Braid

[Nolongeramember]

ok so if two identical outfits, one spooled with braid the other with mono the braid will outcast the mono yeh ? And if so are we talking meters or center meters?

Yes it will significantly. If each line is the same strength I'd say it will be by metres.

[Paikea]

I use braid on my Alvey off the beach, the sensitivity difference between mono and braid is worlds apart. You shouldn't get tangles as long as long as you lay it flat on the Alvey. Yes always use a flurocarbon trace. Can be hard on the fingers though, surf casting with braid!

Steve

Oh yes! Laying braid evenly on a reel soon cuts grooves in the ends of your fingers. Casting whilst holding the line on the lip of an Alvey can also get a bit painful after a while not to mention holding the line over your finger to feel bites. Stuff acts like a mini chain saw.

Cheers

Paikea

[Crossfire63]

ok so if two identical outfits, one spooled with braid the other with mono the braid will outcast the mono yeh ? And if so are we talking meters or center meters?

We actually did a test on this and when your throwing them out over 140m the difference is negligable maybe a meter or two . and that was with two similar set up (same rods and reels), two different casters and 10 casts each

[big Neil]

Diesel, some have answered their reasons for braid preference already and I agree re casting and sensitivity (feeling bites, etc.). Additionally the fluoro leader acts as a shock resistor when a fish smashes your bait and takes off. (Apparently) when a fish smashes your bait and takes off the hook can be pulled because there is no stretch in the braid. I use braid and f/c leader for all my fishing except Carp fishing and using my Alvey at the beach. Neil.

[troutboy]

Hi, for a good , not too expensive braid give fireline tournament exceed in 4lbs a go. I have pretty much tried everything over the years and this stuff seems to have the minimum of tangles/ wind knots, casts really well and is extremely thin for its breaking strain. As others have mentioned once you get used to using braid mono will become a thing of the past at least as far as lure fishing is concerned.cheers troutboy

[adamski]

Just from personal experience too as a relatively new braid user; because it's readily available in bright colours, braid makes it a lot easier to see where your line is in the water. I was having real problems identifying exactly where my mono was sometimes. The difference in casting distance you get is quite incredible too. My only issue is, because it doesn't hold it's shape quite the same way as mono, it can make tying knots a bit more difficult and it's a pain to cut through sometimes too.

[foolforjesus]

I can confirm what Troutboy said. I bought 2 spools of Fireline Tournament Exceed in 5.5lb & 6.6lb (couldn't get 4lb) and straight out of the packaging they both fished extremely well.

I found them to be thinner in diameter than the standard 4lb Fireline.

I've used expensive braid before, and this was much much user friendly.

[W4z]

The first braid I bought I thought I might as well do this right and bought some top quality expensive Japanese braid in 8lb. About 6 weeks later I had to replace it because I had so many knots that I had to cut off that I was down to the backing. Next I bought some fireline in 6.6lb. Slightly thicker than the 8lb and took a little bit more space on the spool but in about 3 months I haven't had one knot. Really happy with the fireline. It was most likely my inexperience with braid that caused problems, but it just shows that the fireline is pretty forgiving

[diesel]

thx for all the advise raiders,fire-line sounds like its got everybody's vote,so say for instance i spooled my bass outfit with 4lb or 6lb braid what size leader would i use?And could that be the reason why hairtail are so hard to come buy?

Edited June 20, 2014 by diesel

[PM79]

Speaking of braid.

Fresh on the spool, 0.8 Sunline PE-EGI ULT with 16lb Sunline EGI Leader Black Stream.

[mii11x]

They do you know.Thats why they smash so many of them

just the shit ones mate

[troutboy]

Hi guys, a lot of wind knots can be eliminated by using a smooth casting action and feathering the line off the spool with the index finger of your rod hand whilst casting. Also it will stop excess line blowing in the wind after casting ,causing line to be loosly wound onto the spool at the beginning of your retrieve. If braid is wound onto the spool loosly it will form little loops that are picked up by tightly wound line underneath, this is what causes wind knots in the first place. It can also be beneficial to periodically use a lure with a strong action or even a sinker to to make a long cast and then wind your braid back onto the spool under tension as this will eliminate any loose loops from forming. cheers troutboy

[Sydneyfisher12]

Speaking of braid.

