Braided line

[ucfireman]

Hi, I have fished for my whole life.
I have always used mono filament line but have recently been considering braided.
My questions are,
1. are they really worth the price for the person who fishes a few (10-20) times a year?
2. Do they get a memory like mono or affected by the heat as much as mono? (If I leave it in my truck).
3. Do brands matter? I haven't been looking in the stores but Ebay has "Kastking" brand, any good.
4. Does it wear your guides badly?
5. Which size would be best for bass and smaller fish? (I usually use 8-12 lb mono.)
Thanks for any info.

 

[PopPop]

Extremely durable, you'll not likely have to respool for several years. It is much thinner than mono, giving greater casting distance. I have never had a problem with guide damage or spool memory.
I just ordered two, 1037 yard spools of KastKing.

 

[Lucient]

I use braid almost exclusively. I only use mono for throwing big swimbaits. Here are few reasons why I prefer it:
1. Strong and sensitive. I feel everything my bait is doing when swimming a worm I can feel the tail fluttering.
2. its very durable. It lasts a long time and gets no memory.
3. Thin diameter means I can cast for miles and potentially spool more onto the reel if I choose to. I ususally use mono backing though and only spool on about 75 yards of braid for bass fishing.
4. Its economical. I use Power pro braid exclusively because its been consistent for me and I have faith in it. I bought a spool of kastking braid and it was really abbrasive and felt almost like thread. But braid is significantly cheaper if you buy it in bulk. I buy a 1500 yard spool and its lasts me all year. Some of my reels that I cast a lot like my crankbait setups I have to replace the braid more often than my jig setups.
5. Versatility. I use braid with flouro or mono leaders tied with an FG knot. This allows me to use one reel with 30 lb braid to fish everything from a ned rig to a 8" swimbait. I just have to change the leader. The Fg know allows the knot to go through the guides with ease and I have never had it fail.

The only disadvantage I find with braid is its not very abrasion resistant. So if Im flipping heavy cover, docks, or rocks I tie on an extra long leader.

 

[TripleXBullies]

No memory. No issues with guide wear. I use it on ALL of my reels but I use a up to 30ft of flouro leader depending on what I'm fishing. 8-12lb is fine. I normally use Power Pro. Fishing 10-20 times a year it will last you a while so I wouldn't worry about the price.

 

[scottpriest]

I use it on just about everything, but I really like it on reels I don't use often because when I do pick them up there is no memory in the line, no coils to deal with. as far as brand I have used lots of different brands but for me personally I have settled in to using Kasting and Power pro. I have everything from 10lb line to 80lb (on some shark reels for the ocean) and love it all. I do always use a fluorocarbon leader or mono leader if top water, but that's personal preference. I fish with a guy who never ties on a leader and does just fine. For normal bass fishing I use 15-20lb braid.

 

[BassMan31]

Braid is an excellent line type and fits well with the way I fish. It really shines when making long casts and fishing deep. It's an absolute must if fishing a wacky worm deeper than a few feet just because you're going to get a much better presentation and you won't hang up as often. The only wrinkle is I always fish it with a mono or flouro leader unless I'm flipping heavy cover. I usually go with 25-30 pound test on the main line with a 3-10 foot leader of flouro or mono, depending on lure choice and water clarity. Leader Pound test is chosen usually a few tenths of mm smaller than the main line. 8 pounds test for all my spinning outfits.

Braid will last you a while but if you're concerned with price pick-up a cheap spool of 20 pound mono from Walmart and fill your spool about 1/2 way. Fill the rest with braid. The fly fishing guys do this on their outfits. It translates well into spinfishing.

Braid lasts a while and so do my spools of Seaguar when I use braid as my main line. Talk about expensive! Seaguar's proud of their line.

Braid's only downsides are knot strength and abrasion resistance. It doesn't stack up well compared to Mono or Flouro in those categories.

 

[dixiecutter]

Is there a downside? Why is everyone using a leader? Does anyone pan fish (light) with braid? Those are my 3 questions to add to the OP.

