Braid, Braid And More Braid!

[AirbusAngler]

Ok I am officially hooked on braid I love it. I use 20 or 30#.

My first question is, what is the best baitcast reel for braid? I heard some have a "crossover" retrieve which wont allow the line to dig in the spool? ( I dont have much of a problem with that just put mono backing on instead, however if there is a reel like this anyone have the details? It is christmas time )

My second question is to those who use 50+# line...what the heck do you do when you get snagged? I can barely break 30# and it has cut me many times!

[Packard]

Not sure what this crossover baitcaster is or haven't heard it called that before. Most if all baitcasters will work well with braid. Heavy braid aids in the prevention of spool digging but I use some cheap trilene big game as backing. When I get snagged with braid I will cut the line if it is a texas rig or wacky rig. I also have used this trick I say on Lunkerville. Wrap the line around your reel's handle (Not the knob part, the part than connects to the side plate. Can't think of what to call it.) and pull straight back. Don't use your rod or you might break it. I was fishing this river one time without line clippers and got my spinnerbiat wrapped on a tree branch and couldn't reach it. I could not break the line and had no way of cutting it. I almost had to leave my setup hanging from the tree and go to my car a mile up the river and come back with a knife or something. I eventually got it to break and this was only 20# line!

[johnD.]

My second question is to those who use 50+# line...what the heck do you do when you get snagged? I can barely break 30# and it has cut me many times!

Make sure you have a hook tied on that if you pull hard enough it will straighten out.I use curados e's (the new chronarch) without a hitch.

A baitcaster spooled with anything over #30 won't dig to bad , its not that you need #50 braid to pull a 5 pound bass out of the pads , its so the line won't dig in the spool and mess up your next cast..#50 braid wet breaks close to 100lbs no bass fisherman will ever be able to put that much pressure on his equipment without a major malfunction..Heck I grouper/snapper fish in the gulf of mexico and our reels max out @ 22lbs of drag..#30-#65 braid is the norm for bottom fishing with 10'-20' of #80-#100 wind on leader.

spinning reels you can go much lighter #6-#15 braid.

[A-Rob]

I like my curado e with braid

I use 65# for flipping/pitching. If I get snagged I drive over to my hook, grab it with my hand and take it from the log or dock I'm snagged on haha.

If I'm fishing deep I'm usually throwing flouro.

[Hi Salenity]

Ok I am officially hooked on braid I love it. I use 20 or 30#.

My first question is, what is the best baitcast reel for braid? I heard some have a "crossover" retrieve which wont allow the line to dig in the spool? ( I dont have much of a problem with that just put mono backing on instead, however if there is a reel like this anyone have the details? It is christmas time )

My second question is to those who use 50+# line...what the heck do you do when you get snagged? I can barely break 30# and it has cut me many times!

Wrap a stick around my line & bend the hook straight.

[Hooligan]

A baitcaster spooled with anything over #30 won't dig to bad , its not that you need #50 braid to pull a 5 pound bass out of the pads , its so the line won't dig in the spool and mess up your next cast..#50 braid wet breaks close to 100lbs no bass fisherman will ever be able to put that much pressure on his equipment without a major malfunction..

Not altogether true. There are many, many times that I've lost fish from popping braid boat-side. You can put well over 100lbs of shock on your line in a matter of milliseconds. Yes, that can be cured by setting your drag, yes it can be controlled by using a more progressive rod; the fact remains, however, that braid can, and does, break with fish far under it's break strength. For that matter, it's more susceptible to it than any other line because of the lack of stretch and give. You can put a tremendous amount of pressure on your line without anything else failing.

[johnD.]

Not altogether true. There are many, many times that I've lost fish from popping braid boat-side. You can put well over 100lbs of shock on your line in a matter of milliseconds. Yes, that can be cured by setting your drag, yes it can be controlled by using a more progressive rod; the fact remains, however, that braid can, and does, break with fish far under it's break strength. For that matter, it's more susceptible to it than any other line because of the lack of stretch and give. You can put a tremendous amount of pressure on your line without anything else failing.

