Home Forums Fishing Freshwater Questions on braid/superbraid lines

As usual, I'm about 20 years behind the curve here, but I'm thinking about switching my baitcasters over to braid.

What brands to you suggest, and what knots work for this stuff? I'm guessing I'll have to start carrying a pair of those scissors to cut the stuff? Rods will be medium heavy graphite, or composite graphite for bass, and northerns.

Doe this sutff work good for walleye applications? Would be a jig rod, a slip bobber setup, and a Lindy rig rod.

Other options? Flurocarbon? I'm open for suggestions here-just want to upgrade from Stren and Trilene XL.

Thanks guys.

You'll need the Palomar knot for most/all braids,

I like braid for certain applications like jigging, but still prefer mono for others.

A small diameter braid in a backlash with a baitcaster, oh boy.

I'm getting a little bored with Flurocarbon, I don't think it's what your looking for, leader material at best for me.

Hard to beat the XL.

I went through the same conversion, mono to braid, about a year ago.
Lots of options, here is a starting point.

Braids tend to be less than ½ the diameter of mono, so you can go up in lb/test while still getting thinner, lighter line that casts farther.
For open faced spinning reels and light tackle, just go to Berkley Fire line, I replaced 4 lb mono with 6 lb Fire Line. Stuff is amazing, try it, you’ll like it.
For Heavier rigs;
Power Pro has a good reputation, and costs less then most of the others.
Suffix 832 seems to have a reputation of being about the best.
You will want to go with heavier line for most applications, like replacing 15 or 20 lb mono with 30, 40 or even 50 lb Braid. The lighter braids can/will cause terrible birds nest / wind tangles and knots.

Yes, have a pair of sharp scissors or as very sharp knife to cut it, this stuff laughs at nail clippers.

Knots;

Go to www.netknots” and learn to tie the “Nanofil knot” and the “Trilene knot”.
The Nanofill is just a basic Palomar knot with an extra loop.
If you attach your favorite lure with an improved cinch knot, you will hook the biggest fish of your life, and the knot will fail, and you will say “bye bye” to the fish and your favorite lure.

If you like to troll, or jig, look for;
Power Pro, “Depth Hunter”. It's color coded, changing colors every 25 feet, like lead core.
Very helpful when trolling

Anaconda-thanks for the great info. Very hard for me to give up on mono, but I want to give this a try. 'Goes back to my days fishing bass tournaments when I was younger. Dupont and Berkley were pretty darned good to us guys. I don't think I bought any line the whole time I fished tournaments. They would just come around to our club meetings, tournament meetings, etc. and have line for anyone that needed it. I've never forgotten their support of us, and for a young kid trying to make a name for his self on a shoestring budget, their support was greatly appreciated. When I didn't have any big sponsorships, they always came through.

Braid is a tool like any line and has some very good applications...but is not good for everything IMO.

I use it on spinning rods and light bait casting for tossing light plastics around vegetation; things like a 4" Senko,or on bait casting I use 20# Suffix with a Texas rigged Beaver and 1/16th oz tungsten to get a slow fall for finicky fish.This outfit did well for me down in Austin sight fishing for cruising largemouth.

We also use it for frogging on thick mats;and for some jig fishing around thick vegetation. It works well there due to lack of stretch on hook sets and the thin diameter cuts through the vegetation;we lose fewer big fish in the messy stuff.

I don't like it throwing jigs around boat docks and trees;the stuff grabs bark and limbs and does not slide as well over obstacles as a slick co polymer,and has no stretch to get you out of a hang up...when you are stuck, your'e stuck.

It's also touchier when skipping jigs on bait casting gear and can give you some wonderful backlashes.

On a pre spawn trip to Lake Fork guys were throwing 3/4" Rattle traps with braid and coming in with stories of O rings pulled straight and hooks torn from the bodies of the baits....no stretch. I don't like it for crank baits and spinner baits.



It also sucks around rocks;a big largemouth that sticks its head into a rock pile will break you off in a nano second...with P Line you still have a chance at her.

But for some places, braid is great. My favorite by far is Suffix.

