[KeithsCatch]

I thought I would share this as there seems to be some misconceptions about braided line. So here are my experiences with braided line and what I consider it's best and worst applications.

Braided line is excellent for certain things and I use it quit frequently. I use a variety of brands such as Power Pro, Spider Wire Fireline and Tuff Line and even Stren Super Braid. Basically they are all the same except the least favorite for me is Fireline. I don't like the flat shape nor all the wax coating or whatever it is they put on it. It is too stiff for me.

Let me say that if you fish around rocks or barnacles, oyster beds, clams, mussells or metal fences or wrecks then using braid is a disaster waiting to happen. Also, if your lake has toothy fish like Musky, Northern Pike, or Gar or even Pickerel using braid is a disaster waiting to happen.

Braid by it's very nature is by far the worst abbrasion resistant line there is when it comes to sharp objects. Don't believe me? I callenge you to take a sharp knife and rub it over any tight braid in any strength 30lb, 50lb or even 65lb and just see how easy it is to cut this line. Now do the same thing to mono. Try 20lb mono or even 17lb. It is harder to cut then all of those braids.

I have learned this the hard way as I used to fish for Redfish in Texas in the coast. Redfish love to hang around oyster beds and I would get a big Redfish on and immediately I would loose it reel in my line and it was cut. Time after time I would lose Redfish. Since I was told this line had supperior abbrasion resistance I kept using it believing that was just how it was until my brother came with me using 20lb mono he caught every Redfish that bit his line yet I lost almost all of mine.

Later on when I lived in Colorado and was learning how to fish for Smallies. I would fish around rocky bluffs and boulders underwater. Since I like braid I tried that several times with texas rigging twin tail grubs. I would get bit and set the hook only to have my line cut on the rocks time after time. Ok I am a slow learner

However, flipping into timber or into heavy grass cover I will NEVER throw anything else but braid. Braid will kick mono's, Flouro's or Coploymers butt in these 2 examples. Wood is no match for braid and neither is grass of any kind. I consider this the best time to use Braid period.

So keep this in mind when you plan on fishing with braid around sharp hard objects. Better to use a leader with mono or Flouro then straight braid. Here is a trick though that I have successfully tried. I fish in lakes that are filled with Pickerels which have sharp teeth and I have lost many a lure to these bastages of fish Braid stands no chance against their teeth. Since I use braid with my lipless cranks so I can rip the bait out of grass I sacrifice a lure here and there to these toothies. Well, not anymore. I discovered that if I will take super glue and add it to the line about 2 inches up from the knot all the way to the knot that it provides a great hard barrier that the toothy fish can't cut through. I don't recommend doing it much higher as it will make the line stiff. But I haven't noticed a change in how it makes the lure work either so for now this is helping me keep my baits when a Pickerel bites it.

Peace.

 

[Ouachita]

Most of us have developed preferences for lines, so whatever works is what we stick with. Actually, every test chart I've looked at ranks monofilament as weakest for abrasion resistance, while braid is at the top. I don't think I've ever had a catfish or other fish rub a braided line apart over sharp rocks. The line will fray and look bad, but putting mono in the same places isn't recommended. I'll use mono in open water, over soft sand or small gravel bottoms, and in new weeds that haven't silted over. I like Power Pro braid. The stuff just keeps on going.

Jim

 

[KeithsCatch]

Jim,

I know it is crazy that I keep hearing how braided line is superior to mono for abrasion. This is why I wrote this. Like I said prove it yourself. This is not my preference at all. It is based on a simple test that anyone can do themselves. Braid is way more abrasion resistant to wood and grass and lilly pads etc. Basically organic matter. Around hard objects that are sharp braid is not a wise choice.

Perhaps small gravel is fine for braid. When I was fishing a lake in Colorado it had huge bulders the size of desks that I was fishing. Apparently these had jagged edges and wheren't real smooth. If they are real smooth then braid is fine. If they have edges to them though from broken pieces then braid will fail quicker then mono will. Again rub sharp objects over a taut line be it mono or braid and see for yourself.

I wrote this to spare anyone some headaches I have gone through with lost fish due to being cut off by oysters, rocks, barnacles etc.

 

[imonembad]

What excactly is coploymer?

 

[KeithsCatch]

What excactly is coploymer?

Monofilament: A "single" strand of untwisted synthetic fiber.
Copolymer: A compound of two or more different monomers.

Copolymer: Copolymer is a product of copolymerization, which is a chemical reaction in which two or more molecules combine to form a larger molecule that contains repeating structural units, or in other words the combination of two or more monomers to create a copolymer. The outcome of this process results in a material that has many more benefits than a solo substance. The copolymer fishing line becomes more abrasion resistant, have a lower stretch factor, higher tensile strength, higher impact and greater shock resistance, and much more.

Examples of Copolymer fishing line is P-Line and Silver Thread. I used to love Silver Thread AN40 line but in cold weather this line will coil up like a phone cord on you.

Here is a good review of copolymer line from Suffix. I have used Suffix line and like it.

http://www.tackletour.com/reviewsufixdna.html

 

[imonembad]

What excactly is coploymer?

Monofilament: A "single" strand of untwisted synthetic fiber.
Copolymer: A compound of two or more different monomers.

Copolymer: Copolymer is a product of copolymerization, which is a chemical reaction in which two or more molecules combine to form a larger molecule that contains repeating structural units, or in other words the combination of two or more monomers to create a copolymer. The outcome of this process results in a material that has many more benefits than a solo substance. The copolymer fishing line becomes more abrasion resistant, have a lower stretch factor, higher tensile strength, higher impact and greater shock resistance, and much more.

Examples of Copolymer fishing line is P-Line and Silver Thread. I used to love Silver Thread AN40 line but in cold weather this line will coil up like a phone cord on you.


Here is a good review of copolymer line from Suffix. I have used Suffix line and like it.

http://www.tackletour.com/reviewsufixdna.html

I just got some silver thread loaded up I hope it doesn't do that.