Fresh on the spool, 0.8 Sunline PE-EGI ULT with 16lb Sunline EGI Leader Black Stream.[/size]

nice line there i really like the colour change

[DerekD]

Hi Diesel, I've been using braid for over ten years so I thought I'd add a couple of things. With a couple of exceptions (offshore for big game fish or my blackfish rig) I use braid for the majority of my fishing. On my 7 foot plus bream rod I can cast a 1/8 oz jig head with grub probably around 20m. Try that with mono. I can feel a light bite 100m away through the braid. Most braids will overtest. I fished 4lb fireline for a number of years as it was the best value option then. One of the guys put it on a test rig and found that it broke at 10lbs. Get some 4lb braid and try breaking it with your hands and you will probably cut yourself before you break it. I don't know about the Fireline Exceed but I would recommend PowerPro over the standard fireline. The original fireline was fused together and fluffs up and then weakens after a while and I have lost some good fish I should have landed. PowerPro is a woven braid so is a bit more resistant to the fluffing. The wind knots occur more often when fishing really light lures. You have to make sure it goes on the spool under a bit of tension otherwise loops can lift off when casting. When you get a birds nest don't panic. The majority of the time with some patience and a pin (I keep some in my tackle box) you can unravel the mess and get your line back. My leaders are 50% or 100% more than my main line rating (4lb braid = 6lb or 8lb leader). For the joining knot to the leader I use primarily the uni to uni knot. Always test the knot. On the rare times the knot is being difficult then I use the surgeons joiner knot as a fall back. You will hear about people recommending 2 plus rod lengths of leader. My suggestion is 80cm to a meter of fluorocarbon leader for two reasons. Firstly I don't like having knots passing through my runners and secondly when you snag up if the line breaks it will usually happen at the joiner knot. I'd rather limit my loss of fluorocarbon leader to less than a meter (it is not exactly cheap). It is worth giving the braid a chance. To get the best casting distance the spool should be filled close to the lip. 125m of braid will not come close and it is a waste buying more in the light ratings. The easiest was to make up the difference is to have mono backing of say 8lbs. Once the mono is set up the only time you should see it is when you replace the braid after a really heavy fishing season. If you are fishing for bass in snaggy areas where you have to muscle them a bit you will probably be better with the 6lb. The 4lb is amazing stuff and I have landed a few kingfish (biggest 70cm) on this rig. People talk about the lack of give in the braid as a problem but I find the flex in the rod tip can be used to compensate.

[Holls]

Great advice Derek, thanks. I'm taking notes! Robbie

[DerekD]

Hi Diesel,

What I forget to mention is that braid is a little more slippery than mono so the knots can unravel. I use double the turns on the knots with braid than I would use with mono. For example with my uni to uni knot I use 4 turns on the mono side and 8 turns on the braid side.

I have heard a couple of people say the light braid is rubbish and it breaks too easily but they are fishing it like they would a heavier mono. With a light braid you have to finesse a fish not treat the rod and reel like a winch. Let the drag do its job and don't fight your own gear by winding as you are lifting the rod tip.

Supposedly mono has a 10% stretch and braid has a 1% stretch so it doesn't take impact loading very well. I fish my line at a 60°to 90° angle from my rod and the shock of any hard strike is taken up first by the rod tip and then the drag kicks in as needed.

Set your drag on the lighter side rather than the heavier side. You can always gradually tighten the drag up as the fish starts to race up. The way I set mine is to go light and then tighten up the drag till I don't hear the spool clicking over when I am working the lures. You will need less drag for a lighter lure and a bit more for a heavier one as it has more resistance in the water.

Edited June 26, 2014 by DerekD