Braided line

[shiloh]

OK...I'm going to throw myself on the mercy of the forum...

Be gentle (note my "newbie" rating...) please...

Back when I started fishin (just after they stopped using curved whalebone for hooks....just kidding !!  >  mono line was for spinning gear, and braid was for baitcasters (I have no memory of what the material of the casting braid was...cotton? dacron? horsehair?  In any event, it looked like little rope, was opaque and really tough-looking.  Not like the soft, wispy beauty of my mono...  8)

Today, mono (and braid...) is used for baitcasters, so the obvious (newbie, remember...) question is:  can you use braid for spinning gear? I've never even considered it, under the assumption that it would be too heavy/rope-like.  But it seems that some (a lot?) of you are doing that, so braid must be very different today...

Thanks for helping me learn something new every day!!  ;D  This forum is awesome!!

[bassackwards]

well, I tried some braid on my baitcaster.  it was the 4lb diameter-15lb kind.  well, I casted it once, and with a snap of your finger it poofed up into one huge birdnest.    now I'm fully aware of my ignorance to the small line diameter.  but I no longer put it on my baitcaster, for some reason.....  

[pa_basser]

i use the stern super braid on my spinning reel this year and love the stuff i use the 10bl,4 bl diamenter. i tried the fireline last month but had no luck with it .it would break with ever fish i set the hook on and i tried ever knot you could use .  good luck

[bass master]

I use 10lb power Pro with a 4lb diameter, on some of my spinning gear. I love it.

[Rebbasser]

Today's braids are light years ahead of the old dacron braids.  I don't use it on a spinning reel simply because I don't use them very often.  I have several baitcasters spooled with it.  I use PowerPro braid, but I have a friend who swears by Fireline on a spinning reel.

[Grey Wolf]

Braid works great on spinning reels.

[lakeman14]

Well I have had nothing but bad luck with braid on a spinning reel.  On my baitcaster I use tough line, love the stuff.

steve

[Guest DavidGreen]

Braid Users

I have a question.....

Braided line on spinning gear is ok if you remember that there is very little stretch to it. To accommodate this you back off on your drag settings and back off on the rod action you use.

Right?    

[Grey Wolf]

I use a lighter drag setting with braid , I use both Med. and Med/Hvy rods with fast tips. I do believe the med. rods are the best with braid. , but this is just my opinion. I hope this gives you some insight.

[Curado]

I've used braid on a spinning rod and it was fine I used 20lb. Power Pro which has the line diameter of 8 lb. mono.

[CallMeTheSeeker]

i was just gonna ask a question right along these lines(get off your no pun high horses!)

i have used a couple of diffrent lines(multiple mono's and most recently vanish)  i seemed to get alot of breaks(i fish alot of thick cover)  and the vanish seemed to tangle very easy, and i dont really care for the stretch it has.

my fav line i'v used so far is fireline flourescent, it's great for line watching...doesnt seem to tangle too badly on my med/heavy reel and it's strong as heck.  i also like having the toughter line, seems feeling the lure/bottom is easier.  i usually have used 8lb test.  Also breakage hasn't seemed to be a big problem for me with fireline.....perhaps i just havent landed enough big boys on it?

it just doesnt seem like many of u guys like fireline(or maybe it's braids in gen)

since im a newb i'd like to ask why?  Some pros and cons would help much

Also i've een thinking of maybe using on of the flourocarbons as a leader....thoughts/opinions?

thanks again guys

-Seeker

[shiloh]

I can't get the picture of that good ole braid out of my head...by comparison to the mono I used on  my spin gear back in the Bronze Age, the braid of that era looked  like clothesline.

Today...how does the "look and feel" (diameter, limpness, memory, etc) compare for for the same "strength" (lb test) of mono and braid.

And (another silly question...) is the braid actually composed of (very small) braided mono?

[Rebbasser]

Seeker, I haven't used Fireline since I have been so pleased with PowerPro. I don't use it for everything, though. I use it for worms, jigs, Carolina rig, and Flipping/Pitching. The pros and cons-

Braid has almost no stretch, which makes it extremely sensitive and makes for a good, solid hookset. It is much stronger than the same diameter mono. The 50 lb braid I use has the same diameter as 12 lb mono. To give you an idea, February last year I pitched a jig over a flooded treetop and set the hook on a 20 lb flathead I never would have pulled through that treetop with mono.

