Thinking about switching to braid

[SoFlaBassAddict]

So, I've always liked using mono.  Recently my father grabbed me a small spool of fluoro, and I put about 60 yards of it on a reel, tied to mono to fill the spool.  Good times using it.  Now I'm finally thinking about using some braid on a reel as well.  I've been reading a lot on people that use braid with a mono or fluoro leader depending on what they're doing.  The rod I'm going to possibly put this on is a MH Xfast rod that I primarily use for soft plastics and jigs.

Since I don't use a bunch of rods my concern with it is, the knot between the braid and leader material.  How much of a pain is the knot going through the guides going to be while pitching a bait.  A lot of times I'll use the same rod to pitch and or cast the same bait depending on what cover I see.  I'll probably use a uni to uni knot to tie the two together.  I'm just worried about that knot effecting the pitching distance and accuracy when it catches on the guides.

Input is definitely needed as I've already gone out and grabbed a spool of Power Pro to play with.

[bilgerat]

I use a blood knot to join a mono leader to braid. There's no getting around a knot going through the guides, even using the shortest of leaders.

After tying the knot, I trim the tag ends to about a 1/4". I then pinch the knot itself between my thumb and forefinger to protect the knot, exposing only the tag ends. Then I use a lighter to burn down the tag ends to within millimeters of the knot itself.

This makes for the lowest profile knot I can get that will be the least resistant to going through the guides. You really won't lose much distance at all.

[Hammer 4]

depends on the brand, and weight of the braid, but I'll give you my set up, and you can go from there.

55lb diawa samuri braid, has the same diameter as 10lb mono. For jigs and some plastic fishing, I sually tie on a 10 to 15 lb fluro leader, depending on the cover..If I'm in heavy cover, and whether or not the water is clear, or stained, I tie my braid directly to the jig..

My leaders are usually 3 to 5' long. I use a uni to uni knot, and here's where you can make the knot a tad thinner to run through the guides a bit better. On the braid side, I do 6 twists's, on the fluro side I do 8..this sorta elongates the knot, even with 6 on each side, I can cast w/o any problems. You will feel a slight "tick" when the knot goes through the guides, but it doesn't hurt the distance alot, maybe a few feet at most.

For flippin and Picthing..I don't notice any difference in distance, nor accuracy..try it out, and see what you think. If you have any mono laying around, try that befor buying any fluro. Also, all braids are Not created equal..some are waxy, some require break in period, some ahve the color come off, and some cost a tad more than others.

IMHO, if your going to try braid, I wouldn't go under 50lb test.

[bassnleo]

I commonly use 20 lb braid with a 6 or 8 lb fluoro leader.

I use a double uni knot to attach the two lines.

I use this set up on spinning tackle for finesse applications like drop shotting, shakey heads, sometimes tubes.

[SoFlaBassAddict]

All I can say is wow. I said screw it and went ahead and tried it out. Forget me ever questioning people on using braid for bass fishing. I was only thinking from a strength perspective before. I never realized it was so sensitive for freshwater critters. I've used braid tons of times on my offshore trolling gear just because of the strength per diameter of it. But wow. I recently also started using tungsten weights and I'm just in shock at how much more I can feel on the other end of the line now. I could feel every single bump. I could feel the weight sliding down the line and hitting my plastic when I hopped it. Unreal.

30 lb power pro, 10 lb fluoro. Uni to uni knot. The reason I used that knot is because it's something I'm very familiar with and know I can tie it right. No real issues going through the guides like when I used a Seaguar knot before. Now I just need to break this stuff in a little more to lessen some of the noise when it comes through the guides. And I need to get some of the darn green dye worn out so my reel doesn't have those little green water droplets on it.

For anybody on the fence about using it...best 13 bucks I've spent on a line in a long time.

Edited to add:

Just the difference in cast distance alone was worth it.  I was able to lower my control knob a lot and basically turn off both sets of brakes ( 1-2 on the magnetic and pins out on the spool).  I'm sure that will get even better with time.  I couldn't believe I was able to hurl a 1/4 oz lure out quite that far.  I feel like I've got a newer brand new rod and reel.

[SoFlaBassAddict]

I use a uni to uni knot, and here's where you can make the knot a tad thinner to run through the guides a bit better. On the braid side, I do 6 twists's, on the fluro side I do 8..this sorta elongates the knot, even with 6 on each side, I can cast w/o any problems. You will feel a slight "tick" when the knot goes through the guides, but it doesn't hurt the distance alot, maybe a few feet at most.

I gave it five wraps on each side.  Thats more than I normally would do it for trolling gear.  Barely noticeable when it hits that last guide on a cast.  Pitching isn't an issue, I've only got about a 4' leader on right now.

[Hammer 4]

The one reason why I do 6 and 8 is I've thrown heavy swimbaits with it before..and it holds. The line will break before the knot fails..and yup, the braid lets you feel everything..

[SirSnookalot]

Then I use a lighter to burn down the tag ends to within millimeters of the knot itself.

Smart move, I do the same.  I use nothing but braid for both salt inshore and freshwater, 10-15#.  My leaders are about 15-18" so no need to run thru the guides.  I have never seen any significant difference in floro leader compared to mono, I cut mine from Ande and the only time I tie line to line is fishing for Mackerel, they are notorious for striking the swivel instead of the lure.

[I.rar]

i tried 15/4 power pro on my light/fast spinning rig and hated it.  i spent more time picking wind knots out than i did fishing so i eventually trashed it. the reel i was using was an abu 801 (750 size spool?) with a 6'6 L/F rod. i tried using both uni to uni and albright. didnt have a problem with the knots but preferred the uni to uni.

i have no idea what i was doing wrong to get knots like how i did , but that left a terrible taste in my mouth for braid. when i was able to fish with it , i thought it was fantastic. i had no problem setting hooks with the light rod and my casts  were much further. i MAY try fireline when i have $15 burning a hole in my wallet.

glad you like it.  8-)