can fish hear braid?

[waymont]

One day I was fishing fallen timber with jigs, and a 20lb FC leader. I broke off, and tied direct to braid.

I saw two fish checking my jig out, and as I pulled the braid over the log I heard it kind of squeak and watched the bass immediately swim away scared. It happened two times in about 20min. I put the leader back and caught more fish.

Not sure if braid running through the water can have an affect, but I would say sometimes braid rubbing on object can have an affect.

[jimmyjoe]

50 minutes ago, Dens228 said:

I'm with you.........bass sees lure, or also hears lure with hooks, rattles, wobbles, but hears the braid and goes the other way........doubt it. 

 

   Man oh man ..... I sure hope you're right. That would be GREAT!      jj

[Hulkster]

Try not to fart loudly while fishing either

[TnRiver46]

1 hour ago, waymont said:

One day I was fishing fallen timber with jigs, and a 20lb FC leader. I broke off, and tied direct to braid.

I saw two fish checking my jig out, and as I pulled the braid over the log I heard it kind of squeak and watched the bass immediately swim away scared. It happened two times in about 20min. I put the leader back and caught more fish.

Not sure if braid running through the water can have an affect, but I would say sometimes braid rubbing on object can have an affect.

Seems to me like those two fish would have just attacked your jig even if it was a pink and purple mardi gras jig tied to a rattling split ring ................

[Bird]

Hmmm no wonder bass fight so hard.....they're trying to run from that deafening sound. ?

[Big Rick]

In my experiences fish flee from sudden movements more consistently than they do from a sound like braid rubbing a limb. If I can see the fish, they can see me. Rod movements have caused more fish to flee than my bait or line causing sound. Bass are not top of the food chain and when in shallow clear water they are definitely looking up for that predator. At least it sure appears that way to me. 

[waymont]

1 hour ago, TnRiver46 said:

Seems to me like those two fish would have just attacked your jig even if it was a pink and purple mardi gras jig tied to a rattling split ring ................

I said the two fish ran away when the braid rubbed the log. Not sure what you are talking about.

[jimmyjoe]

   Went out today again, but I took 3 rods instead of just one. The one I used yesterday was the St. Croix Mojo Bass Glass H/M, rated 1/2 to 1 and 3/8 lure weight. Just like yesterday, pulling in a spinnerbait on a steady retrieve was the loudest grind from the braid going through the guides, and that was true on all 3 rods.

   But there was something different. The other 2 rods were a cheap Berkley Heritage with stainless steel guides and inserts, and my graphite Mojo Bass MH/F, 3/8 to 1 oz.

   Both of them were NOTICEABLY quieter than the 'glass rod. And I don't mean a little, I mean a lot quieter.

   Maybe @cgolf was right about the guide material. Maybe the glass series guides are different.

   And maybe that big, fat fiberglass rod's diameter has something to do with it.

 

   I dunno. I'll just keep on fishing.   ??     jj

[Tim Kelly]

If you watch any of those videos on you tube with guys casting for pike or musky with a waterwolf camera clipped on above the lure, to film the fish hitting the lure, you will notice the noise the braid makes going through the guides transmitted down the taught line like a tin can and string telephone!

 

It doesn't matter most of the time I suppose, but I bet it matters sometimes. It's a really loud noise and I bet it matters when punching sometimes too.

 

I remember fishing vertically, damiki style, with a friend a few years ago for zander (walleye). We were fishing in 90ft water and our baits were no more than 8ft apart. I had a fluoro leader and he had a fine wire leader on the end of his fluoro. I was getting 5x as many bites as him. He switched to exactly the same bait as me, made no difference.  Finally he took the wire off and immediately got the same number of bites as me. 

 

It's not often you get a chance to prove something as clearly as that in fishing, but on that day it made a big difference. It has always made me very cautious of doing things that could put fish off since.

 

Moving lures on 4 strand braid being one of them.

[Catt]

To average size bass it probably doesn't matter ?

[Bass_Fanatic]

I do not know if fish hear braid or not,  but I throw and Alabama rig a lot and have one rigged on braid and one with 25lb floro.  The floro our fishes the braid 100% of the time.  And that’s a rig with metal wires everywhere so you’d think the “invisible” traits of floro would be negated by it.

[Boomstick]

I figure once the lure hits the water, the noise of the braid going though the guides will quote down significantly so I wouldn't think they would hear it.

[Choporoz]

Topping this because....well because I like this thread.   And because I recall it often.  Lots of threads about line recently and not many mention noise differential.  While braid noise effect on bass fishing is likely still very inconclusive,  I think it would be foolish to assume it isn't a factor.  Whether noise from guides, rubbing on wood or just going through the water, I'd guess braid is always going to be noisier.   Is that a positive or a negative?  I'd presume more negative than positive.  I still use braid a quite a bit, but as I prepare to respool my workhorse bottom contact reel, I got to wondering about this.....again. 

[Captain Phil]

I have been a critic of braid for a long time. In recent years, I started experimenting with braid and discovered it's not as bad as I had thought.   I still believe braid is a disadvantage when fishing soft plastics in open water.   In clear water where I want as natural of a presentation as possible, I would choose mono or floro line.  Obviously braid has an advantage when it comes to heavy cover fishing.  I have found it works exceptionally well with Rattle Traps.  My "fish in the boat" ratio is much higher with braid.  I attribute this to lack of stretch.  

 

I think the biggest problem with braid is anglers use bigger line than they need to.  Why use 50-60 pound braid for bass fishing?  20 pound braid is strong enough for any bass and it's diameter is much less.  If you are worried about breaking off a big fish, go to 30.   The thinner your line, the more bites you will get.

