Braided Line Basics.....

[dennyboy]

Greetings everyone. I became a member of this forum a couple of years ago while living in NV. I'm new to TN and new to bass fishing. I've been using 4 lb to 8 lb test monofiliment most of my life.

I have a couple of questions about braided line. I found out what I could by checking old posts. For example good braid to mono knots are the Uni-to-Uni & Albright, and that some people use a swivel connection rather than tie a knot line-to-line. A good brand of braid is supposed to be Powerpro. You can use braid on a spinning reel. Here are some things I did not find.......

1. If using 30 lb braid, what pound test should the mono leader be?

2. Is a leader necessary? I know opinions might vary, but does tying the braid right to the lure or worm-hook get equal results, or should a leader always used?

3. Any opinions, for or against, other brands of braid besides powerpro?

4. I found one comment that said "8# braid is strength rated at 40#". I don't get it.... What will it say on the package?

Thanks in advance

[jad2t]

1] You generally want to match diameter when tying braid to a mono or flouro leader for ease of knot tying.

2] Depends on what you're fishing for and where. Frog fishing in the thick stuff, absolutely no leader. Tie braid to the frog. Finesse worm fishing, yes you should use a leader. Mono will work but flouro is better. This reduces line visibility. If fishing in dirty water you don't have to worry but if you hit relatively clear water like JPP, use the flouro.

3] I've used spiderwire and BPS braid and I like them both.

4] Not sure about that. 40# braid is 40# braid. The advantage is that 40# braid is a lot thinner than 40# mono or flouro so you can get more on your spool and it will cast farther.

Also I've found that the uni to uni knot gets snagged a lot in my baitcasters which can cause backlash on a longer cast when it gets "stuck" mid-cast. I've switched to the improved albright knot because it's a smaller profile and haven't had this issue anymore. The uni to uni will work fine on spinning reels.

[XxthejuicexX]

Jimmy has some good advice all around. I do not tie a bunch of leaders but when I do I have noticed the knot getting hung in the eyes sometimes. Depending on what you are fishing you may not need a leader. I fish any fast moving bait with straight braid. If you are throwing smaller braid, 15-20 lb it's equal to 4-6 pound mono. You may not need a leader depending on the water you are fishing. I caught fish throwing a Texas rigged worm on 50lb Monday afternoon.

http://www.powerpro.com/publish/cont...superline.html

[dennyboy]

Thanks Jimmy. So if you want to match diameters you would typically have lower strength mono/floro than braid. Maybe 30# braid and 12# mono?

You said: "Frog fishing in the thick stuff, absolutely no leader." Would that be true of other top-waters such as a pop-r if there are lots of weeds? If there are no weeds, then using a leader with a top-water would be a better choice, no?

Thanks.... Dennis

[SalmonDaze]

Originally Posted by jad2t

1] You generally want to match diameter when tying braid to a mono or flouro leader for ease of knot tying.

2] Depends on what you're fishing for and where. Frog fishing in the thick stuff, absolutely no leader. Tie braid to the frog. Finesse worm fishing, yes you should use a leader. Mono will work but flouro is better. This reduces line visibility. If fishing in dirty water you don't have to worry but if you hit relatively clear water like JPP, use the flouro.

3] I've used spiderwire and BPS braid and I like them both.

4] Not sure about that. 40# braid is 40# braid. The advantage is that 40# braid is a lot thinner than 40# mono or flouro so you can get more on your spool and it will cast farther.

Also I've found that the uni to uni knot gets snagged a lot in my baitcasters which can cause backlash on a longer cast when it gets "stuck" mid-cast. I've switched to the improved albright knot because it's a smaller profile and haven't had this issue anymore. The uni to uni will work fine on spinning reels.

^^^^^^
Just This

[XxthejuicexX]

Originally Posted by dennyboy

Thanks Jimmy. So if you want to match diameters you would typically have lower strength mono/floro than braid. Maybe 30# braid and 12# mono?

