Hawnjigs
KISS
Think its an Oz site - serious tech info - this page just one aspect.
http://www.paulusjustfishing.com/4linereview.htm
http://www.paulusjustfishing.com/4linereview.htm
Braided Line Test Site
- Thread starter Hawnjigs
- Start date
Fatman
Active member
Thanks Hawn, it looks interesting. Gonna have to spend some time looking through that
Pup
Active member
That is an interesting site. I noticed a review of Viper Braid that was of interest to me. Good link. 
Some good information in that link.
I'm on the edge of trying the braid again. 1st experience was not good.... maybe i have gained more patience since - ha!!! The cost has always been my biggest deterrent though when i can change spools of my dirt cheap mono 10x for the same price.
My interest would be using the thin braid on very light weight jigs to gain casting distance and faster sink rate and feel in some of the deeper reservoirs i fish. Mostly targeting b.gills or y.perch. Is anyone using braid with 1/32oz. and under?
A lot of L.Erie perch fishermen are now using braids and like the no stretch for setting the hook and feel, but they are usually fishing 1/2oz. weights on 2 hook crappie rigs or spreaders. The braid sounds like it also would be excellent for fishing vertical HEAVY jigs in deep water. Both those applications are about as far as you can get from trying to cast 1/32 from shore. :-/
I'm on the edge of trying the braid again. 1st experience was not good.... maybe i have gained more patience since - ha!!! The cost has always been my biggest deterrent though when i can change spools of my dirt cheap mono 10x for the same price.
My interest would be using the thin braid on very light weight jigs to gain casting distance and faster sink rate and feel in some of the deeper reservoirs i fish. Mostly targeting b.gills or y.perch. Is anyone using braid with 1/32oz. and under?
A lot of L.Erie perch fishermen are now using braids and like the no stretch for setting the hook and feel, but they are usually fishing 1/2oz. weights on 2 hook crappie rigs or spreaders. The braid sounds like it also would be excellent for fishing vertical HEAVY jigs in deep water. Both those applications are about as far as you can get from trying to cast 1/32 from shore. :-/
Attica I don't know if Fireline is classified as braid (fused braid) but I've been using it in very light classes for small jigs for probably ten years or more. Couldn't go back to mono cause it feels like a rubber band after using no stretch fused braid line (can feel a three inch long fish breath on the jig in 50 feet of water).
I love 3 pound Crystal Fireline as all round line for 1/40th to probably 1/8th weights, sometimes 4 pound and rarely 2 pound. Super thin and sensitive and love that it breaks way above stated breaking strain, as we have mixed fisheries which often see you bit by seriously big fish which fight dirty.
Was out on Harbour today and mate boated a 28 inch yellowtail on four pound braid which had taken a little 1.5 inch long soft plastic bait.
I've got five year old Fireline on one rod which is still in good nick, so to me it's good value.
I almost always fish the Fireline on high modulus carbon, long, rods (7'6" to 7'10") which are super crisp but are medium fast to parabolic tapers to compensate for that non stretch, which can tear hooks from fish's mouths.
Flourocarbon leaders and double uni knot connections make up the package.
Lots of guys here use mega expensive very thin and supple Japanese true braids (eight strand) but I just like good old sensibly priced Fireline.
But, there's been a trend here recently in our saltwater bream luring fishery to use 2 pound flourocarbon in ultra clear very shallow water! These guys reckon even the braid to leader knot and the tiny shadow of even mega thin light but not see-thru braid spooks these fish in hard fished waters.
What put you off braid?
I love 3 pound Crystal Fireline as all round line for 1/40th to probably 1/8th weights, sometimes 4 pound and rarely 2 pound. Super thin and sensitive and love that it breaks way above stated breaking strain, as we have mixed fisheries which often see you bit by seriously big fish which fight dirty.
Was out on Harbour today and mate boated a 28 inch yellowtail on four pound braid which had taken a little 1.5 inch long soft plastic bait.
I've got five year old Fireline on one rod which is still in good nick, so to me it's good value.
I almost always fish the Fireline on high modulus carbon, long, rods (7'6" to 7'10") which are super crisp but are medium fast to parabolic tapers to compensate for that non stretch, which can tear hooks from fish's mouths.
Flourocarbon leaders and double uni knot connections make up the package.
Lots of guys here use mega expensive very thin and supple Japanese true braids (eight strand) but I just like good old sensibly priced Fireline.
But, there's been a trend here recently in our saltwater bream luring fishery to use 2 pound flourocarbon in ultra clear very shallow water! These guys reckon even the braid to leader knot and the tiny shadow of even mega thin light but not see-thru braid spooks these fish in hard fished waters.
What put you off braid?
Pup
Active member
AtticaFish said:
I suggest Power Pro 10/2. It's pretty affordable when compared to other braids. I like it for casting 1/8 and 1/16-oz. jigs and lures on a 6' medium power spinning rod with a fast tip action. Color may be limited at your local X-Mart to moss green only. This line produces far fewer wind knots for me than than the 10/4 Omniflex, which is the Wal-Mart/Zebco braid that is 2/3 the price of Power Pro.
Wind knots ruin my fishing trip. They've been difficult for me to resolve, so I usually wind up cutting the braided line. I believe that most wind knots are due partly to line twist. Braided line is light and arcs quite a bit on my casts. The arc is the area where the wind knots form. Once on the spool, a wind knot can snag line wraps and produce a horrible "bird's nest".