You can tell that to somebody who hasn't fished for the last 35 years...Your braid most likely broke (if in fact it did break) because of something along these lines.

[Hooligan]

Wrong. It's about shock and tensile strength. It's not about abrasion, knot slip, or any other factor. It's pure and simple physics. As I stated preciously, in the situations at hand, it was purely pilot error. Braid has ZERO shock absorption, you can generate enough force to break #50 on a short leash quite easily; far too many people that have been fishing longer than 35 years (which includes me, btw) have done the same. Denny Brauer once said as much in a seminar, Robert Montgomery published it in one of the most authoritative writings on bass fishing in recent history. Your insinuation that I can't tell when braid is abraided is quite clever, though...

[johnD.]

Wrong. It's about shock and tensile strength. It's not about abrasion, knot slip, or any other factor. It's pure and simple physics. As I stated preciously, in the situations at hand, it was purely pilot error. Braid has ZERO shock absorption, you can generate enough force to break #50 on a short leash quite easily; far too many people that have been fishing longer than 35 years (which includes me, btw) have done the same. Denny Brauer once said as much in a seminar, Robert Montgomery published it in one of the most authoritative writings on bass fishing in recent history. Your insinuation that I can't tell when braid is abraided is quite clever, though...

Like I said , blow that smoke up somebody else's skirt.

[Craiger12]

Denny Brauer once said as much in a seminar, Robert Montgomery published it in one of the most authoritative writings on bass fishing in recent history.

Many pros continue to endorse the "low stretch" properties of fluorocarbon as well...

I'm not looking for an argument, I'm just saying. I agree with your premise and I get the physics of the situation - I just think you are vastly overstating the reality of the situation. A bass is not a tree stump rooted to the ground and a rod bends. I have not been fishing nearly as long as you (I'm not even that old) but I do have a lot of experience with 50# braid over the past few years and have never experienced anything remotely close to what you are describing, even when using 30# braid. However, I have sawed off braid quite easily several times trying to free my bait when snagged on a rocky bottom. The bottom line is that I don't feel braid (especially 50#) should be avoided because of the fear that the line will fail when a fish is close to the boat or even on a solid hookset.

[SirSnookalot]

Braid fail?..........hahaha ! I could salvage the Titanic off the bottom with 50# braid, since I'm not fishing for the Titanic I don't use anything heavier than 20# braid, even for my offshore ocean fishing.

Any line will break if it has been compromised. In a pinch braid can easily be cut with any pliers or nail cutter, carrying a scissors is just excess baggage, nothing works better than a bic or cigarette if you smoke.

I'm not negative on mono, just choose not to use it, I prefer braid for any kind of fishing I do. That said, there are techniques that I will not employ under any circumstances because it isn't enjoyable to me. A case in point for me would be a b/c on a mhv or heavy rod with 50# braid, fishing slop or lily pads, I avoid those areas. Rather catch a 5# fish on light spinning outfit in open water than a 10# bass where the weeds are fighting more than the fish, but that's just me.

[basscrusher]

To help answer something for the OP...this "crossover" thing you heard about is on certain spinning reels. Some reels, like the newer model Shimano Stradics, have a high speed oscillation feature, meaning that the spool oscillates up and down very quickly. By doing that, it lays your line in a criss-crossed manner on the spool. With braid, this prevents the line from digging in the "gaps" between wraps of line. won't 100% solve the issue, but does a very good job. I have 2 Stradic Ci4 reels with this feature and they work wonderfully for braid.

[Grey Wolf]

Ok I am officially hooked on braid I love it. I use 20 or 30#.

My first question is, what is the best baitcast reel for braid? I heard some have a "crossover" retrieve which wont allow the line to dig in the spool? ( I dont have much of a problem with that just put mono backing on instead, however if there is a reel like this anyone have the details? It is christmas time )

My second question is to those who use 50+# line...what the heck do you do when you get snagged? I can barely break 30# and it has cut me many times!

