What is the best braid for trotting on a centrepin?

[tiddlertamer]

I've noticed that many Anglers Net veterans recommend braid for trotting on a centrepin.

 

Which brand would you recommend?

 

And what breaking strain?

 

Or is there a case for using mono? If so, what breaking strain? I tend to use 3lb but up to 5/6lb if barbel are around.

 

Views please.

Edited August 30, 2010 by tiddlertamer

[Alan Roe]

This is a purely personal view I have used various types of braid on pins and universally loath all of them!

The only real advantage is that they all tend to be low/no stretch which may be of some small assistance if you are trying to set a biggish hook at extreme range.

I loath the sound that braid makes in the rod rings, I prefer my line to have some stretch I like my line to flow smoothly through the rod rings I also like my line to have some abrasion resistance mono has it braid doesn't !

Braid is truly the pits when you get a tangle in it, belive me it's much easier to sort out a minor birds nest in mono.

As I have said this a purely personal opinion and I know that Chris Plumb will vehermently disagree with me.

It's all bout confidence and frankly I am more confident with mono.

As to what Brand I prefer it's good old Diawa Sensor cheap as chips and as tough as old boots!

As for breaking strain you seem to have hit it on the head I use 6lb when targetting barbel/ Salmon/carp.

and either 3 or 4lb for most other fish unless I am specifically after roach in very clear river water such as is found on the LAA stretch of the Avon then I will drop down to 2 lb with very fine hooklengths to maximise bait presentation

[chavender]

i can sympathies ,with alan a bit .I used too use Power pro braid ,but it made the most disconserting grating noise ,as it went through the rod rings ,then got wind of the new line comming over here (it'd been out in usa/canada first) and switched too that as soon as i could get my hands on some here ,its fireline crystal (suposedly invisible in water ,bit of a advertising ploy that ) ,and it was better than the old power pro ,greats a lot less (being a fusion braid) and you soon learn too turn a deaf hear too it .the lack of stretch suites the way i fish ,i do however use mono hooklinks (ready tied hooks 2 nylon ,mostly) too keep just enough stretch in the set-up .

 

if i cant use braid (its banned in some places) i use ultima's flo-cast (specialist hollow floating line) ,but it has a lower limit of 4lbs b/s ,below this i use ultima's mist gray floating line ,or bayer perlon .

[Chris Plumb]

i can sympathies ,with alan a bit .I used too use Power pro braid ,but it made the most disconserting grating noise ,as it went through the rod rings ,then got wind of the new line comming over here (it'd been out in usa/canada first) and switched too that as soon as i could get my hands on some here ,its fireline crystal (suposedly invisible in water ,bit of a advertising ploy that ) ,and it was better than the old power pro ,greats a lot less (being a fusion braid) and you soon learn too turn a deaf hear too it .the lack of stretch suites the way i fish ,i do however use mono hooklinks (ready tied hooks 2 nylon ,mostly) too keep just enough stretch in the set-up .

 

if i cant use braid (its banned in some places) i use ultima's flo-cast (specialist hollow floating line) ,but it has a lower limit of 4lbs b/s ,below this i use ultima's mist gray floating line ,or bayer perlon .

 

I too have used Fireline Crystal since it was released (bought some in the US even before it hit the shelves this side of the pond). All my pins are loaded with it - mainly in 4lb B/S a couple with 6lb B/S. I used ordinary Fireline before that - have never liked Power Pro!

 

 

C.

[Anderoo]

I'm a fairly recent convert to braid for trotting, and only really tried it as an experiment to see what I thought of it. On the advice of many here (but especially Lord Plumb of Trottingdom) I also went for Fireline Crystal. I got it in 8lb which seems like overkill but as Alan says, the abraison resistance isn't as good as mono so the thicker the better - it's still very thin though. I use it happily with 2lb and 3lb hooklengths and little hooks.

 

I tried braid on my 'proper' reels ( ) a few years ago and hated it, but for trotting I really love it. My trotting rod is very light, so the light hooklengths don't snap as you'd expect them to, the rod absorbs all the thumps. I don't care about the more direct feel of braid (in fact I prefer a bit of stretch) but because it floats so high it's really visible so you can see when it needs mending or if it's drifting towards some horrendous snaggy branch, and my float control is just miles better than it used to be, as the line lifts off the water so easily.

 

I haven't hooked any real monsters using it but I've had lots of chub to 4lb+ and also lots of mental trout, all in a small, very fast stream, and all have been landed without any worry about the hooklength going (my main worry).

 

It's worth a try to see if you like it. If I did it again I would probably drop down to 6lb or even 4lb, I don't think there's much benefit in the extra diameter where I fish.

[Leon Roskilly]

Like Alan, I just couldn't get on with braid for trotting.

 

Apart from it's tendency to blow about in the wind and tangle determinedly, I guess that my 'feel' for working a stick-float down the current has been developed with mono, and I'm used to that, whereas braid seems to have a mind of it's own as it drifts down behind the float and flirts with eddies and breezes.

 

I tried flo-cast, and hated that too!

 

 

It's a shame because I love braid for lure-fishing, and down-tiding.

[gozzer]

Another 'older' one here that doesn't get on with braid for trotting. Apart from the noise, it just doesn't 'feel' right to me.

Leon sums it up nicely, and I suppose I'm a bit 'stuck in my ways'. My favourite for the last 40 odd years, good old Bayer Perlon, is the one I use most.

 

John.

[Anderoo]

I've actually stopped getting tangles since swapping to the Fireline. It's got a kind of waxy feel to it and it quite wiry, and never tangles. I haven't used other braids, so I imagine some are worse than others.

[Steve Walker]

I like braid for trotting for the same reasons Anderoo does, but I went through a few before I found one that I liked. Unfortunately, I didn't keep the spool, but it was sold specifically for fishing floaters for carp.

 

Drennan feeder braid was horrible.

[Rusty]

Another Fireline Crystal user here, mainly because I can see it on the water. I tried Power Pro originally but that was green and even more difficult to see than the Daiwa Sensor that I started with. I also like how easy it is to tie knots, it stays put whereas mono springs apart. A wind knot is impossible to undo though so I just re-tackle.

 

Dislikes are the noise and the fact that I'm sure it doesn't pass through rings as smoothly as mono. My trotting rod's got 17 rings and on a slow river it's often the braid/rings which prevent line coming off, not the reel itself.

 

I've managed a fair few good birds nests but seem to be able to untangle the braid provided I don't pull it tight.