Don't know what kind of rod you'll use, but the 10/2 would be what I'd start with to cast 1/32-oz. jigs regardless.
bombora said:
This was quite a few years back before i was trolling these internet forums for advice. Was younger and just knew everything i guess.
More or less, boiled down to one cluster mess of a failed fishing trip that had me cussing for a week! Got the line as a gift. Took me a lot of failed knots until i figured out that it required different knots than i was used to tying. Didn't care for the feel at first either, reminded me of the stiff OLD OLD braid line that was tied on some rods my grandparents used. Then once it was on the spool and out fishing with un-weighted plastic worms and grubs, had rat-nests on every few casts and had to keep stripping line, cutting, and re-tying. Not a good trip and by the next weekend, had re-spooled back to mono. Started thinking that all the hype written in the BassMaster magazines was just that.... hype.Too many people i know swear by it now though, so do need to give it an honest try again. This time i will fill a SPARE spool and bring along a mono filled spool on the same trip...... so i can just throw the braid spool in the water if need be.
Fatman
Active member
Great info on the lines - but Attica I'd think twice about throwing the spool!! Them things is getting pretty pricey and not many companies include a spare spool anymore!!
Pup said:
If you like PP 10/2, try the similar strength Suffix 832 braid. I just picked up 10 spools off the 'net for a fraction of list.
Attica - I too put down braid for years after a few rod breaks - which later discovered were user error & cheap rods. I was stubborn, but recently carry 50/50 when I fish because of the hooksets on long casts
Hawnjigs
KISS
I agree that Fireline is the best handling microfiber on spinning reels, my cheap ones anyway, but the quality control is erratic and I got a bad batch of 8# on many spools which probably has a knot jerk breaking point of 2#. Haha, the Sportsman's Warehouse guy informed me of the issue AFTER he finished winding 3 spools.
8 carrier braids Fireline Braid and Sufix 832 don't seem to have any handling advantages over Power Pro for me altho the smoother texture might have some slight casting advantage. Of course microfiber will significantly outcast mono of the same # test, but in my experience a good soft mono of the same diameter will outcast ruffer textured braid.
Wind knots which are loose loops dragged out from deeper in the spool than uncoiling on a cast appear to be largely a function of the oscillating winding pattern of retrieved line. I'm still looking for a reel in my low end price range that winds the entire spool top to bottom with no bulges or gaps. Typically, my loose loops form at the top of the spools when retrieved line digs into the ditch gap deeper than what is coiling on. I actually lost 3 spools of 5 & 6# braid + a spool of 4# mono this last WY trip when the dragged out loop cut on the cast tho still buried under 50+ feet of wound line.
Mostly I think loops were dragged out from so deep because line dig was exacerbated by the pressure of fish fights. So, from now on will unspool and rewind after a fight to see if this helps.
8 carrier braids Fireline Braid and Sufix 832 don't seem to have any handling advantages over Power Pro for me altho the smoother texture might have some slight casting advantage. Of course microfiber will significantly outcast mono of the same # test, but in my experience a good soft mono of the same diameter will outcast ruffer textured braid.
Wind knots which are loose loops dragged out from deeper in the spool than uncoiling on a cast appear to be largely a function of the oscillating winding pattern of retrieved line. I'm still looking for a reel in my low end price range that winds the entire spool top to bottom with no bulges or gaps. Typically, my loose loops form at the top of the spools when retrieved line digs into the ditch gap deeper than what is coiling on. I actually lost 3 spools of 5 & 6# braid + a spool of 4# mono this last WY trip when the dragged out loop cut on the cast tho still buried under 50+ feet of wound line.
Mostly I think loops were dragged out from so deep because line dig was exacerbated by the pressure of fish fights. So, from now on will unspool and rewind after a fight to see if this helps.
Pup
Active member
hookup said:
Just may look into that for next spring as I have always liked Rapala products... lures, monofilament lines, and reels. Could never find their rods locally.
I suspect they were good as well.Hawnjigs
KISS
What's microfiber? Is textured braid PowerPro & 832?
Altho the technical process of production is beyond my comprehension, I have read up a bit on superlines since I really like performance properties like low stretch and smaller diameter compared to mono.
So called superlines are mostly composed of bundled fibers of extruded polyethylene plastic - straight fused together like original Fireline or woven and/or twisted as braids like Power Pro & Sufix 832. The individual fibers are very, very fine hence the name "microfiber". Some confuse braid as including straight fused lines, notably by some Sellers on eBay, and microfiber is a more accurate name to include both types.
Altho the technical process of production is beyond my comprehension, I have read up a bit on superlines since I really like performance properties like low stretch and smaller diameter compared to mono.
So called superlines are mostly composed of bundled fibers of extruded polyethylene plastic - straight fused together like original Fireline or woven and/or twisted as braids like Power Pro & Sufix 832. The individual fibers are very, very fine hence the name "microfiber". Some confuse braid as including straight fused lines, notably by some Sellers on eBay, and microfiber is a more accurate name to include both types.
Hawnjigs
KISS
Well, affirmed my commitment to braid today and filled two 1500 spools with 5# yellow Power Pro and two 4000 spools with 40# red Power Pro. Don't think the main line color matters much with an adequate low vis leader. Colored PP tends to clearance price $18 for the 5# and $20 for the 40# both 300 yd. spools.
Fatman
Active member
Thanks for the info