Superline has a big learning curve. If you think your gonna use it for everything then you are gonna be completely disappointed. On spinning tackle nanofil and fireline is great for certain techniques. On casting gear its good for many techniques but not all. Cranking its not my favorite, you loose to many fish cause line stretch is part of what plays fish, not just the rod. When I use superline I use one rod action softer so to cushion the hookset a little as a hard hookset will tare their mouth and makes a big hole for a easy thrown hook, plus it makes up for the lack of stretch. Unless of course the rod won't throw the weight of the lure you have choosen, then I go from a faster action to a more parabolic type action, slower action that is.

One thing many people do is use a long leader of mono or floro to add some stretch. Lots of stretch is negative but a little stretch is a positive thing. I use a mono leader because it ties better knots than floro and it stretches a little more.

I generally use it for techniques that I use the rod to move the lure, jigs, worms jigging spoons and so on. Any reaction type lure, crankbaits and spinners (for me) those techniques are better used with mone or floro, with the exception to frog fishing as BobinNH has stated and i completely agree with. Also the 3600 ambassaduer I told you about a few months ago work great with braid because it wraps the line with a cross wrap pattern, this way the line doesn't dig down inside its self on the spool. Large casting reels are a hinderance with braid. Wind knots are also aggravating, so for braid I use stren florescent that has a coating so its not so limp.

Superline has its place but its not for everything. Soft jerkbaits are absolutely awesome to fish on superline, best line for the job, but it sux for cranking, imho. Your results my vary but this system has worked better for me than useing superline exclusively. Good luck

Forgot to say if your looking for knots to join leaders to superline their are some great knots on the saltwater board. Wink_man posted the red phillips knot and its super easy to tie and very effective. Since I tried it I use it a lot.

The only thing I've used braided line for is my main line on a level wind for trolling for chinook in coastal rivers. I switched from 15-20 pound mono to 30 pound braid. No particular brand, whatever the sporting goods store had a bulk spool of. I don't tie directly from braid to mono, I tie from braid to swivel, swivel to mono, and run about a 6-8 foot piece of 15-20 pound mono leader on down to my plug.

Braid works pretty well for that when all goes well. When someone has a plug not running straight that crosses the other lines, it's a [bleep] tangle way worse than just mono. No point untangling, just start cutting.

Tom

Here on Clear Lake CA I use braid mostly for some top water applications. Throwing frogs and horney toad on mats is good as you need a good fast hookset and the strength to get them out of the mats. 60-80 lb test is what we use. Other lures like spooks etc. we use mono as a braid might tear the hook out of their mouths. Its a great line but not for everything.

Braid can prematurely wear your guides.

Some knots.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hp5XWarpu8g
http://www.fishcrack.com/fishing-10...est-and-thinnest-knot-for-braid-to-mono/

I'll play.

Braid has no equal,in any mainline application. It is not a leader material...though in niche applications,direct-drive is a sinister approach. Read that again.

The fancy-schmancy knot schit,is Fluff. For terminal ties,I use an Improved-Improved Clinch,but go through the eye twice,as well as the wrapped bight twice,before the tuck & pull.

To fend losing expensive lures,simply drive split rings on the hooks,shy of the braid's mettle. Hint. OEM splits are typically schit anyhow,so it's win/win. Re-hint.

THE key to braid,is affixing it to the arbor so it can't move(tough to beat a lark's head,followed by multiple half-hitch rotating directional bights). Seize it once and you are there. After spooling up,I then tie the end to the front door and walk away until I'm to the last half hitch and firewall the drag and walk it tight onto the reel. Nothing can or will "bury" and you are golden. Up-end as required,fhuqk mono fills and let things work for you.

I can't PM coordination,to help the afflicted fend backlashes and prolly wouldn't...even if I could.(grin)

PowerPro is THE schnizzle,though I'm admittedly not talking about Minnows,Dinks and Baitfish,so would defer them lowest of expectations,to them who are enthralled with same.

Seldom do I run anything lighter than 30# PP,even on 4-8# noodle-esque 9.5' and longer rods..............

To prevent braid from slipping on the spool, apply a layer of electrical tape before loading the braid.

