all depends on your choice of ammo! Good Post !
just wondering how many of you crappie fishermen out there switch to braid in the fall and winter time.I do for fishing brush piles so i wont break off so many times. And would like to know what is the up and down side to it and what size of braid you use? i use 50lb braid?
all depends on your choice of ammo! Good Post !
A bad day fishing is always better than a good day at work!
I use iron silk 4lb p-line 6lb or 8lb fire line braid
i prefer mono, but i would rather lose a jig than disturb the brush pile.
Did the opposite this year-used P.P. all year then just switched to 2 # mono for fishing the docks this winter.
I fish brush, standing trees, downed trees, submerged piles of wood, docks, and rocky banks ... all with 4lb mono. I use weedless jigheads, and rarely break off. On minnow, minnow/slipfloat type rigs ... I use #1 lite wire Aberdeen hooks, and can usually straighten out the hook, even with 4lb line. But ... I do have one outfit rigged strictly for minnow/slipfloat, that I use in the Fall (locally) when I fish down in the branches of standing Cedars. It's a 8 foot flyrod with spinning reel & 20/6 Spiderwire (grey). Hook & sinker are attached directly to Spiderwire (no leader) ... and I can straighten out most any hook I use.
The only time I use a outfit, for casting, that's spooled with braid ... I use 10/2 PowerPro hi-vis yellow. This outfit is primarily for casting Roadrunners & Whirly Bees.
(maybe some of that info will be useful, or give you some ideas :p )
(these pros/cons are what I've experienced with 10/2 PowerPro, and may or may not represent other brands or pound test versions)
Pros of braid :
no stretch (less power needed on hookset) (drag needs to be loosened just a hair, to prevent breaking rod or stripping gears )
can usually straighten out hook
casts good
comes in hi-vis or low-vis coloration
lasts for quite a long time (economical)
Cons of braid :
can tend to get air knots (under certain casting conditions or casting styles)
knots can slip open under pressure (unless proper knot is used/tied)
Will cut you wide open, if hands/fingers are used to pull it with
Scissors cut it nice & straight/blunt ... clippers & some other type cutting tools may leave the tag end frayed (making it difficult to put thru hook or bait eye)
very limp, so it may tangle more easily (can be blown around quite easily by just a light breeze)
Where & how I fish during the Fall, lends me to not use braid as often as I do during the Spring ... but that's mostly due to the style of fishing I employ, rather than any pro/con of the braid. I don't fish enough during Winter, to warrant switching .... and my Spring thru Fall fishing is mostly casting jigs to wood or shooting docks, which is done primarily with mono. My outfit rigged with PowerPro, is used under certain circumstances ... where I can cast and retrieve ABOVE submerged timber, or alongside vertical cover (like bridge pilons, dock posts, cliff walls/rock banks). And I don't tightline or bobber fish with minnows often enough to warrant having more than the one outfit rigged for that style of fishing.
... cp
50 lb braid??? Why do you use such heavy line? Curious minds want to know.
Fair Winds and Following Seas
Bill H. PTC USN Ret
Chesapeake, Va
Mono for me. I find braid wraps too easily. I spend too much time unwrapping it from limbs, the end of my pole, and anything else it gets near.
Braid
Pros: very sensitive for jig fishing, strong, cast good.
Cons: blows around in the wind worse than mono. not visible under black light.
as someone mentioned above, loosen your drag a little or you can rip the hook right outta the lips unless they take it real good.
Mono
Pros: cast almost as good as braid. very visible under black light. more tolerable in wind.
Cons:not as sensitive and strong
I have both and really only prefer the braid on the days when they arent hammering the jig. seems like the braid is better on those days. but when they are hammering them jigs it doesen't matter to me.
try some of the Power Pro 10/2 hi vis yellow. you can leave the bottom 1/3 of your mono on the spool and top it off with the more expensive Power Pro.
I am a big fan of izorline (mono) but just recently tried power point. I like it enough that i think im gonna keep two poles rigged up with p.p