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I put braid one of my ultralight reels today .
Six pound test KastKing Extremus. .004in diameter.
An hour later , I stripped it off and respooled with 2# P-Line . A CO-polymer.
As I was pulling the braid off the reel , it reminded me of one of the reasons not to use it . The line hung up for some reason and I could feel it cutting into my finger .
I was going to try it for an increase of sensitivity, but I’m not sure it’s worth it .
It does take some getting used to.
I’m sure it does .Quote:
Originally Posted by DockShootinJack
I’ve bought braid a couple of times with the intent to give it a try and have changed my mind every time .
One of the claims of using braid is an increase in casting distance.
I’ve tried Fireline but didn’t care for it . It didn’t increase my distance .
Having to use a leader and worrying about the knot flowing through some of the micro guides on some of my rods is another issue .
That and trying to use clipper or nippers to cut it .
Guess I’m just stuck in my ways .
It took me a couple years to get use and trust using 2# coploymer . I’d always used four pound test for the last thirty years or so.
Discovering P-Line helped .
Braids scissors are a must. I like the Power Pro Slick 8 V2 in 1 pound diameter. For me I cast the best. I tie directly to the jig. If You get used to it. It wil be difficult to fish anything else. The peck from a tiny bream jolts the rod enough to make you set the hook
I guess it’s an acquired taste, gill. I’ve been pretty happy with nylon over the years and now I’m using 2lb Gamma, which after it gets its finishing manufacturing in the US I guess is a copolymer. I pretty much just stream fish and the line works for me.
Bob
There is braid....then there is Japanese premium braid. I fished braid for about 18 months straight about 12 years back. If it was sold in Bass Pro I tried it. Never got increased casting distance until I started using NanoFil. It casts like a dream. But in the end I did not like it for various reason and went back to nylon line. US market braid breaks way over the stated strength....I mean way over. One of my first videos on YouTube was a shell cracker video using 1# test NanoFil. It broke at around 5 pounds. I did not go back to using braid until a couple of years back. It was not a "Premium" braid though. It was no different than any US market braid I had tried before.....broke way over it's 3# rating...did not cast as good as nylon. Then thanks to some on the forum here whom had started using the Varivas Infinity PE X8 braid I gave it a try. Love the stuff...no wind knots...breaks at the 5.4 pounds it is rated at...casts a 1 gram jig head coast to coast. The diameter of the braid is 0.0029. The micro guides on my JDM rods are the smallest they make...believe me when I tell you they are tiny...much smaller than any micro guide on US market rods. I have no issue at all with knots passing through those guides. I love fishing hard baits with it...but it fished soft plastics well also. You may try it and still not like braid...but it is nothing like US market braid. It is expensive at 50 bucks a spool but if I am going to use braid that is what I will be using.
Regards
I tried braid and I could not stand it. Thinking I was just an impatient novice I stuck with it trip after trip and I realize now....I still can't stand it. Go with your gut! I'm back to mono and quite happy!Quote:
Originally Posted by gillchaser999
Same… tried braid twice and I’m back to mono.
Do you Dock Shoot with this braid or must you use mono?Quote:
Originally Posted by DockShootinJack
I prefer mono myself but on Saturday when I head to the salty water I’ll be using braid. Varivas braid is the only brand I use and while braid is not my favorite it is the best brand I have used.
I used it last year some and I found there are things I like and those that I don’t. I don’t like casting it. I do like vertical jigging it. I don’t like using it with slip bobbers. I like trolling with it.
I have enough rods that I can have a few rigged with braid for when I want it.
I use braid for shooting docks. Been using it for docks for a long time. The sensitivity helps you pick up the slightest of bites. Gives the strength to pull most any fish out from under the dockQuote:
Originally Posted by osok
I have many rods that I carry, and a couple have mono in 2 and 4 lb. Some of the tougher conditions demand it for the abrasion. The rest have braid with all of mine being domestic. Like Alphahawk, I tried the Nanofil and fell in love with its casting. Yes, I have to use a leader and it parts at the most in opportune times, but I’ve also landed some large fish on it that I don’t think I should have. I believe it’s termed not fused, or maybe not coated. Whatever it is, it’s a love/hate relationship. I can shoot a tiny jig a long way under a tree that’s adorned with other peoples lures and get the fish that lie beneath. It takes a dedication to try it for a given period, longer than usual, to see if you like it. And it isn’t for everyone.
The others are Sufix Nanobraid and fireline crystal, bot in 2 or 3 lb. Neither cast like Nanofil but they are much tougher in trashy areas. My favorite 1/43 is noticeably too light for the two lb of either, but I’d like to try the one pound Jack spoke of. One thing I haven’t heard anyone mention is the wind. These little lines will have you making up new bad words in windy conditions, the Nanofil being the worst. It has more sail area than the fused or coated lines which behave noticeably better, but still have a mind of their own at times. I tried some nylon line that had more stretch and softened the bites leaving the most subtle undetectable. The casting was better than mono but it got put aside. I’ve never tried a copolymer so I have no comment. The common voice stating that braid isn’t for everyone e is very true, and I get frustrated with it sometimes. One day I’ll get off my wallet and try some of the Japanese PE but until then…….
