Braid for everything

[low_pro]

It's official, I am now using braid (Powerpro) on ALL of my setups... I was fishing the other day and running a chatterbait along the shore when a HUGE wake appeared and my bait started going sideways!! No sooner did I pull, the line popped like I was using 4lb test... I was using Yo-zuri 15lb... This is not the first time this has happened so I swore that would never happen again... The line was not old, frayed, or anything... just snapped like a twig

I fish alot of topwater and not really a fan of braid for this presentation but what choice do I have?!?! :-?

Also, braid is a little too visible for some of the timid fish I encounter... I definately prefer powerpro over spiderwire but the invisbraid is starting to tempt me...

Anyone else use braid for EVERYTHING?

[HesterIsGod]

If you are fishing for lmb i think only using braid is a huge mistake. If you stop using fluoro and mono with certain techniques, your catch rate will go down, guaranteed. I dont know why your 15 pound line keeps breaking, but it is probably because of a factor you can control. Maybe the fish that keeping breaking you off have teeth, maybe there is a knick in one of the guides of your rod, maybe your drag is way too tight. LMB dont just go around breaking 15 pound line all the time.

Remember, The second biggest bass ever caught (22 lbs) was caught on 8 lb monofilament.

[TeamBerettaGold]

I fish braid almost 99.9% of the time.  Cranking is about the only time I might use mono or floro, or on the big pond when the bite is tuff.  I have no problem catching fish, could I catch a couple more fish with mono or floro? yeah probably.  Do I enjoy losing $15 cranks? Nope.  There is so many northern in all the lakes I fish, all I can do to combat losing baits all the time is to fish braid.  To each his own though.  Hest is right check your guides, I knocked out the ceramic on a g loomis last year and never realized it till I started snapping off fish like crazy.

[Grey Wolf]

When you tie your knot , do you wet it before you tighten it down ?

Could your drag be set too tight ?

[bassman417]

I use primarily braid (powerpro) on everything. However Im fishing strictly the muddy mississippi, whereas I do have a couple rods in the shed that are set up with mono for ponds and the crystal clear lakes for finesse fishing. If Im not drop-shotting a clear body of water its braid all the way. Better hooksets IMO too.

[macmaster761]

i agree, i use braid for all my setups, but 15lb line should not be breaking like that.  check all your guides, one time i chipped my ultralight uglystick top guide and it acted like a razor blade, cutting 10lb braid time after time until i figured out what was going on...

:-?

[=Matt 5.0=]

It's official, I am now using braid (Powerpro) on ALL of my setups... I was fishing the other day and running a chatterbait along the shore when a HUGE wake appeared and my bait started going sideways!! No sooner did I pull, the line popped like I was using 4lb test... I was using Yo-zuri 15lb... This is not the first time this has happened so I swore that would never happen again... The line was not old, frayed, or anything... just snapped like a twig

I fish alot of topwater and not really a fan of braid for this presentation but what choice do I have?!?! :-?

Also, braid is a little too visible for some of the timid fish I encounter... I definately prefer powerpro over spiderwire but the invisbraid is starting to tempt me...

Anyone else use braid for EVERYTHING?

I'm not an expert.....however.....

Did it break at the knot? What knot are you using?  Also..I have yet to see an "invisibraid"

I have a feeling there is something else at fault here. I fished Yo Zuri Ultrasoft 8# for the entire season last year and it never once. "snapped" In fact, I straightened out a few hooks trying to free some jigs, and hauled a few good sized limbs to the surface.....

[HogHooker]

I'm almost the complete opposite, i use maxima and trilene, max clear, and maxima ultragreen are what i use for cranks, grubs, worms. I use trilene big game for swimbaits, u can fish them slower with mono. But i do use braid aswell, i always use braid on jigs, spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, topwater and pitching. the problem that

I found with braid and topwater was that it is a dark colour. What u need is tuffline braid, the normal stuff, it is white and is just a little thicker than Tuffline XP. The good thing about normal tuffline that i love, is that it has no memory, most braids have a coating and if u bend them they stay like that, with the normal tuffline it is super limp, doesn't have a coating its just plain braid and thats the reason for it being a little thicker, to prevent it from abrasion, it's still way thinner than mono of the same test, and i cant cut it with scissors or snips, need a blade.

I also find braid if used alot in ceramick guides creates grooves that will slice any line.

[FishTank]

Anyone else use braid for EVERYTHING?

I use braid but not for everything.  It has it's time and place but I prefer to use for topwater and heavy cover.  It's great stuff but I find I catch more fish using fluorocarbon and co-polymer lines.

[Tin]

Could it have been a toothy critter?

Also, did you really wet the line when you tied up the knot? I know if you don't it will break like how you described.

[low_pro]

Yeah, unfortunatley I don't think this will be as productive as I imagined... a good friend of mine only uses braid and catches just as many fish as I do when we go out. but I went out yesterday and got skunked with only braid on :-/ (VERY rarely happens) the water was pretty clear and the fish were very timid and the braid stuck out like a sore thumb in their beds....

I will probably give Yo-zuri another run for bc gear but will probably run XL or Sufix Elite on my spinning gear. what pound test do you run on spinning equipment?  reels are rated for 6-10lb test

[GobbleDog]

I exclusively use 8 lb Power Pro, and add black permanent marker to the first 10 feet of line which seems to help with visibility.

I tried using a fluro leader for a while since I usually fish extremely clear water, but didn't notice much difference except for the extra knot I had to tie so i quit using it.

They say mono is a little better for crankbaits and such (since it stretches), but Power Pro still works.  When it comes to topwater lures, I've noticed with braided line I get slightly more fouled hooks after casting compared with mono.

As for breaking off with braided line, sometimes that can be attributed to the line falling into the crease of the eyelet of the hook which can cut it.  I know a few fisherman who always tie a mono knot on the hook, cut it short, and then slide it into that crease before tieing on the Power Pro.

[MA_Bass]

As for ther breakage, I'm calling toothy fish. There are a lot of Pike in my favorite bass spot and I have seen it happen exactly as you described several times.

I use braided on all of my lines, but not without a leader. I make the leader as long as possible without having the knot on the spool while casting. I end up replacing leaders because of knots before they get too short. I currently use Stren super braid 14# but think that I may have to try the Power Pro after all of the mentions.

For those that use leaders, any recomendations? Tying mono to braid isn't easy and I'm looking to try new knots/line combos. I use a blood knot most of the time.

[surfer]

Suffix Performance Braid 10# with a 10ft floro leader for everything.  

It takes a while for the 10 ft leader to get short so I don't have to retie very often.  Currently using Uni-Uni knot, but would like to learn the blood and albright/ alberto more efficiently to do comparisons.  I use softer rods for techniques where some give is needed since the braid will not stretch.