The cons-the no stretch can be a disadvantage with baits with treble hooks-some stretch is good to help keep the hooks for tearing out. It is also more visible than mono, which can be a problem in real clear water.

flourocarbon-low stretch and invisible under water. I never use a flouro leader, but a lot of people do.

Bottom line is it comes down to personal preference-just use what works for you.

I use three lines-braid for the reasons abobe, mono for baits with treble hooks, and flourocarbon for weightless soft plastics like flukes or Tiki Sticks. Hope this helps!

Just read your post again-for the real heavy stuff I use braid for weightless soft plastics in addition to the other applications.  sometimes you get in the real thick stuff that would tear up mono or flouro.

[CallMeTheSeeker]

wow thanks reb for the info..learned alot

ya think the flourocarbon leader would help with the treble hooks? (maybe a best of both worlds type thing?)...or anyone else maybe that uses that combo?

hehe i had no idea that the line stretch would affect hooksets diffrently with difrent hook/line combos.

thanks alot

-Seeker

[DDbasser]

I also have a question on the braided line.

I've been wanting to switch to braid on my flippin ,worm, jig rod, but it's a heavy action rod with a fast tip.

Would I be better off buying a different rod say a

medium or medium heavy for fishing with braid, or will my current rod be ok???  

[Grey Wolf]

Med/hvy rod with braid is what I use.

[Ben]

Small diameter braid on a bait caster is not a good combo.  Get almost any kind of backlash and it's almost impossible to get out.

Small diameter braids also don't handle wear.  Any little nick and the stuff will come apart.  

You also have to remember, braids are extremely abrassive on the tip eye.  If you don't have a guide set designed for braids, it will eat a slot in the tip rather quickly.  

If I use a braid, it's 30 lb or larger because the only time I'm going to use it is when pitching/flipping in heavy cover for large bass..   I will use the 10 lb braid when I'm bottom bouncing in deep water but I'm not casting it and if I feel it hitting stuff or catching a lot of fish, I will take several feet off quite often and retie.

[Madhouse27]

As I meantioned in another post I've only had one experience with braid and it wasn't good. That said, I do want  to be able to use it effectively and have it be part of my arsenal. Do you guys fish the braid in clear water? I tried the greenish spider wire and and I didn't feel as though I was being very stealthy.

[Muddpuppy]

I'll never use spider wire again.  But I really like Super Braid by Stren and I use it on bait casters.  We don't have many rocks around here but weeds and stumps I haven't had any trouble.  I tried playing around with it on a med cataway rod with crankbaits but never got a bite (really slow day) so I can't say how it does there, but you sure could tell what the lure was doing and it cast like a dream.  Most of our waters have a green stain so I haven't noticed that the line stands out in it.   I'm useing 14 (6#dia) and 30lb.(8#dia)   I belive that I presently have mine on med/hvy rods but for pitching I wouldn't think that it would hurt to use a hvy. action

[reelon]

another question. If the rods says 10-17lb line what is the effect, on the rod, of putting say a 65lb powerpro (equivalent to a 16 lb mono) will the rod break easier? ???

[strick9]

I have used 30 lb Stren Super Braid on my spinning reels for a couple years now and it is great. It is very soft and I have had no issues with it. I have experimented using flourocarbon and mono leaders but no diffinitive answer as to whether it helps yet. Reelmech is correct in his statement about backing off on the drag and using a slightly softer rod, dispite its strength braid has no stretch and can snap on a hard hook set if you don't compensate some how. I am using ML St.Croixs with a fast tip. I have also tried Power Pro braid and it is very good also but it is slightly stiffer and for me is better suited for a baitcaster.

[Guest DavidGreen]

reelon,

another question. If the rods says 10-17lb line what is the effect, on the rod, of putting say a 65lb powerpro (equivalent to a 16 lb mono) will the rod break easier?

I consider 65lb braid as blue water line.....

If the rods says 10-17lb line it means line strength. You put 65 pound braid on, that is equivalent to 16 pound mono, means line diameter NOT line strength. I would also consider that to be over lining the rod even on the heaviest of flipping rods. .. ;D

[Mikey]

I would never use braid heard and seen "horror" stories with it . If I need bigger line I use Big Game or High Impact. The only time I saw braid work okay was on ultra-light tackle.

[reelon]

So if the lbs on the rod are strength how come we can get away with using 30 or 50 braid line? Are the rods over designed?  ???

[scbassin]

I have switched from Power Pro to Yo-Zuri ultra soft on my spinning gear. I use Yo-Zuri hybrid on my bait casting gear. I did not like the braided line.