braided line: what say you?

It's better at flexibility and knotting than steel, but if fishing toothy or aggressive fish I still prefer steel braid leaders.


-X
 
I use braid on every rod I own, after thousands and thousands of cast no damage to the rod guides. I even have braid on the reels that I use fluorocarbon with, I use it as backing for fluoro. it works for just about every fishing technique I can think of with the exception of fluorocarbon leaders. I use fluoro leaders mostly for texas rigged plastics. i personally use either spiderwire stealth braid or maxima both a great. i cant say enough good things about braid, use it and you wont loose them.
 
Been using braid for years.I always use a leader,mono or flouro depending where I'm fishing
 
Been using Power Pro since the beginning here in S Fl from bluegills to sharks. Have it on every rod n reel I own.
 
I use 20 lb Windtamer braid with a fluorcarbon leader. The leader size varies by fishing type. I have used a UNI to UNI knot for the leader but have switched to an Albright version as it makes a smaller knot size. I use this on both spinning and casting reels in both fresh water and saltwater. I get better distance casting as the 20 lb braid is small in diameter than any mono I have used. The other thing is braid lasts a lot longer than mono. I have some braid which is 3 years old and still working well. I would have changed my mono line 3 or 4 time by now.
 
I use braid for sturgeon and sharks. Don't like it for fish with a soft mouth like salmon or stripers. The hook can pull out easier. Mono gives you a cushion. You can use a slower action rod to compensate for this though. For jigging and trolling you can use lighter weights with braid because it will cut through the current do to its smaller diameter.
 
DB731 said:
Does braided make sense for leader? Does it do anything better than single strand stainless wire?
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I use 120# braid leader for sturgeon. They don't spit it out as fast as wire. It doesn't kink either. If a fish is really toothy you can use a circle hook. Never fished for barracuda or wahoo so maybe it won't work for those.
 
I cant use braid. I use baitcasting gear almost exclusively and hold the rod in front of the reel with the line running between my thumb and index finger. Its the just the way I do it . If I set the hook using braid I slice my index finger . I use mono for everything . No floro either .
 
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..so for small and medium pike braided should work for leader material, assuming lures are used thus not giving them time to swallow and chew on anything?
 
Don't forget that gill plates on pike are very hard and sharp too. They can cut line pretty quickly. I've never fished specifically for pike, they are an invasive specie here so I'm not sure what normal gear for them is. Though I suspect it's similar to saltwater rigs.

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A question to those who tie Mono or fluro leader directly to braided what knot do you use?When your line breaks does it break at the hook or lure or does it break at the line connection.I use 10 to 20 lb braid with a 6 or 8lb fluro leader using a swivel between the lines I have no problem. Tie a stronger knot at the swivel than the hook and the line with normally break at the lure or hook.But when I tie the lines together they break at the connection then I have two knots to tie.I,ve tried abut every line connection knot there is and they all do the same thing.Swivels work but it would be nice to be able to reel the knot in the guides.I have tied a 100+ knots trying to find one that works with and without glue.I don't have a way to slow motion it but I think the braided line cuts thru the fluro or Mono.
 
I tie a doubled up improved clinch knot between braid and mono (knots tied to each other), and then trim it down good. I have taken some pretty heavy northern pike using this connection and the only break I have had was mid mono line 6 inches below the knot. I would stand by it.
 
Mono to braid Bimini twist or Albright. fish up to 50lb .I use hollow braid with a loop to loop connection for larger fish up to 250 lbs.Spinning gear, jigging and large surface poppers.yellowfin bluefin tuna.Been doing well last couple weeks jigging for bluefin in the 50 lb class.Also Mai Mai ,blue line tile fish.Inshore fishing,stripers ,flounder,bluefish I use braid with a swivel and connect my mono to the other end.I use 30 lb power pro most of the time and my leader will vary between20-50 lb depending on what I'm fishing for and structure
 
I switched all of my saltwater reels to braid and it was a change I'm happy with. I use a 40# mono leader attached with an Albright knot or Double Uni Knot. I have never had issues with rod eyes due to the braid. The majority of my freshwater fishing is light/ultralight and I prefer mono, the original clear blue Stren 4#
 
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the right line for the job, mono for floating presentations, florocarbon for sinking and near invisible line presentation and better sensitivity, braid for night time and thick cover. that's how I run it. friend tried braid on an ultra light for trout........ I could see that line from the shore and I could hear the fish laughing from there as well
 
Ebbtide said:
The down sides to braid...
Since it doesn't stretch, you really have to work to keep your rod bent when fighting a fish. With mono and the massive amount of stretch that is has you can get sloppy when fighting a fish. Not so with braid. I've gone to softer/slower rods now for that reason.
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Totally agree here, I now prefer longer length & slower action rods due to using braids all the time, this definitely has a downside but I still think it gives me some major advantages that are worth the trade-offs.
 
DB731 said:
..so for small and medium pike braided should work for leader material, assuming lures are used thus not giving them time to swallow and chew on anything?
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No, they will still cut it off. You have to keep an eye on the line and retie fairly often. After a few fish, or sometimes just one the braid will start to fray. It's hard to actually hook one somewhere that doesn't fray the line most of the time. When they are hungry they pretty much inhale whatever they are going after.
 
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