 

The greatest lesson I learned from salt water fishing is how much your line affects your results.  The clearer the water, the more effect it has.  If you are fishing in coffee creamer, you can use cable. 

[flyfisher]

1 hour ago, Captain Phil said:

I have been a critic of braid for a long time. In recent years, I started experimenting with braid and discovered it's not as bad as I had thought.   I still believe braid is a disadvantage when fishing soft plastics in open water.   In clear water where I want as natural of a presentation as possible, I would choose mono or floro line.  Obviously braid has an advantage when it comes to heavy cover fishing.  I have found it works exceptionally well with Rattle Traps.  My "fish in the boat" ratio is much higher with braid.  I attribute this to lack of stretch.  

 

I think the biggest problem with braid is anglers use bigger line than they need to.  Why use 50-60 pound braid for bass fishing?  20 pound braid is strong enough for any bass and it's diameter is much less.  If you are worried about breaking off a big fish, go to 30.   The thinner your line, the more bites you will get.

 

The greatest lesson I learned from salt water fishing is how much your line affects your results.  The clearer the water, the more effect it has.  If you are fishing in coffee creamer, you can use cable. 

I agree here and never go heavier than 40lb but that is only because it works better on my bait casters.  Spinning reels I usually go with 20lb or sometimes 30lb.  One thing braid doesn't have is abrasion resistance and that thin braid jsut feels like it would snap easily.

[T-Billy]

13 hours ago, Captain Phil said:

I have been a critic of braid for a long time. In recent years, I started experimenting with braid and discovered it's not as bad as I had thought.   I still believe braid is a disadvantage when fishing soft plastics in open water.   In clear water where I want as natural of a presentation as possible, I would choose mono or floro line.  Obviously braid has an advantage when it comes to heavy cover fishing.  I have found it works exceptionally well with Rattle Traps.  My "fish in the boat" ratio is much higher with braid.  I attribute this to lack of stretch.  

 

I think the biggest problem with braid is anglers use bigger line than they need to.  Why use 50-60 pound braid for bass fishing?  20 pound braid is strong enough for any bass and it's diameter is much less.  If you are worried about breaking off a big fish, go to 30.   The thinner your line, the more bites you will get.

 

The greatest lesson I learned from salt water fishing is how much your line affects your results.  The clearer the water, the more effect it has.  If you are fishing in coffee creamer, you can use cable. 

Abrasion resistance, line dig on the spool, and handling are the main reasons to fish heavier braid. Shallow spools mitigate the dig problem. 832 has proven to hold up better in the rocks than any other braid I've tried, and I've found no need to go above 40#.

 Fireline Ultra 8 is doing well for me here lately abrasion wise. I'm trying it on a couple casting rigs, but getting through the break in period with it is frustrating. I want to like it, but the jury is still out. It's tough stuff, but it's stiff and wants to lay loosely on the spool. This causes it to dig worse than standard 8 carrier braids. Hopefully it will soften up enough for this problem to go away. I'm using 14# and 20#. They're roughly the same diameter as 20# and 40# 832.

[Deleted account]

On 10/30/2020 at 2:38 PM, waymont said:

can fish hear braid?

 

Fish can certainly hear braid, in some cases it can be an issue, I've only found it to be minimally so with bass, but with other fish it can make a big difference. I don't fish braid much because I can hear it, and it annoys me.

[gim]

On 8/8/2022 at 5:54 AM, Captain Phil said:

Why use 50-60 pound braid for bass fishing?  20 pound braid is strong enough for any bass and it's diameter is much less.

I would agree with that in any case except one: frog fishing.  When I'm tossing a hollow body frog into a jungle of weeds and lily pads, 20 pound braid isn't strong enough.  I want 50.  Basically any fish that gets hooked needs to be wenched in through the tangle of gnarliness.

 

I will also add that 30 or 40 pound braid won't hold up to the teeth of northern pike either.  The last couple seasons I was using 30 or 40 pound straight braid on some of my faster moving lures and they sliced right through it.  Didn't see that coming.  I know you guys don't have pike in Florida so that's not an issue but it is constantly a problem up here.

[Captain Phil]

23 minutes ago, gimruis said:

I would agree with that in any case except one: frog fishing.  When I'm tossing a hollow body frog into a jungle of weeds and lily pads, 20 pound braid isn't strong enough.  I want 50.  Basically any fish that gets hooked needs to be wenched in through the tangle of gnarliness.

 

I will also add that 30 or 40 pound braid won't hold up to the teeth of northern pike either.  The last couple seasons I was using 30 or 40 pound straight braid on some of my faster moving lures and they sliced right through it.  Didn't see that coming.  I know you guys don't have pike in Florida so that's not an issue but it is constantly a problem up here.

 

We have Chain Pickerel, but they are not a real problem as they rarely get over 3-4 pounds.  Frog fishing in cover is an exception.  For that, I use 50 pound Power Pro.  I doubt bass can see the line under those conditions.  I find 20 pound Power Pro works for most everything else. If the water is clear, I use a fluorocarbon leader.   I spool the line on my reels as tight as possible and never have trouble with the line digging in.  I do find braid a little harder to deal with on a casting reel. 

[Mike L]

In my opinion 50# or 65# braid is neither a hinderance or unwarranted in the waters I fish in the majority of the time. 
There are times in specific locations that I with I had brought my combo spooled with 80#. 
 

Can a bass hear it being pulled through the water?
Can she see it as it drops in front of her?

And If so, does it make her turn away only because of it?

Nobody really knows for sure. 
 

But one thing I do know, not once did I give any thought or concern that I put myself at a disadvantage because of the sight or sound my line could possibly make going through the water. 
 

 

Mike