You said: "Frog fishing in the thick stuff, absolutely no leader." Would that be true of other top-waters such as a pop-r if there are lots of weeds? If there are no weeds, then using a leader with a top-water would be a better choice, no?

Thanks.... Dennis

I throw all my top water lures on braid, Spooks, buzzbaits and poppers even if no grass is around. I don't think they are paying attention to the line all that much. If you make a long cast with a top water plug and have to set the hook, I want no stretch and that is what braid offers.

[dennyboy]

Originally Posted by XxthejuicexX

I caught fish throwing a Texas rigged worm on 50lb Monday afternoon.

http://www.powerpro.com/publish/cont...superline.html

Do you mean you had the braid tied right onto the hook?
.
.

[XxthejuicexX]

Originally Posted by dennyboy

Do you mean you had the braid tied right onto the hook?
.
.

Yep, braid tied straight to the hook with a snell knot.

[dennyboy]

I checked Powerpro line at Cabelas and I had no idea there would be a color choice (I have zero knowledge of braid). Vermillion Red? Yellow? Moss Green seems a good choice but I'd like to know what color is used most.

Thank you

[XxthejuicexX]

Originally Posted by dennyboy

I checked Powerpro line at Cabelas and I had no idea there would be a color choice (I have zero knowledge of braid). Vermillion Red? Yellow? Moss Green seems a good choice but I'd like to know what color is used most.

Thank you

I fish the green, I purchased the yellow this spring because the green was sold out at dicks and I did not want to drive to academy. If you get any other color than green you can color the line with a sharpie like I do the yellow. Just color it about 5' up past the lure.

[Adrian]

I rarely tie on a leader when catfish or striper fishing, however, when Bass fishing I tie on 17lb fluorocarbon leaders and increase my bite ratio by 50%. I use 20lb braid for Bass and 80lb braid for Big Game. Always green. Stay away from the cheap stuff, it cuts right through the leaders in my experience.

[Pookie]

Originally Posted by dennyboy

3. Any opinions, for or against, other brands of braid besides powerpro?

4. I found one comment that said "8# braid is strength rated at 40#". I don't get it.... What will it say on the package?

Thanks in advance

3. powerpro is all I use.

4. The pkg will be noted in actual diameter of mono and strength. In other words, it will be listed as 40# test, but have the 8# listing as well.

[TNBronzeback]

Just my 2 cents but certain applications, i prefer the visibility of the colored braids. I do alot of vertical fishing in the lakes and especially the rivers and the hi viz colors make tracking your line to keep vertical very easy. Ofcourse i use a mono leader and swivel.
But if your not gonna be doing any of that style fishing the green color works fine.

A pretty important tip with braid though and i dont know if anybody else has mentioned it, but i find i need to fish it a little differently depending on how im fishing. Since braid has no stretch, it can be easier to rip hooks out on hook sets and fighting fish. I use slightly more limber rods when throwing braid to act as a bit of a shock absorber.
Thats my experience with braid, some of the other guys on here might have different results with it. It is wonderful though! You can feel a minnow sneeze on it from 20ft away! Lol

[Pookie]

Originally Posted by XxthejuicexX

I fish the green, I purchased the yellow this spring because the green was sold out at dicks and I did not want to drive to academy. If you get any other color than green you can color the line with a sharpie like I do the yellow. Just color it about 5' up past the lure.

There's your first mistake...shopping at Dick's.

I went to Dick's in Cool Springs Sunday to get a license. I determined that the place was aptly named. There were 2 queers working in the hunting/fishing dept. I left and went to Wal-Mart.

[TNBronzeback]

Originally Posted by Pookie

There's your first mistake...shopping at Dick's.

I went to Dick's in Cool Springs Sunday to get a license. I determined that the place was aptly named. There were 2 queers working in the hunting/fishing dept. I left and went to Wal-Mart.

Lmao...i havent experienced that before.
I really dont care much for thier selection of gear. They do run some decent sales on thier fishing stuff from time to time though. If you hit it just right you can find some pretty good deals.