Piking with braid?

[jeepster]

hardly a fad mark, it's revolutionised some areas of fishing. you're right it's not the be all and end all, but the applications it works for, it really works

[Newt]

to be honest i think braid is a tackle inspired fad.

its useful in some applications buts not the be all and end all like some think.

Meybe not Be All or End All but certainly very Usef All.

 

For me it's been sorta like circle hooks - the more I use it the more I use it.

 

Of course, part of that may just be that young fellers like Jeepster and me are more inclined to experiment.

[Peter Waller]

Meybe not Be All or End All but certainly very Usef All.

 

For me it's been sorta like circle hooks - the more I use it the more I use it.

 

Of course, part of that may just be that young fellers like Jeepster and me are more inclined to experiment.

 

 

Seems to me that by ignoring braid an angler is loosing out on a very worthwhile advantage. It certainly is no fashion statement nor useless fad, it is one of the major steps forward in angling over the last ten years. It does for lines what carbon has done for rods.

[Steve Burke]

I'm, personally, very happy using 50lb braid for baits and lighter lures and 80lb for jerkbaits.

 

I can frankly see no advantage from using lighter braid for piking.

 

Anyone of the lighter users care to elaborate?

 

There are pros and cons to a lighter breaking strain. Two advantages are, firstly, that because of the thinner diameter floating plugs will dive deeper.

 

Secondly, the thinner diameter means longer casts, in some cases with a fixed spool reel considerably further.

 

At Wingham both of these factors are important, and so here I prefer a thinner, lighter braid for lure fishing with lures up to about 2ozs. My choice is the thinnest that doesn't give me abrasion resistance problems. This means 15lb Nash Bullet Braid (which is actually quite a bit stronger than its rating), or more recently 20lb Power Pro. Both these lines, especially the Bullet Braid, have better abrasion resistance than other braids I've tried.

 

20lb Power Pro gives me a stronger line than the 10 to 12lb mono I used to use with these lures, but it's much thinner, leading to longer casts plus the ability to get a wide range of floating plugs bumping along the bottom in the deep water at Wingham if that's what I need to do on the day.

 

Of course, heavier line also has advantages and I wouldn't hesitate to use it where required.

[Dave Lumb]

lumby,

 

you of all people should ralise the major disadvantage of braid over mono...............

price!!!!

 

I'm not interested in price, more in value for money. I had Fireline on four bait fishing reels for at least five years (possibly longer). So I was saved the hassle (and cost) of respooling in that period, and I got a few rigs back. Same with Power Pro now I have that on my bait rods.

 

Where braid offers advantages it is worth the initialy higher outlay. Where it offers little advantage I still use mono. Horses for courses, it's just that braid is good on the flat as well as over the sticks!

Edited October 22, 2005 by Dave Lumb

[Tim Kelly]

This may seem like a silly question but why to you need such powerful B/S for braid? I am thinking of switching to braid and currently use 15lb mono. I know that braid lacks stretch but surely 50 lb is very strong. I was watching matt hayes on telly the other day and he was fishing for Zander in Holland and the guy he was fishing with was using 10lb BS braid and matt said that in the UK 50lb was more the norm. But this Dutch guy said that he felt you got better presentation with the 10 pound stuff. What do you more experienced lure anglers feel about this?

 

That fishing programme with Matt and Bertus was very good, but possibly too advanced for general consumption. I don't mean that in an arrogant way, but your question shows the problem.

 

They way they were fishing is a very specific technique with very little relevance to any other way of lure fishing. The very light braid is used because it has a very fine diameter, at the depths they were fishing the current or movement of the boat would cause thicker line to bow loosing contact with the jig.

 

The braid is strong enough to pull zander straight up without too much difficulty, but to use such light tackle for anything where you have to pull it past any snags etc as you would with any casting technique or bank fishing technique would be foolish.

 

They were fishing without traces and this is an assessed risk. Apparently they find very few pike in the areas and depths they fish for zander and they believe that they get about 40% less zander if they use traces. They do use stinger hooks - so there is a treble and a single on their lures.

 

I don't think there are many places in this country where you can fish for zander vertically out of a boat in areas where there are very few pike so the relevence of the entire technique is limited.

 

As a general rule, for pike fishing in this country line should be around 15lb mono or braid in the 30 (if it's fireline) to 50lb (power pro) class for bait fishing as a minimum with lure fishing often requiring the use of up to 100lb braid depending on technique. There is nothing sporting about loosing fish, especially pike where they are attached to a mouthfull of trebles. It is an even less good idea to snap off and leave baits in the water. They will surely be picked up by a pike and consumed hooks and all.

Edited October 22, 2005 by Tim Kelly

[Dave Lumb]

A good, and oft repeated, guidline when switching from mono to braid is to choose a braid with a similar diameter to the mono you currently use.

 

You retain the same presentation with increased line strength. To improve presentation in some instances you can go a little finer and still have a stronger line than your original mono.

 

My motto has always been to fish with the strongest tackle I can get away with, rather than the lightest. I want to land fish, not leave them trailing tackle around.

Edited October 22, 2005 by Dave Lumb

[Steve Burke]

I want to land fish, not leave them trailing tackle around.

 

Ditto, but there are occasions when lighter tackle will catch more fish. Provided it doesn't put the fish at risk I see no problem with this. Of course, if you're fishing a snaggy water containing big pike then you'll need heavier tackle than elsewhere. As usual in fishing it's a case of balance.

[Peter Waller]

I go with everything that Steve, Dave and Tim have said on this subject as a sound, general guide.

 

The comments re the Dutch are interesting, and valid. We have a great deal to learn from those fellows, they fish lures for anything that swims. The point about presentation has to be worth considering. There is no doubt that a 50 braid rides up in the water. Using the same diameter braid as you would mono for the gain in strength is sound, but so is the use of the same b/s in braid as mono for the reduction in water resistance.

 

I find that jigging for pike in 10 feet of water is a successful method, I can't speak for zander though. I would imagine Grafham, for example, would respond well to such techniques. But my interest is in pike, and there is worthwhile logic in the Dutch use of thinner braids. Personally I wouldn't go less than 15 lb b/s braid for pike, or where there is a likelyhood of catching pike.

 

I'm not adverse to using megga soft bodied lures with 50 lb braids, but I still use light gear with small lures. I reckon the small stuff more than earns its keep. I see some UK lure anglers with a tackle box full of big stuff, and only big stuff, they are surely missing fish!! As has been said, all a question of balance.

[Peter M]

Well i went out to the tackel shop today and bought some 30lb spiderwire braid and loaded it on to a fixed spool reel, went out along the river stort and used spinners and light jig lures. caught a small perch and i was using a light lure rod and with the braid i felt every bit of the fight even thoug it was a small fish. Will go out next week and give it a longer trial but so far i am happy i made the change. I have appreciated all the advice