to braid or not to braid?

[zeppelin]

Hi, Im curious about braided line...i heard a lot of people say that its the best line you can have (and costs a pretty penny) and you can feel absolutely everything that comes in contact with your bait etc...but i also hear that if you get a snag that its straining power is poor?

[tugger]

a mate told me that fishing deeper water to fish one or the other on all rods or its tangle city ,i only use monofiliment

[Davo_Dinkum]

i'm only new to braid, i find it great but only using it for my hd's and sp's.

still using mono for bait.

i have got it snagged many time snow and if it brakes its on my joint knot.the braid to mono leader.

this far i have got all my lures back and with the mono still attached i find they easy to get back.

i tried flicking sp's and hb's around on mono before i got braid ,it sucked on mono .got the braid and wow.

[yoyo]

Braid is the way to go.

[Little Grey Men]

Two different line types for different applications. Some fishing is better done with mono. A lot of blokes troll with mono because of the stretch factor.

Braid is suitable for lure work because of the sensitivity, because it doesn't stretch much you can impart a much better action on your lures, and you feel every nibble which means your strikes are more effective.

But if I was going down to the beach and tossing in a bait I'd probably use good mono.

It wears better on rocks, it's cheaper and it doesn't cut the hell out of your fingers if you grab it.

For lure work it braid all the way for me.

[bigtez]

What sort of fishing are you planning to do with it?

[zeppelin]

Hi bigtez, the fishing I plan to do is just some reef fishing off Tangalooma hopefully try and pick up some snapper or trevers. The only problem is I dont want to buy reels of the stuff (as its pretty exy), get a big fish on the line...let the fish run and let out a good amount of line, then wham...the line snaps from too much strain or the fish hides in the reef and he rubs it against the reef.

[Oceandonkey]

Once you try braid, you will never go back (unless trolling as posted above)

Trust me on this, coming from a person that posted the exact same question on this site several years ago.....

Start of with fireline, its cheaper, easier to tie and produces the same results as braid. Anything over 10-15lb and your better of with braid.

If your flicking plastic youll feel every jerk and drop of the jighead, if your fishing with bait, youll think every bottom bounce is a fish striking for the first trip or 2.

Your catch rate will improce as well with fireline / braid.

[Oceandonkey]

zeppelin wrote:

let the fish run and let out a good amount of line, then wham...the line snaps from too much strain or the fish hides in the reef and he rubs it against the reef.

providing your not using 100lb leader with 10lb mainline.... your leader will be the first thing to go, braid has a much higher breaking strain pound for pound so that shouldnt be a problem, i dont think iv ever lost a fish to the braid snapping, always been my knot strength / mono leader weakness.

rubbing against a reef, well not much you can do there.... its not like its a spidersweb, yes against rocks its probably a little weaker than mono but the stuff is still super strong.

Best advise is buy a roll, try it out and decide for yourself, i could guarentee you wont be disappointed.

[obone]

For what you're saying, I'd say braid is definitely for you. If you're fishing a reef, the lack of stretch in the braid is such an advantage and just feels better in my opinion. And as for the line snapping, I'd say well you're not going to loose that much of your braid! It's not going to snap at the reel end, it's not going to snap at all really (unless you're bottom bashing with 4lb or something). What line strength are you looking at?

Joel

[zeppelin]

Hi Joel, im looking at buying a reel of 30mm diameter/30lb.

[obone]

Well 30lb, as Oceandonkey said, it's going to be your knot that goes. I'd say give it a go, you wont regret it

Joel

[Eug]

30mm is some thick braid!!!

[MoparKevUk]

Here's a theory expounded by a learned fisho of my aquaintance;

YOU can feel everything happening at the fish end through braid, so it stands to reason that the fish can feel everything YOU are doing......So stop them kids running round on the pontoon if yer rod's leaning up against the railings!!! And no having a belly larf if yer holding the rod!

[noname]

if your fishing around curtain, stick with the mono!

keep in mind when switching to braid, you will have to learn how to tie the knots properly too, and some are a bit over the top when first learning how.

as well as spooling the reel properly, but not rocket science!

[Do$tylz]

maybe catch up with someone from here and try out a set up of theirs that is bread. Thats the cheapest way to find out if you like it or not.