 

[ucfireman]

The leader thing is another question for me as well. As said I always just fish mono and tie onto the lure or hook. I'm not that well versed in fishing knots so I guess I would need to learn those too. I would never had thought about knot strength and abrasion being less but nice to know.
Thanks for all the info.

 

[ryanh487]

Braid has lots of advantages except that it is more visible and deters finicky fish from biting. A fluoro/mono leader fixes that problem while still giving you all the advantages of braid. Plus, brain requires different knots for securing terminal tackle, and a leader takes care of that issue as well.

I've fished with several striper and saltwater guides, and all of them used braid (usually 30 or 50 lb) with a 6-10 foot fluoro leader.

 

[BassMan31]

Is there a downside? Why is everyone using a leader? Does anyone pan fish (light) with braid? Those are my 3 questions to add to the OP.

The downside is mentioned above. I've had serious issues with abrasion resistance using braid. I've also had issues with knots on lighter braid when tied straight to the lure. The larger diameters seem to do just fine.

I use leader for three reasons:
1.) I have more confidence fishing a fluoro or mono leader than I do fishing straight braid.
2.) I have knot issues with straight braid, even when using a palomar or snell knot.
3.) I believe finicky fish will reject a worm or jig fished on straight braid. I use a fluoro leader if I think the fish are being picky.

I don't use braid for panfish. No reason in particular. I just don't.

Also, I've never had guide issues. Most rods nowadays are designed with avid braid users in mind; especially higher end rods.

 

[lampern]

Mono still works

 

[red neck richie]

Mono still works

Yup. That's all I use and have no problem catching fish. If it aint broke dont fix it. I have buddies that use braid but when I look at their line man does it look all nicked up and frayed.

 

[NCHillbilly]

Never used braid. Catch plenty of fish. Trilene XL. Keep threatening to try some, but haven't so far.

 

[red neck richie]

Never used braid. Catch plenty of fish. Trilene XL. Keep threatening to try some, but haven't so far.

That's twice in one week we agree. Whats going on?

 

[sasmojoe]

I really like to use braid on spinning reels, but I also add a Fluor leader to it.

 

[Tmpr111]

Braid with a fluoro Leader is a must on my spinning reels... life changer for me

And I always fish braid on my baitcasters. 20lb Power Pro... if I fished for a living and could afford to respool often, I’d fish more straight Fluoro in situations.

 

[Tmpr111]

I really like to use braid on spinning reels, but I also add a Fluor leader to it.

Yep, especially in the river trout or striper fishing... the braid handles abasion much better and of course no memory on the reel... and way too many folks spool their reels the opposite way and suffer from bad memory and twisting in the line due to this - more than it’s already going to twist up to begin with.

 

[Dustin Pate]

Braid definitely has it place. I use it in a number of scenarios, but also use my fair share of mono well. I use Kastking exclusively now. It is stiffer out of the box, but use it a few trips and it will be limp as a wet rag. Braid will expose weak points in your tackle such as split rings and hooks, especially with large fish like stripers. I upgrade all of my hardware to saltwater grade. Then you can lean on a fish and not worry about him getting off.

 

[Alcaraz]

I use braid mostly in saltwater spinning, because casting distance is critical. In freshwater I use it only for punching.

1. It worth the price... If you need it, pay the price. It’s very durable.

2. Braid is virtually a non memory line. Don’t care about the heat, but I would take care about direct sunlight.

3. Almost every braid will work well. If you need high quality features, you will need to pay the price. But they all usually work. If I’m not going to be near the bottom, I love YGK soulgrade 8x. For more contact, I prefer daiwa j-braid 8x.

4. Braided line is hard and rugose, but I think all the modern rods and reel can work with braid.

5. Here, in Europe, we usually choose lines by diameter but I think the heavier one will be better for Bass. They are related to cover and they always try to put something in contact with your line.

 

[ucfireman]

Mono still works

Yes I know it does. I was wondering more about the memory thing. I hate having to put new line on every year just so I can cast efficiently. Mono catches everything fine but its irritating to have your pole in your truck go to a pond and cast and have it be all messed up. That's what I'm trying to remedy. Also all the wasted line that no matter what gets where its not supposed to be.