Going to try Braid for the first time?

[abnaki54]

Gonna try Braid and could use some feedback on what techniques are good. I know a lot of folks fish jigs with it, but are there other uses? I always wondered if it's good for T Rigs?

Thanks

[Further North]

Braid works fine for Texas Rigs.

If you are fishing structure that will beat up your line (rocks, ect.) I'd tie in a leader of abrasive resistant fluorocarbon, co poly or mono.

[MickD]

Braid works fine for any technique.  I use leaders, but some do not.  You'll need to learn a good leader to line knot if you choose to use leaders, and your braid to lure knot needs to be better than the usual mono knots.  Palomar is a great one.  If using surface lures use mono as it does not sink like FC.

An easy to learn and tie knot that is very reliable for line to leader is the double uni.  There are other good ones, but most are harder to learn and tie.

[Bluebasser86]

I like braid on my spinning gear, and on casting gear when I'm going to be around grass. I don't like it for moving baits, or around rocks. 

[fishnkamp]

First there are different types of braid and I use them for different situations. My wife and I had tried a lot of different brands of mono on spinning reels and even though we always close the bail by hand there were times we dealt with line coils which take time to fix.  Finally we tried Berkley Fireline Original and Berkley Fused line ( basically the same line). They play a lot different than any other mono or braid and I can not remember the last time I fixed a coils problem, I use 14 pound test on all of the spinning reels and tie on a 3 to 6 foot leader of 8 or 10 pound P Line CXX moss green line. That stuff is tough. On baitcasting reels  I use several braids for different techniques. For texas rigs, carolina rigs, jigs etc I would use either Power Pro Spectra, Suffix 832, or Spiderwire Stealth braid in 20 or 30 pound test.  For frogs I use 65 pound test  Power Pro Spectra.  I have a 6 foot rod I use for spinnerbaits and another 6 footer I use for throwing light weight hollow body swimbaits like Skinny Dippers and both of them have 10 pound 832 on them.  I tie direct with those using no leaders. All of these setups work great for me.  Anytime I spool a ree,l I fill 1/2 the spool with mono like Stren or Berkley Trilene. It ties tight to the spool eliminating the braid from spinning on the spool. It also makes the cost of using braid affordable. Most baitcasters hold about 150 yards of line.  So 75 yards of mono is less than $2.00 and most braid averages about  $8. This also reduces the cost of Fluorocarbon even more dramatically.  Just learn to tie the Arbor knot to attach the mono to the spool tight and the uni to uni knot to attach the mono to braid and braid to leader material. 

[IgotWood]

I use braid for everything. Normally I'll tie and a flouro leader to my braid via an Alberto knot, or uni-uni. A little helpful tip...each time you cast, be sure to pull your line tight onto the roller or spool when using braid to avoid knots. Braid can be such a pain in the butt when dealing with knots, and expensive too.

[.ghoti.]

i prefer smaller avocados.

[MickD]

I guess I'm a little slow today, ghoti.  But I would like to get it.  

I just spooled up my first reel with Bushido 15# braid, and I think I'm going to love it.  Very small diameter, sort of a tight weave/harder finish than some braids.  I haven't fished with it yet, so out on a limb (avocado tree), but it looks very promising.

[fishnkamp]

What did you spool it on? Is it a baitcaster of spinning reel? I automatically assumed a baitcaster. What  are the specks on the rod? Medium, MH, H what is the taper Moderate. Fast, extra fast?

Knowing this maybe we can give you an idea what will work best with that combo.

[Further North]

For my leader to braid knots, I use the FG knot.  Used to use the Alberto, but the FG is smaller, works better for me, and is easier to tie for me.

[abnaki54]

Thanks for all the insight, I look forward to trying it. I lost about a 9+ lb. on Rayburn last year on Mono, got me into the pads and broke off. Never want to repeat that again!