Line

[deek]

OK Raiders,

This is messing with my head. Could someone please explain the difference between Braid,Monofilament & Fluorocarbon and any other line I may have missed?

Thanks in advance

Deek

[jordan.widz]

Simply put,

braid - a line made from braided fibres, almost no stretch.

monofilament - usually referred to as mono, a nylon line that stretches and has better abrasion resistance than braid.

flurocarbon - another type of mono, usually used for leader as it is invisible under water.

This is just a rough guide and i'm sure you will get more detailed responses from other raiders.

Cheers, Praw Star

Edited October 19, 2010 by Prawn Star

[slinkymalinky]

Braid:

also sometimes called gelspun, GSP, superline. These are lines woven (braided) from strands of 'gelspun polyethylene'. Modern braided lines are made from either Spectra or Dyneema (trade names of the only 2 companies who make pretty much all of the fibres fishing line companies use in their manufacturing).

Characteristics:

- near zero stretch - effectively means that you will feel a lot more of what is going on at the business end so very good for fishing deep water and for lure fishing.

- very fine diameter vs breaking strain - effectively means reels hold more line; that you can use finer line increasing casting distances and decreasing water pressure (good for fishing in currents)

- opaque - means that usually braids are used with a monofilament leader (of nylon or fluorocarbon) to reduce visibility of the line at the business end. Often made in loud fluoro colours to enable it to be more easily seen by fisho's (so you can see where your lure is)

- highly abrasion resistant on soft structure (cuts through weed for example) but lacks abrasion resistance on hard structure (taught braid will pop like cotton if it touches sharp rock for example)

- limp - so it helps casting distance but can suffer from tangles or 'casting knots'

- it's expensive

'Fused Braid'

Made from the same stuff as braid but using a manufacturing process that fuses the fibres together using heat. It is a proprietary process owned by Berkely who manufacture Fireline and Stren Microfuse... the 2 most popular fused braids.

Characteristics:

- as above for stretch

- still much finer diameter than mono but about double the thickness of braid of a similar breaking strain

- as above for opaque

- as above for abrasion resistance although it's perhaps a little more forgiving than braid

- noticeably stiffer than braid which is considered an advantage by some people, particularly in lighter breaking strains. The extra 'body' makes it easier line to handle and less prone to tangling. In heavy breaking strains (say 20lb and up) it can start to feel a little like fencing wire.

-it's expensive but much less so than braid

Mono

The common name given to traditional monofilament nylon fishing line.

Characteristics

- inexpensive (even the best mono is much cheaper than reasonable quality braid)

- durable (much more abrasion resistant than braid or fused braid)

- low visibility (transluscent material so harder for fish to see... in theory)

- stretchy (this means you don't feel much of what's happening at the business end... it's like being connected to a fish via a rubber band. It does however mean that it will help absorb shocks from fish fighting on the other end so can help reduce pulled hooks)

- has a 'memory' (which means that it will tend to form to shapes around which it is stored... like a reel spool. This reduces casting distance and can contribute to tangles or line twist problems)

- thick (for a given breaking strain which reduces casting distance and spool capacity)

Fluoro

The common name given to monofilament fishing line made out of Fluorocarbon (instead of nylon)

Characteristics

- similar to mono above but Floro has a refractive index close to that of water (which means light passes through it almost the same way as water) so it's main claim to fame is almost invisibility under water.

- Also more abrasion resistant & slightly stiffer than mono

- It is usually thicker than an equivalent breaking strain of mono

- It's used most commonly as leader material in conjunction with braid or fused braid; or in very light breaking strains (2-4lb) for 'ultra finesse' lure fishing for bream.

- more expensive than mono... metre for metre often as much as or even more expensive than braid

- less stretch than mono (but still significantly more than braid)

There's more to it but hope this is ok as an overview

Cheers, Slinky

[deek]

Wow, Thanks to you both. Very comprehensive, thanks Slinky

Deek