Braid On Everything?

[N.Y. Yankee]

With the amount of good to excellent super lines (braid) on the market now and the advantages they give you, I'm wondering why not just put some sort of braid on every reel?  There are many good knots to connect a leader if desired, long leader, short leader, or just use strait braid, there are so many different options it seems like a win-win. Is braid on everything a popular option or do most anglers still have certain rods for mono and flouro only?

[Choporoz]

Absolutely zero consensus.  Go right ahead.  Some do.  Some won't.   Some will tell you it is dumb.  Some will say it's genius.  

  You have to decide what factors and line properties are most important to you.  Sorry.  No right answer.

[AlabamaSpothunter]

I'm the exact opposite, unless I'm throwing frogs or something into Lil Vietnam, I have no use for braid.   I dislike it to be honest.   I might setup a Ned Rig rod/reel and use braid/leader, but again it's a very niche product in my fishing.  

 

15-20lb Fluorocarbon is incredibly durable, and abrasion resistant.   Has more forgiveness built in it for moving baits, very sensitive, and obviously invisible underwater.

 

I've never met a serious Bass angler that only used braid.    Lots of them use braid for unique applications, but I'd still guess the majority of their setups are non braid.   

 

 

[JWall14]

I am braid to leader on everything with the exception of one casting rod when I fished st Clair. Braid turns 5 combos into 10. I can fish any bait on any body of water in the country with only 5-6 rods. There are no downsides for me. It’s more sensitive and I can get stronger hooksets.

[txchaser]

I've come almost full circle on this, starting with lots of braid/leader use. The way I think about it now is what line gives me the most advantage for a particular presentation. All my bottom contact is flouro, topwater gets mono except where braid gives an advantage like a frog. I do think fish can see the braid on a topwater, so slower presentations I think some fish get scared off. I noticed the fewer rods I had the more likely I was to want to use braid/leader. Even using flouro on a-rigs for the moment, although thats mostly because my a-rig rod is double duty for 2oz swimbaits. 

 

I am considering going back to braid/leader for crankbait, since slack line sensitivity doesn't matter there, and being able to downsize or upsize leader quickly may be useful.  I still like it a lot for moving bait presentation in weeds, like a swimjig or a chatterbait. 

 

Try flouro on your bottom contact rod, or something that gets bit on the fall, and you may notice some bites you were missing before, especially if you fish in the wind.

 

[NavyToad]

Some serious anglers use only braid.

[Jar11591]

Braid and treble hooks is an absolute no-go for me. Braid on spinning reels is also an absolute no-go. Frogs, flipping and pitching, spinnerbaits, and jigs are what I use braid for. These are just preferences. A lot of bass fishermen and members here use only braid. You may find that you like it. 

[Deleted account]

No all braid for me, as a matter of fact I go to it only on a couple of things, and only reluctantly.

[casts_by_fly]

5 minutes ago, Jar11591 said:

Braid and treble hooks is an absolute no-go for me. Braid on spinning reels is also an absolute no-go. Frogs, flipping and pitching, spinnerbaits, and jigs are what I use braid for. These are just preferences. A lot of bass fishermen and members here use only braid. You may find that you like it. 

 

I'm roughly the inverse on this.  I only put braid on spinning reels now (aside from ultralight trout spinning reels) and add a leader.  Braid is my main crankbait rod, especially for lipless cranks.

 

Spinnerbaits, most of my jigs, and most of my pitching is mono.  I have a braid rig for heavier cover pitching on my 'big boy rod' but the rest is all mono.

 

At least we agree on Frogs.

[Jar11591]

Just now, casts_by_fly said:

 

I'm roughly the inverse on this.  I only put braid on spinning reels now (aside from ultralight trout spinning reels) and add a leader.  Braid is my main crankbait rod, especially for lipless cranks.

 

Spinnerbaits, most of my jigs, and most of my pitching is mono.  I have a braid rig for heavier cover pitching on my 'big boy rod' but the rest is all mono.

 

At least we agree on Frogs.

I think I’m definitely in the minority when it comes to no braid on spinning reels. I tried it for half a season, and just couldn’t get on board with it. Ended up going back to Yo-Zuri Hybrid on all my spinning reels. 

[gim]

I use probably 75% braided line on my setups.  I still use some mono in certain situations though.  Occasionally I use straight braid without any fluoro leaders too, like when frogging.  @T-Billy uses braid.  #straightbraidbrigade

[PressuredFishing]

I tried it on spinning, braid to leader, manageability was great and casting distance did gain 15 extra feet, but I just can't get over the sound and the feeling. The newer 9+ strand ones are much better, but the manageabilities of nylon has also gotten much better.  I don't nessesarily mind tying leaders, I just hate the feeling and sound of braid.

