fished yellow braid on wacky senko all of last year and the fish still bites as much as my partner. The only time I'm using a flouro leader is on a drop shot. In my head I'm thinking the bait is barely moving and the line is right there. For jigs, Trigs, and even falling senko I feel that it's still a reaction bite when the bait is moving so bass are too focused on the movement of the bait. I don't shake my drop shot plastic a lot, just slight movements.

Did I make sense? I think I don't but I'm confident on this so that's what I use.

[gunsndrums1]

I noticed a lot of people join the two lines together with a double uni or a blood knot, and use really long leaders. I just tie a barrel swivel to both the lines with a 18 inch leader on, works fine. Having those long leaders seems unnecessary, and I feel like the knot would get damaged running through the guides

[Weld's Largemouth]

I noticed a lot of people join the two lines together with a double uni or a blood knot, and use really long leaders. I just tie a barrel swivel to both the lines with a 18 inch leader on, works fine. Having those long leaders seems unnecessary, and I feel like the knot would get damaged running through the guides

A long leader is used so one can re-tie many times without having to put on a new leader.

[bass1980]

Long leader in pike country is beneficial. Incase it gets cut off you don't have to redo your line to line knot, just the hook.

[RoLo]

15-lb Seaguar Abrazx FLUORO has a diameter of 13/1000" (0.013")

15-lb Seaguar Smackdown BRAID has a diameter of 6/1000" (0.006")

                                             (nuff said)

 

Roger

[SirSnookalot]

I do both swivel and line to leader knot.  Whichever the case I keep my leaders fairly short, the longer the leader the more the stretch.  Adding a fresh leader is quick enough task.  The knot does not get damaged going thru the guides, a plus for the knot without a swivel is picking up less muck in freshwater fishing.  In open water fishing I see many more people using swivels.

[MickD]

I use a lot of braid and use flouro leaders.   But I had an experience last year using 10 pound white nanofil without a leader casting super flukes in shallow fairly clear water to LM bass, and my son was kicking my butt.  I added a couple feet of flouro and started catching fish.  

 

I think there are times when flouro is not necessary, and times when it is.

[frogflogger]

Braid influences the way some baits perform - it doesn't sink as quick as fluoro and that can be a plus or a minus depending on the situation.

[FishTank]

I use braid for heavy vegetation and thick coverage.  Overall  I am not a fan.  I have better luck with FC but braid does have it's place.  I always think if I can see so can the fish.  With that said, I went fishing today and used braid on one of spinning reels.  I caught 4 on braid and 0 on FC, go figure. 

[Patrick Morrow]

Keep in mind here that in most places water ain´t that clear, so little visibility will not matter. However, it hasn`t been proven that braid visibility is actually a problem. It`s more like a theory going around fisherman. I personally think it ain´t much to worry about,don´t get stuck on these small details, some call it analysis paralysis, just go fishing.