Cross over pertains to spinning reels.

50# line will save you some lures.

[tracker01]

Two ways I use to de-snag braid. First, wrap your line around a boat cleat and hit the trolling motor. Second, spool off about three to four feet of line and wrap it around your waist and hit the trolling motor. Works for me.

[LgMouthGambler]

Braid isgreat. I use 65# Spiderwire on all my rigs. You sont have to se a mono line under it, it doesnt serve any purpose but taking up spool space. Some people used to say it helps soo the line doesnt spin on the spool, but most spools have holes in them to tie the line to it. If your spool doesnt have holes a clove hitch(look it up, its a firemans knot) will work. As far as the line breaking, its stronger than mono and floro, so deffinatly better on strength. Braid can be cut on sharp objects if cut right, thats why i stick with 65#. Always carry scissors that are made to cut braid, or a sharp knife. Knot strength is unmatched, palomar is easy to tie and holds soo well. I dont use leaders of floro, rather I use a black sharpie marker and color the line 6 feet before my lure. Hooksets are strong and secure since there is no flex. Overall its a superior line to fish heavy cover, down here in the Glades we have a lot of cover. Make sure your rod guides are aluminum oxide coated though. Good luck, happy fishing.

[Hooligan]

Many pros continue to endorse the "low stretch" properties of fluorocarbon as well...

I'm not looking for an argument, I'm just saying. I agree with your premise and I get the physics of the situation - I just think you are vastly overstating the reality of the situation. A bass is not a tree stump rooted to the ground and a rod bends. I have not been fishing nearly as long as you (I'm not even that old) but I do have a lot of experience with 50# braid over the past few years and have never experienced anything remotely close to what you are describing, even when using 30# braid. However, I have sawed off braid quite easily several times trying to free my bait when snagged on a rocky bottom. The bottom line is that I don't feel braid (especially 50#) should be avoided because of the fear that the line will fail when a fish is close to the boat or even on a solid hookset.

I'm not vastly overstating anything. I'm simply refuting the supposed fact that braid is infallible. It isn't the perfect line for every situation, it will break before causing massive equipment failure, and you can do it on fish less than the five pound marker. Regardless of whether in salt or freshwater, braid can break under normal circumstances and it doesn't take a battleship to do it. If you believe otherwise that's fine, play in lala land.

[Rangerjoe]

I have seen braid snap on slack line hook set. It can happen and it does.

[J Francho]

I've had it snap after a jarring backlash. It just simply doesn't like shock.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

Yup, zero stretch = poor shock resistance. It's a trade off like everything else.

[SoFlaBassAddict]

Like Francho, DVT, and Rangerjoe mentioned, braid has very poor shock strength. It's one of the downsides of the line. I've broken braid up to 300 pounds from shock failure while trolling with a drag set improperly. I've broken it on a backlash bass fishing as well as snapping a hookset on slack line. To say braid can't fail under normal circumstances is just silly. Like any piece of fishing equipment, it can fail given the right situation.

I'm sure Dodgeguy will be here shortly to post a picture of an 832 box saying that it's the greatest thing ever.

[J Francho]

I never lost a fish I couldn't catch with braid!!!

Same goes for fluoro.

[Red]

I am currently using fluoro for the first time, I do like it so far, mostly. Before this, I used 50lb PP on all my rigs except for my cranking rod. If I had to break it off, I would reel down to my hook/bait and pull straight back/up with the rod. usually it would straighten the hook, however, sometimes it would break. I never had a situation where I couldn't break it. I never had it break on me otherwise that I can remember. Never on a hook set or a backlash. I sure have had that problem with fluoro though. Happened twice recently with backlashes.

All that said, I believe I will be going back to braid. I guess for me I just feel "safer" with braid.

Cliff