I too wondered how a braided line with 0.0029 inches diameter would behave in the wind. I had no issues with it at all. Believe me I can’t afford to have tip wrap on a 500 dollar rod. I first tried it out on 200 dollar rod…..although I didn’t want to get tip wrap on that either but that was my test rod. A nylon line you may want to look at is the Varivas Twitch Master VLS…..which stands for very low stretch. I use it in the 3 and 4 pound strength. Very soft and supple…..great casting distance…and small diameter …and for a nylon line good sensitivity.Quote:
Originally Posted by skeetbum
Regards
Sent from my iPad using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app
For $50 , give or take a couple of bucks depending on the daily price on Amazon, I can get a 3000 yard spool of 2# Mist Green P-Line that’s around .004in in diameter and breaks around 2.5# .Quote:
Originally Posted by Alphahawk
A made in Japan copolymer line that I’ve pulled 9.5” bluegills out from around bridge pilings up at the pond .
And a 3000 yard spool will give me 25-30 fills . I use SOS 2# line for backing on my deep spool reels .
I was worried about braid, but tried the Suffix nano-braid and am pretty unlikely to go back to mono. With a really light spool, I can cast my 4-lb nano-braid further than I ever could cast mono. It did cut the hell out of my hands the first time using it though - like a more painful razor-blade cut. When this runs out, I am planning to explore JDM braid.
Could you send me a link for the 2lb.? IQuote:
Originally Posted by gillchaser999
I'm having trouble finding
Link sent .Quote:
Originally Posted by DALE HOLLOW NUT
What it comes down to in my book are the different braid lines sold - many that have inherent problems such as the casting of very light lures, rod tip line knots and digging into the spool. I use a specific braid and have none of the problems listed above by many. It casts the lightest jigheads, with soft plastic lures the main weight, 50' of more. Lately I've been casting 1/32 oz jig in very shallow water and gotten the best daily springtime numbers of my life!
Using a particular 8# test/4# test diameter braid has the strength that allows me to pull my small row boat toward a snag and never snap, but also set the hook after feeling a light strike from a good distance from even the smallest fish that hook themselves after feeling the zero-give.
The braid I use is uncoated and soft. If more line is needed after the usual knot messes, a line to line uni-knot still allows good casts through even the smallest rod guides. I only use uni-knots to connect lures. I use light action rods for shock absorption when fighting a fish and last week caught a 2 lb. smallmouth bass that bent my rod when it went under the boat three times. The rod was the only concern - not the line.
I figure it this way: any line that can cast light jigs/lure combos from a spincast reel a long distance cast after cast, is the line I want on my reel. Forget leaders, I could never see the benefit. I also have braid on my baitcast and spinning reels, pound test depending on what I'm fishing for. My rod actions are light to medium depending on the weight of lures used and the combination of both determine braid diameter/test.
Float & lure fishing is something I've enjoyed recently using only braid. There isn't the lift of light lures and line as when I used mono or f/c line because braid absorbs water. Boat drift/ float fishing does well with braid.
https://i.imgur.com/FQn9oxD.jpg
This 4 lb white sucker caught on a light lure and braid could not get free.
https://i.imgur.com/3qiDkyx.jpg
150 fish/ 6 species in two consecutive days week before last should tell you something. Even three pickerel couldn't cut the braid.
Just my two cents. (BTW, the braid I use is one of the cheapest lines anywhere!)
Nice fish and comments, Spoon. As has been said by many, it isn’t for everyone. I’m ok with my mono and copolymer. I think I would like to try that varvias low stretch if it comes in a hi viz.
Bob
x2…Quote:
Originally Posted by VaCrappieMan
not my thing most certainly , my bud tossed his braid across my mono yesterday in the wind, I told him hold very still or it will be a disaster as I tried to unwind what got in that typical braid wind it up fashion , as I worked on it all the sudden it came tight and jerked like heck and without a witness it could be said it was just a fish story , but a dang bass hit his jig and about cut my fingers with his braid ....hate that stuff is me:bangheadQuote:
Originally Posted by gillchaser999
It will certainly cut to the bone in a hurryQuote:
Originally Posted by Ketchn
The cuts come as the braid slides across your fingers. A nasty slice, too. Tightening down on the drag some should eliminate this from happening.
it's just like one of them there rope bone saws , it cuts deep and quick for sure ......
my bud says he likes it because it wont break and dont stretch , I watch him fight it every trip ....
but he still thinks its better than mono ....
ford or chevy syndrome for sure in the end ....
some just have to use it , some not so much :highfive
I've been using Diawa J-Braid X8. This stuff is softer and smoother than most other braids I've used. Even using it on my bass rigs now too. Never going back to mono for panfishing. It's a completely different experience (much better/more fun IMHO) than using mono.
Today I fished with a partner: both of us had 8# test braid on our spincast and spinning reels. He brought in a 2 lb bass, I was able to net a 25" chain pickerel not to mention the 85 fish of all size and of different species that we caught using light jigs and plastics. My partner got caught up in 5 snags (tree branches, subsurface wood) and never lost a lure. Of course like any line made, we both lost lures to pickerel but not to the +1.5 lb bass we both caught. Even with the 12 mph wind, we felt light strikes in water 3-6' and were able to set the hook with few fish escaping from bad hook sets due to line stretch.
My partner was thrilled with the new rod/ reel combo he paid me for as well as the braid I replaced the mono with and being able to make long casts and distant hooksets using 1/32oz jig + plastics.
The positives of braidQuote:
Originally Posted by Spoonminnow
I was lucky enough to get some 4 strand SuperPremium PE braid from Varivas this winter to try. It is super thin, I compare it to a human hair. Our ice fishing was terrible towards the end of the season so I didn't get a chance to use it. Will give a review this spring when I geta chance to try it out.
Have never tried braid of any kind . I figure if B.A.S.S. could win 10 plus championships on it I could catch pan fish on it . lol Sure wish I could find it on the lb. spools like in the 70's . All the gold line I find is dry rotted .