Braided mainline

[HOPPY4]

Budgie makes a Valid Point AGAIN! The Diameter of the 50lb. PP is such that the mono equivlent is not comparable! I have and will continue to use Braid as my primary mainline in 99% of my fishing applications. I have found it to be Dependable and in the Long Run Less Exspensive! The Pros: Lower Dianmeter for Break Strength, Higher Sensetivity and No Stretch! Cons: Higher Initial Cost, Less Abbaision Resistance to Sharpe Objects when under tentsion and Tangle Knots are sometime IMPOSSIBLE to get out! (I have found that the method mentioned earlier to place the line on the reel Helps to prevent initial Wind Knots. Yet after using for a while, you should Redo or run the line through your fingers as you retreive the lure. These tricks will Help to eliminate Wind Knots and make the Lure fishing more Enjoyable!) While I am Carp, Catfish or Saltwater fishing, I have not had problems with the Braided line forming Windknots. I do also use Braid on Baitcaster reels for Catfishing and some Saltwater applications and know that Birds Nest can occaisionally occure. Then a BIG Dose of Patience is NECESSARY! Having an Educated Thumb and setting the correct amount of Internal Drag to match your weight will Help to Prevent these. All this said, you will Be More than HAPPY after you start to use Braid and calulate the cost afterwards! Here in the USA, BASS Anglers are also using Florocarbon lines. This is the New Trend as such and has some merit as well. It is not as Thick as Regular Mono and is Virtually CLEAR under water. More Abbraision Resistant than Braid, but not as Strong in Tensil Strength when pulled directly. A consideration when a Leader is used for Toothee Critters like Pike and Zander! JMHO!!!!!!

 

HOPPY4

Edited November 18, 2008 by HOPPY4

[jonnyp]

Cheers boys, I never thought of only putting 100 yds of braid to mono. If i did this what knot should i use as i've never tied one? Andy said "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" Without sounding like a Div, What is a uni to uni knot?

Yeah Vagabong my pliers have a very substantial cutter on the, So i have bolt cutters in effect!

Jp

[Neil G]

Have a look at some fly fishing sites for knots to join lines together....they usually use nail knots/albrights to join backing to mono (very differing diameters) and with a dab of glue they're very secure.

 

As Hoppy points out patience is needed as you will get the inevitable wind knot and it's not a pleasant experience as you spend ages trying to sort it out while blowing out of proportion the cost of the stuff if you have to cut the line back. Trick is not to overfill the spool, if you do you'll only end up cutting a lot back anyway!

 

Don't bother with mono leaders, wire makes little effect on the lure action and has little effect visibilty wise.....pike are far to fixated with eating/attacking the lure to notice!

 

Best of luck with it

[Steve Burke]

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.

 

I don't know what sort of waters you fish Andy, but mine are much too deep to wade!

 

And on my waters at least gaining extra yards equals gaining extra fish!

 

Of course the advantage of heavier braid is that you may be able to pull a snag out, or at least get your lure back. However I don't currently fish snaggy venues.

 

Braids widely differ though in the same way that nylon monos do. Additionally, as with many new products, braids have much improved in the relatively few years they've been available.

 

I've found that this is especially so when it comes to abrasion resistance, that in the early days was frequently very poor. This meant that it was essential on some waters to use heavy breaking strains. As a result the oft-repeated recommendation to use the same diameter braid as you'd use in mono made a lot of sense.

 

However I don't think it so relevant today - provided that is you choose the right braid. For instance I've found Nash Bullet Braid to have very good abrasion resistance, although some of this is due to it being much stronger than its stated breaking strain.

 

These days Power Pro is my choice, and for lures up to 40 grams or so I happily use it in 20lb. This smaller diameter means that I can cast much further, something that makes a huge difference at Wingham as I can cover more water.

 

Longer casts also mean that I have the option of getting crankbaits down deeper, and of course the smaller diameter also lets this sort of lure run deeper anyway.

 

So yes, the braid I now use is stronger than the 12lb mono I used to use on this outfit. But it's also thinner leading to the two advantages above.

Edited November 24, 2008 by Steve Burke