Braid good or bad

[Cgrinder]

Do scissors count as a fancy tool? I cut braid with scissors. I always knew I was fancy.

Abrasion resistance is a little overstated but pretty spot on.

Braid is a tool, not a way of life. Use it where you see fit. 

[0119]

Anything other than nippers is fancy to me. I can't get a clean close cut on braid with even a new pair of scissors.  Always had to resort to Sirsnookalot's hint of using a lighter.

[Further North]

5 hours ago, 0119 said:

Why stop using mono if you are happy with it?  I hate superline/braid. I see nothing useful in it and  a hundred drawbacks. If your happy with your red mono, keep using it. Screw what others use or think or what some alleged expert/writer/pro thinks or says.  Enjoy your mono that cuts easy without fancy tools, takes any simple knot and is more abrasion resistant than a line made of fuzzy strands of stronger than iron sewing cloth.

The biggest benefits of braid are:

1. Much higher strength at any given diameter
2. No stretch, hook-sets are instant
3. Sensitivity, you can feel the tiniest touches.
4. Castability, if it's important to how you fish, you can chuck braid much further than mono.

Mono has its uses as well, as does fluorocarbon...I see no reason to slam one, or its users in favor of another...I use all three.

[HeavyTwenty]

Maybe unrelated, but has anyone had issue with braid in the wind? I've been struggling to keep a straight line with 15 lb braid in 15-20 mph winds, but I was watching another guy fish with either mono/fluro (I asked and he said he couldn't remember what he put on) have much less trouble. Both of us were fishing weightless stick worms.

[Sam]

Twocast, let's discuss the different lines available to you and then review your knot.

Mono - In the good old days, we used mono for topwater and treble hook baits as it has stretch. We set the hook by moving the rod at waist level from the right to the left or the left to the right.

Fluorocarbon - For all other baits, including plastics. Use by the pros today for topwaters and treble hook baits and their plastics. Used as a leader for braid presentations.

Braid - For a strong line in vegetation, not rocks where the line can be damaged. Used for jigs mostly by the pros along with a fluorocarbon leader tied to the braid with various "favorite" knots.

Polycarbon - New type of line that combines the properties of mono and fluorocarbon. Some guys use this type of line for all presentations. Yo-Zuri is a great brand to consider. Read about copoly lines on the Internet and consider using them.

Knots - No matter what type of knot you use to tie your braid to your leader you have to use a quick set glue. Get the type that has a brush so you can brush the fast drying glue on the knot. The glue helps support the knot. I use Kwik-Fix Super Glue with the brush on cap.

Research has shown that fluorocarbon line has stretch, just like the mono. And some brands of flouro have more stretch than mono.

Be sure to spool some mono to your reel first and then tie on the braid. This will stop the braid from turning on the reel when you are battling a fish.

It is very important for you to use the same "diameter" line when tying braid and flouro lines together. You can also tie the same pound test of braid and flouro lines together. Personal preference.

A lot of guys and gals do not use a leader. They tie the bait directly to the braid and don't worry about having a leader. Personal preference once again.

Knots at the bait and knots tying the braid and flouro together form weak spots in your line that can fail at any time. The fewer knots you have the less line failure you will have.

Try using the fast drying glue on your knots to note if knot failure reduces. Also consider cutting out the knot and retying after two or three fish. Just a suggestion.

Good luck and get back with us regarding the use of the glue trick.

 

 

 

[blckshirt98]

4 hours ago, HeavyTwenty said:

Maybe unrelated, but has anyone had issue with braid in the wind? I've been struggling to keep a straight line with 15 lb braid in 15-20 mph winds, but I was watching another guy fish with either mono/fluro (I asked and he said he couldn't remember what he put on) have much less trouble. Both of us were fishing weightless stick worms.

I did with PowerPro Super 8 Slick, that stuff is supple as silk and wind can get it tangled up in the blink of an eye.  I stopped using it and stick with normal PowerPro or Sufix 832 and it's more manageable.  Braid in general handles like string with no memory, while braid and fluoro will be much stiffer and hold coil memory so it'll be tougher for those lines to double back on itself and cause issues in the wind.