Use a good length of mono at the end of your braid and you'll pretty much be right for everything. About 1 to 2 rods lengths of mono/flourocarbon line will be right.

[Tiny Tin]

braid is great offshore in 70+ meters. you can feel the bites a lot better. have to re-think when you strike or go to circle hooks..which menas you have to rethink how to strike. in deep water it can be hard to feel bites on mono but it's like a brick running into your line with braid. imho i like mono if float lining or using baitrunners. bottom bashing..lures..SPs i go with braid. you still need mono as a leader or hook length. some people like to use a metre or so i like to use three or four metre lengths or wind the knot joining braid to the mono down to the reel. some braids are better for different applications..ie fins is great offshore on SPs it's horrible. for casting i prefer fireline..(oops this could start a whole new topic). i'm still finding my way around with braid when it's comes to casting SP's. but this is how it's working out for me so far

[Sokak]

I switched to braid about 6 months ago, solely land based with SP, surface lures, and bait. You don't need to fill a reel with braid, just buy a suitable length, then spool on old mono followed by the braid to fill the spool. You should always spool mono under the braid to help keep it cinched up & no slipping on the reel.

I do get funny looks when people see me casting under jetties using braid but the wind affects it less, and you feel the nibbles and strikes clean allowing you to turn the fish before it gets around a pylon.

You can run mono leader if there's clear water, or braid to the hook for night fishing or muddy/choppy water.

Just remember if you do bust off, always wind in under tension or you'll have a nasty nest to deal with in a few casts.

As for knots, I find a blood knot does just fine with braid... more funny looks, but I've never lost a knot, even when I've had cheap hooks busted.

[HookedOnTackle]

Start out with fireline, it is a little bit stiffer than true braid and windknots far less and you will get windknots. As mentioned above, just make sure to wind in with pressure every now and then. And try not to cast into the wind or have loose line being wound on.

I only use mono now for light bait fishing. The difference you get when you start casting light plastics and HB's is incredible and you won't look back. Mono and braid of the same diameter, braid is more resistant to wear from rocks, reef, teeth, etc. Many people who trolled for big fish had mono topshotted to get records, but now Ansa takes braid it is far more common. The thinner diameter of braid also reduces drag while in a heavy current so you can use slightly less lead to reach the bottom.

Braid is not a fad and has gone from strength to strength, this is for a reason, braid/fireline is a big improvement of mono for so many reasons. One spool of fireline will have you, as my name suggests, hooked. Borrow some dvd's too, squidgy and Berkley have plenty out and go through knots, techniques and more to help you out.

Best of luck!

[nadders]

heres how i see it,

i use braid for anything on the "smaller" side, anything that requires alot of sensitivity and timing on the strike. i also use braid on half of my livebaiting reels

on my bigger setups for sharks, big threadies and jewies i have 45lb mono spooled on as i use baitrunners and let the fish run for a while anyway, here i enjoy the advantage of not having to tie a leader knot and also have become a fan of the stretch giving some shock absorption (used to use braid here too but i found a few times when the fish was charging off my circle hooks basically got yanked out too fast)

if im fishing really tight structure for bigger fish i will use a 30lb braid setup so i can turn the head quicker away from structure

if you're fishing reefs i think braid is a very big advantage over mono as with the stretch in mono especially if deep they can have you reefed before you can apply enough pressure to turn the head

[dhess]

I got to agree braid is a huge advantage in offshore fishing except trolling. I struggle to catch anything on mono offshore. Funnily enough you will struggle to find a pro fisherman or charter operator that uses braid. Every single one of them uses mono.

I can understand mono potentially being advantageous in floatlining for snapper as it will sink a lot more slowly which can be a good thing if very is very little run.

[waldo]

For chasing trevs and snapper (on bait would be a fair guess) around tangalooma 20lb (10kg) mono should be just fine. Braid has its uses but there are a lot of flawed arguments for using braid where it is not needed. :woohoo:

[fishingnut]

I like to think of braid vs mono as, mowing ur lawn and clipping afew pebbles (mono) and mowing ur lawn and hitting bricks! (braid) thats the "feel" side of it any way...