Anyone remember the original DuPont Prime? Gawdaful stuff.

^this^ or put some high test mono backing on your reel first and tie them togeter with a back to back uni or red phillips knot. Tape is easier but if you don't want to load your reel all the way up with braid you can put a lot of backing and a small bit of superline.

I do remember prime. After a month of use the stuff would get powdery and brittle. Lesson learned.

I'm a PowerPro guy. I switched after they changed the formulation of garcia Royal bonyl line. power pro (and I suspect other braids - but I have only used powerpro) lasts forever. I fish water infested with pike, and bite off's are very rare. I also leave rods in my boat, and they see the sun which kills mono or flouro. Powerpro fades in the sun, but does not weaken. After using it for a while you can strip it and then respool it with the old inside line out, putting the used portion inside next to the spool. I've been going to do this for at least 6 yrs, and haven;t gotten around to it; the line is still good. I think I should continue the experiment, but I can't remember when I first put the line on!

Fishing braid is very different from mono or flouro. Different knots. The palomar has worked well for me; just tried the Seaguar knot and like it much better than the back to back uni knot. Much easier to tie. And no more sweeping hook sets. Just reel tight, or at most 6-12" of rod sweep. If fishing clear water, I may put on a flourocarbon leader. No more bite offs. And if you get snagged, DO NOT USE THE ROD TO TRY TO *BREAK* THE LINE. You will end up with a rod with an extra piece. And you will wrap it around your hand to break it free only once. . it cuts! Take a few turns around the handle of your net or a block of wood. Most often, you will straighten a hook, or have to cut the line. I went to the flouro leader just to have a break point so I didn't leave 15-20 ft of line in the water. I also keep my drag looser so that fish don't pull off. Seems to make up for the lack of stretch on the hookset.


With a GOOD rod, you will be amazed at what you can feel with the braid. THe smaller diameter usually gets lures deeper. And when fishing planer boards or downriggers, the line doesn't chafe. Pricey, but lasts much longer for the $ than other lines. Get used to fishing it and you will never go back!

Until you have a lake(Ontario) loaded with sea fleas and they are clinging on your line so thick they won't fit through the eyes on your rod.I use 50lb PP for backing on my copper rigs,but the PP just meets the water after you let out 300' or 400' of copper
If you use it on your riggers here on Lake Ontario come July when it's flea season you will have a mess

I thought braid was going to be the cat's ass when it came to jigging for lake trout in the winter. I put 30 lb PP on one of my reels. Great stuff for the first 10 minutes. As soon as it hit the cold air, it freezes and will not go back on the spool tightly. It has a lot of better alternatives for icefishing.

You amazingly STUPID fhuqkers are a hoot!

Given your "abilities",you'd best let someone else do this for you. Laughing!

Few things as "tricky" as a Lark's Head,followed by opposite half-hitches!!!







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Only 20 Steelhead today and no HOGS. Am thinkin' the water volumes in the early AM will bear fruit and entice a coupla Slabs to make a mistake. Ran my G-12's battery dry,left my 1D3 in the crummy,so had to gun a pard's G1X and he was late for dinner,due the Chrometitude. He threatened to swing back by after that obligation and I just might rub your nose even further in your own stupidity,after uploading that card. Just sayin'.

THANKS for doing your best,this schit is fhuqking hilarious.

Wow +P+!

As per always,film at 11:00.

Hint..................




MICRO Peanut Teaser,if only because you've never caught one that "big".

Laughing!

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Laughing,,, got much pride? You shouldn't with a moustache like that. Auditioning for the village people or trying to keep the neighbors kids out of your yard?

Not sure what could compel a grown azz male to act like that on a forum, but
Anybody can be a dik and anybody can catch a flippin fish in skinny water. Not impressed. Try again at the grade school, I'm sure you will gain some notoriety there. Maybe bricktop can go with you. I too can be an azzhole, (said with a smile) Go forth and be dik like, your very good at that too. Lmao

O yeah, a pressic knot will give you more gripping power on your spool than a larkshead, genius. Chuckle I love dumbazzes that think they are awesome. Ignore