Braided mainline

[jonnyp]

Hi

I have only been spinning for pike about 3 times and therefore i don't have all the gear and just use whatever i think is suitable. I have been using a 9ft carp rod and a shimano Baitrunner with 12lb sensor, And this is where my question starts. I have been told and have read that i should be using braid as it is far better for spinning / Lure fishing. Do i need to fully load my spool with braid? As this will be quite expensive won't it? And what braid should i buy?? I would appreciate any insight into this topic as i'm a comparative newbie to spinning (although i do have 18" wire traces ,long forceps, Pliers and a box full of spinners, plugs, spoons and the rest which i stole from my brother)......Cheers in advance

Jp

[Guest tigger]

I've found power pro braid to be great for spinning/lure fishing. It seems to cast better than mono (no spring and doesn't coil off your spool) and you can use much heavier breaking strains but still have a low diameter. also you have good contact with your lure. I reckon braid suites lure fishing better than any other form of fishing JMO of course.

[Andy Macfarlane]

This is a bit of mish-mash of stuff taken from Power Pro's site and my own added material.

 

Unlike monofilament that stretches significantly, braid has virtually no stretch.

 

When you spool up with monofilament, it tightens onto the spool. If you put braid directly on your reel (especially smooth barrels spools) you run the risk of the whole ball of line spinning on the reel – especially if the reel gets wet.

 

To avoid slippage, use one of the following methods:

 

1) Use a hole or knob on the spool if there is one.

2) Leave enough monofilament on the reel to cover the bottom of the spool or fill your spool, leaving enough room for approximately 100 yards of braid. 100 yards will cover most pike fishing applications. You'll only require more if you're into drifter fishing or long-range casting.

3) Put a piece of insulating tape on the empty spool. This gives the braid something to 'bite' into.

 

15lb mono has a similar diameter to 50lb braid and because there is no advantage in using lighter braid, I'd suggest you use 50lb as a minimum. Naturally, there is no fish in any UK freshwater that will break you off using braid that heavy but as I've said, lighter braid offers no distinct advantage, you'll be able to straighten hooks in the event of a snag, the braid will stand up to more abuse from weed, snags, rocks or abrasive surfaces, it'll have a longer life-expectancy and it's simply easier to work with. You'll also appreciate the increase in successful hook-ups. Expect your hook-up ratio to soar. I've been using the same braid for around 5 years and once I'm sure it's seen better days, I'll take it off and reverse it, giving me another few years of use. Braid seems expensive initially but once you've had a few seasons of use from it, you'll realise just how much money you've saved.

If you have a spare spool for your reel, simply wind on 100 yards of braid and attach some 15lb mono using a Uni to Uni knot. Now fill your spool upto the brim*. Now take the spool off and put an empty spool onto your reel. Now wind all your line onto the empty spool, which now means your braid is on top of the mono.

Once you've filled your spool, it's wise to wind that line on as evenly and under tension. You could use a wet cloth but I prefer to take my rod and reel to an empty field. I tie the end of my braid to something solid, like a fence-post and then walk all my line off. Once my reel is empty, I hold my rod upright, put a decent bend in it and then wind all my line back on, under tension, as evenly as possible. This helps fill your spool evenly, prevents your line bedding into the layers underneath, helps to prevent wind-knots and birdnests, assists casting and basically allows for a nice even line-lay.

 

*If you've wound your line back on under pressure, there should be about a 1/4" of space between the line and the lip of the spool.

 

When you use your braid for the first time, clip a weight on and have a few casts, beginning at short range, increasing as you go with each cast. This will allow the line to flow off the spool and wind back on at working pressure. Don't go for the long chuck straight away or it could be the last with that batch. Braid tangles are notorious for staying knotted so be gentle at first. Once you are happy that the line is casting and retrieving without causing any problems, tackle up and start fishing.

[Guest tigger]

15lb mono has a similar diameter to 50lb braid and because there is no advantage in using lighter braid

 

 

 

The advantage of lighter breaking strain in braid is casting, thinner the better for casting.

[Andy Macfarlane]

For casting what...a size 1 mepps...3 maggots...a lump of bread perhaps? There's very little pike tackle that cannot achieve a reasonable distance with 50lb braid. I certainly wouldn't fill a spool with anything lighter, just to cast something light, that might only be used part of the time, to gain a few extra yards. That's what waders are for.

[Guest tigger]

For casting what...a size 1 mepps...3 maggots...a lump of bread perhaps? There's very little pike tackle that cannot achieve a reasonable distance with 50lb braid. I certainly wouldn't fill a spool with anything lighter, just to cast something light, that might only be used part of the time, to gain a few extra yards. That's what waders are for.

 

 

Andy I suppose it's personal preference and of course the water i.e. snags etc but I wouldn't go over 30lb for lure fishing in most circumstances, I can't see the point as 30lb probably only breaks at 35 or 40lb anyway. I've been using 15lb and found it spot on.

[Dick Dastardly]

Andy I suppose it's personal preference and of course the water i.e. snags etc but I wouldn't go over 30lb for lure fishing in most circumstances, I can't see the point as 30lb probably only breaks at 35 or 40lb anyway. I've been using 15lb and found it spot on.

 

But 15lb braid has the diameter or less than 5lb mono in most brands Tigger.Dont you have any problems with abrassion resistance? I would be happy to use it for "ulta lights" for perch or chub if changed regular but dont think its wise with pike size lures.Certainly couldnt use it with big pike lures simply because of the casting unless you used a shock leader and thats doesnt make any sense to me.

[Neil G]

I use braid on every rod I use including bait and barbel rods...the stuff is great and TBH once you've spooled up once it does last longer than mono.

 

As for lure fishing it is the best line to use, 50lb Powerpro probably the best, not that expensive either if you go for 150yds and back it up with some mono.

[Vagabond]

I have only been spinning for pike about 3 times and therefore i don't have all the gear

 

From the rest of your post it looks like you have most of it - but two items you don't mention are a small pair of bolt cutters and an unhooking mat. You may already have the mat, but the bolt croppers can be very useful in cutting hooks out should it be necessary.

 

As others have said, 50 lb braid will ensure you lose very few lures.

 

Good luck.

[Guest tigger]

But 15lb braid has the diameter or less than 5lb mono in most brands Tigger.Dont you have any problems with abrassion resistance? I would be happy to use it for "ulta lights" for perch or chub if changed regular but dont think its wise with pike size lures.Certainly couldnt use it with big pike lures simply because of the casting unless you used a shock leader and thats doesnt make any sense to me.

 

 

 

Budgie I've had no prob's with the abrasion resistance, probably due to the waters I've fished being silty bottoms rather than stoney. As I said it's personal preference really (IMO) as I don't use ultra heavy or anything to heavy to stop me using lighter braid. If I use slightly heavier lures then I use 30lb breaking strain and in all honesty have never had a prob.........saying all that I don't do a lot of lure fishing and I suppose there's a lot more regualar lure anglers on here who are better qualified than me to recommend lure tackle.