Experimenting With Braided Line

[dodgeguy]

hope you like it.it comes in 65/14.the 8 strand starts at 30 lb test if i am correct.

[SirSnookalot]

I always open my bail, to avoid breaking a tip, which I've done, then I wrap the line around ,my shoulder and walk, lure comes loose or line breaks. The bow snapping method works exceptionally well with braided line, doesn't work as well with mono due to the stretch.

See, I've had the opposite experience. It always seems to me that the stretchiness of the mono allows for more of a bungie effect that shakes the bait free with the bow and arrow method. Although I've also found that braid on a moderate rod will work better than braid on a fast rod with that technique.

I argued with Muddy on this issue, he was right and I was wrong, I started the bow method little better than a year ago and it's been very effective, nothing is perfect.

Yeh I double the leader but I use a max of 15# braid for freshwater, even in the heaviest slop and lily pads down here, I just can't understand using 65# braid for small fish, fishing a tourney and getting them into the boat faster, I'll buy that, but for recreational fishing I'll go with the challenge of trying to pull them out on lighter set ups.

My maximum braid is 30# gorilla braid which is my shark outfit, I use 60# leader.  I'm not all that fussy on the brand, cept PP can be bought anywhere so I buy it out of convenience.

[dodgeguy]

when burning a 7/8 oz clackin rap or 1/2 oz spinnerbait above a weedbed that comes very close to the surface the larger (14 lb) DIAMETER of 65 lb braid compared to the 6lb DIAMETER of 15 lb braid will help keep the lure up above the weeds and not get snagged.also the 65 will not dig on a baitcaster where the 15 will.

[Dan:]

I agree with Mr. Snook, the superlines work very well with the bow method. The stretchy mono absords the shock needed to dislodge a hang up easily.

hmmm very interesting. I've always found that the stretch allows you to send more of a "shockwave" back at the lure which gives it an immediate change from taught to loose that allows the hooks to come free.

[SirSnookalot]

I agree with Mr. Snook, the superlines work very well with the bow method. The stretchy mono absords the shock needed to dislodge a hang up easily.

hmmm very interesting. I've always found that the stretch allows you to send more of a "shockwave" back at the lure which gives it an immediate change from taught to loose that allows the hooks to come free.

What I thought too, I have tried the bow method on other peoples snags who had mono on and it didn't work too well.  Best course of action, try everything.

[SirSnookalot]

when burning a 7/8 oz clackin rap or 1/2 oz spinnerbait above a weedbed that comes very close to the surface the larger (14 lb) DIAMETER of 65 lb braid compared to the 6lb DIAMETER of 15 lb braid will help keep the lure up above the weeds and not get snagged.also the 65 will not dig on a baitcaster where the 15 will.

Pretty common scenario here in Florida, yet I seem to have no problem.  You could pull the Titanic up with 65# braid.

[Dan:]

I think there just needs to be sort of "snapping" of the line that sends a pulse down to the bait in order to make it taught and then immediately loose. I've had a lot of success using the bow and arrow with braid on an ultralight that was very moderate but not very good success on fast or XF rods. They seem to work better with fluoro/mono. Maybe at least one part of the equation has to have some give?

Who knows. I know what has worked for me but I also know that you two old guys have probably been using braid since before I could even spell it...

[NateFollmer]

I usually use braid and a 3 to 6 foot flour leader (my braid is 20lb test and the leader is 12lb). I use this probably 90% of the time. I only tie straight to braid when the water is pretty muddy.

When I used to use 65lb. braid and get stuck on timber, I could pull the limbs off trees by pulling straight back on it I would always tell people with me then "That's why I use braid!"  :

[SoFlaBassAddict]

I've got braid on all of my setup except my cranking rod.  Fluoro leader on all of them.  I'll go straight braid if I'm fishing at night for an extended period of time, in dirty water, or very heavy cover.  Sure, the wind can make it a little aggravating at times, but it's nothing that I can't deal with.

[SirSnookalot]

a shock leader? what is the reason for the larger leader for bass fishing? chucking big swimbaits/plugs?

i guess you wouldnt use it for most braided lines, a 100# leader on 50#PP is going to be huge!

I went to the heavier leader a number of years ago because I have better chance of not breaking the leader on a snag and losing my lure.  Also some of my target species have gill plates as sharp as a razor blade, wise to use a heavier leader.

I would definitely use a 100# leader on 50# braid, if I were fishing for big grouper or another hefty pelagic species, tied with a bimini knot

Everyone should just do what they are comfortable with

[Jaheff]

a shock leader? what is the reason for the larger leader for bass fishing? chucking big swimbaits/plugs?

i guess you wouldnt use it for most braided lines, a 100# leader on 50#PP is going to be huge!

I went to the heavier leader a number of years ago because I have better chance of not breaking the leader on a snag and losing my lure. Also some of my target species have gill plates as sharp as a razor blade, wise to use a heavier leader.

I would definitely use a 100# leader on 50# braid, if I were fishing for big grouper or another hefty pelagic species, tied with a bimini knot

Everyone should just do what they are comfortable with

Wow Sirsnook, your in good company with your reasons. I have only heard of two other anglers who use lighter main line than leader.One is named wahoodaddy(dont know his real name, he is like Catt on this website),and Tony Pena(yes the knot).

Wahoodaddy say's he does it cause the pressure when fighting big fish is more at the hook then anywhere else?

[SoFlaBassAddict]

Almost every saltwater angler I know uses a larger leader than mainline.  Thats an extremely common thing, at least down here in south Florida and in the Bahamas.

[Dan:]

Almost every saltwater angler I know uses a larger leader than mainline. Thats an extremely common thing, at least down here in south Florida and in the Bahamas.

Same for a lot of striper fisherman up here.

[Jaheff]

That's pretty interesting cause i follow the local saltwater stuff here on the west coast and it is rare that we do it that way.

[SirSnookalot]

Only fished the west coast once, 35 years ago on drift boat out of Santa Monica, so I haven't a clue on how people do things out there.

Much of what I do in saltwater came out of what I thought to be common sense.  The better saltwater angler I become the better my freshwater goes.  60 years of fishing has proved 1 thing to me.......fish are fish wherever they may be.

As this thread is regarding braid another thing I do for saltwater spooling is too never tie always tape.  Never know what's hitting the other end of the line, hooking a tarpon 100+ or other large fish happens and you are just not going to bring it in with light tackle.  I'd rather lose all my line and lure than do any damage to my reel.  I didn't make this up, advice from a guide.

[SoFlaBassAddict]

I learned that lesson a while back when chumming for Kings.  I'll never tie a good knot around the arbor of the reel.  I'll either tape it or just do a simple overhand knot that's going to come out with very little pressure.  We got hit by something large, could have been a Mako for or a huge King, and it just left.  Spooled the reel and when it got down to the arbor, it ripped the reel right out of the seat and went sliding up the rod blank tearing off every guide.

[roadwarrior]

How did this turn into a saltwater thread?

I tie an Arbor knot to the spool with Hybrid,

then use Alberto's Knot to join the backing

to braid. I like at least 60 yards of braid so

I have plenty of casting line and enough

cushion to never feel the knot.

8-)