[bowhunter63]

I run straight 10 lb braid in the river for Smallmouth. It dosent seem to affect the bite. 

[Jmontgomery87]

I use 15lb braid on my spinning setups and 50lb braid for casting. I like bring able to change my leader to any weight I want. I use mono leaders for abrasion resistance and to add a little stretch. It's also cheaper than cutting off braid.

 

UL trout fishing is the only thing I don't use braid for.

 

[GReb]

I’m not throwing braid or fluorocarbon unless I have to.  I have fluoro on a two bottom contact rods and a jerkbait rod. And braid on a couple frog/grass rods 

 

Copoly is my absolute favorite. It’s manageable, forgiving, strong knots, decent abrasion resistance, and affordable. I spend about $30 a year on bulk spools and change my line often. Nothing beats the feel of fresh line. Since most of my reels are 70 or 100 size I don’t waste much line either or not like in the days of 200 size reels

[Hulkster]

Im the opposite, I use all Sufix Siege mono on all my setups in varying pound tests. its awesome. 

 

I tried braid and didn't like it, got wind knots on spinning gear, I look back and realize i was using too light of braid ( 10 pound 832), but Sufix Siege casts so well and is so strong in 10 pound test on spinning gear I can't see a reason to try it again in say a 30 pound braid. 

[MN Fisher]

I'm such a mix it's silly

Casting rigs: Bass

   2 Braid - 1 never gets a leader

   1 Mono

   2 Yo-Zuri Hybrid

   2 FC

Spinning rigs: Bass

  2 Braid

  1 Mono

  1 FC

Spinning rigs: Panfish

  3 Mono

[Team9nine]

No, not braid on everything, and not win-win…but everyone’s weaknesses and compensations are different ?

[T-Billy]

4 hours ago, gimruis said:

I use probably 75% braided line on my setups.  I still use some mono in certain situations though.  Occasionally I use straight braid without any fluoro leaders too, like when frogging.  @T-Billy uses braid.  #straightbraidbrigade

I like straight mono for finesse stuff. I think those little baits just move more naturally on it. Straight braid for everything else.

[thediscochef]

I use braid + copoly leader on some stuff, sufix siege on others. For various reasons. Lines are just tools and we have different tools for different tasks

[T-Billy]

5 hours ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

I've never met a serious Bass angler that only used braid.   

Hi, I'm Tim. Nice to meet you. 

[NavyToad]

18 minutes ago, T-Billy said:

Hi, I'm Tim. Nice to meet you. 

Hey @T-Billy, When are you going to get serious? LOL! Quit piddlin’ around with that braid.

[T-Billy]

27 minutes ago, NavyToad said:

Hey @T-Billy, When are you going to get serious? LOL! Quit piddlin’ around with that braid.

LOL. I don't get too "serious" about it, but I am an "avid" angler. I fish roughly 80-100 days a year. I ended up going with mostly straight braid just through experimentation and experience on the water. I started with just mono like most. Fell for the fertilizer that the line companies and their sponsored pro's spread about fluoro, like many. Failures with that crap lead me back to mono. Started doing all my heavy cover fishing with braid, and that lead to me trying braid for other techniques. Turns out that at least in most instances, fish don't give a crap about seeing that braid. I REALLY like the way 832 handles. It holds up well, even in rock with 30# and up. I retie WAY less with it than with mono or fluoro. I can move fish out of places I wouldn't even attempt to fish with mono or flouro. Braid's just the best option for me for most of what I do. There will never be a concensus on this topic. Different strokes for different folks and all. Ya gotta get out there and experiment. Find out what works for YOU. Then when you get tired of breaking fish off on that other stuff, come enlist in the #STRAIGHTBRAIDBRIGADE. ?

[NavyToad]

6 minutes ago, T-Billy said:

#STRAIGHTBRAIDBRIGADE. ?

I just like to keep things as simple as possible. I use only mono on spinning gear and probably use spinning gear 10 % of the time. I’ve tried braid to leader - heck with that. I use mono on a baitcaster for hard jerkbaits and that’s it. I live on a lake and years ago I fished 250+ days a year. Now I usually fish a couple times a week and after resisting braid for a long time, braid is practically all I use anymore because I don’t think it matters much. We’re all different and who cares?

 

[T-Billy]

10 minutes ago, NavyToad said:

We’re all different and who cares?

Amen brother. Imagine how boring it would be if we were all the same.

10 minutes ago, NavyToad said:

I’ve tried braid to leader - heck with that.

I'll fish a mono leader when fishing deep rock to make breaking off easier. That's the only time I use one.

 

Edit to add: Get your butt out there and catch some on that Invoker. ? I'm anxious to hear what you think of it.