noise caused by braid

[king fisher]

Does the sound braid makes when dragged across wood have a negative effect on bass?  Has anyone switched to floro, or mono because of the noise?  I'm fishing some standing tees, with lots of horizontal branches.  I like to use heavy braid to cut down on the number of lost lures, and fish.  The sound of the line dragging across the branches bothers me, but does it bother the fish?

[Captain Phil]

I don't think it's the sound that is the issue. Braid is rough, that's where the noise is coming from. This roughness causes the line to hang on the cover so the lure may not fall naturally. This is especially true when flipping heavy cover.  When flipping, it's the fall that triggers the strike.  Anything that slows or impedes the fall of the bait lessens the chance a fish will strike it.  For this reason, I use 25 pound mono for flipping and I coat the lure and the line with oily attractant.   

 

The only time I use braid is when I'm frog fishing.  I use 50 pound braid because I may have to hoist a big bass out of an acre of pads. My son loves braid.  He's a back country salt water fisherman.  He says he likes the extra casting distance.  He doesn't have to worry about the line hanging up or making noise.  Bass fishing is different.  

 

Back when I was guiding, braid was just coming out.  If I had an angler in my boat that was using braid to fish plastic worms, I could out fish him with mono.  I attributed this to the visibility of braid and the unnatural action of the stiff line.  I was not going to be out fished, so I stayed with mono.  I am sure there are good anglers on this forum who love braid.  

[king fisher]

5 hours ago, Captain Phil said:

I don't think it's the sound that is the issue. Braid is rough, that's where the noise is coming from. This roughness causes the line to hang on the cover so the lure may not fall naturally. This is especially true when flipping heavy cover.  When flipping, it's the fall that triggers the strike.  Anything that slows or impedes the fall of the bait lessens the chance a fish will strike it.  For this reason, I use 25 pound mono for flipping and I coat the lure and the line with oily attractant.   

 

The only time I use braid is when I'm frog fishing.  I use 50 pound braid because I may have to hoist a big bass out of an acre of pads. My son loves braid.  He's a back country salt water fisherman.  He says he likes the extra casting distance.  He doesn't have to worry about the line hanging up or making noise.  Bass fishing is different.  

 

Back when I was guiding, braid was just coming out.  If I had an angler in my boat that was using braid to fish plastic worms, I could out fish him with mono.  I attributed this to the visibility of braid and the unnatural action of the stiff line.  I was not going to be out fished, so I stayed with mono.  I am sure there are good anglers on this forum who love braid.  

 Thanks for the reply. Braid is not my first choice of line in most situations, but I do use it when I feel the advantages out weigh the disadvantages.  I recently started using it in timber, but have noticed noise, better defined as vibration,  when dragging baits over limbs.  I am wondering specifically if this vibration - noise, is a disadvantage or if people with more experience using braid in trees, feel it is not a factor.  Other advantages, disadvantages of braid, I already have strong opinions on.  

[Captain Phil]

The subject of noise is interesting.  Your line noise may actually be attracting bass rather than turning them off.  Bass live in an environment where sound is magnified.  Any sound gets their attention and it may not be negative.  Years ago I fished a club tournament with a fellow member who fished a Carolina Rig in shallow water.  We were fishing East Lake Toho in water about 5 feet deep. This guy was using a one ounce sinker.  He would cast the rig in the water as hard as he could so it made a huge splash.  This concerned me until he started catching bass. The splash was actually attracting fish to his bait.  I don't recommend doing this, but it worked that day.

[roadwarrior]

13 minutes ago, Captain Phil said:

This guy was using a one ounce sinker.  He would cast the rig in the water as hard as he could so it made a huge splash.  This concerned me until he started catching bass. The splash was actually attracting fish to his bait.  

I prefer a BIG splash.

 

[NHBull]

1 hour ago, Captain Phil said:

The subject of noise is interesting.  Your line noise may actually be attracting bass rather than turning them off.  Bass live in an environment where sound is magnified.  Any sound gets their attention and it may not be negative.  Years ago I fished a club tournament with a fellow member who fished a Carolina Rig in shallow water.  We were fishing East Lake Toho in water about 5 feet deep. This guy was using a one ounce sinker.  He would cast the rig in the water as hard as he could so it made a huge splash.  This concerned me until he started catching bass. The splash was actually attracting fish to his bait.  I don't recommend doing this, but it worked that day.

I always fish my rats this way, but then don’t move it until the waves are gone....