Thread: I put braid on one of my reels today

Originally Posted by osok

Do you Dock Shoot with this braid or must you use mono?

I use braid for shooting docks. Been using it for docks for a long time. The sensitivity helps you pick up the slightest of bites. Gives the strength to pull most any fish out from under the dock

I have many rods that I carry, and a couple have mono in 2 and 4 lb. Some of the tougher conditions demand it for the abrasion. The rest have braid with all of mine being domestic. Like Alphahawk, I tried the Nanofil and fell in love with its casting. Yes, I have to use a leader and it parts at the most in opportune times, but I’ve also landed some large fish on it that I don’t think I should have. I believe it’s termed not fused, or maybe not coated. Whatever it is, it’s a love/hate relationship. I can shoot a tiny jig a long way under a tree that’s adorned with other peoples lures and get the fish that lie beneath. It takes a dedication to try it for a given period, longer than usual, to see if you like it. And it isn’t for everyone.

The others are Sufix Nanobraid and fireline crystal, bot in 2 or 3 lb. Neither cast like Nanofil but they are much tougher in trashy areas. My favorite 1/43 is noticeably too light for the two lb of either, but I’d like to try the one pound Jack spoke of. One thing I haven’t heard anyone mention is the wind. These little lines will have you making up new bad words in windy conditions, the Nanofil being the worst. It has more sail area than the fused or coated lines which behave noticeably better, but still have a mind of their own at times. I tried some nylon line that had more stretch and softened the bites leaving the most subtle undetectable. The casting was better than mono but it got put aside. I’ve never tried a copolymer so I have no comment. The common voice stating that braid isn’t for everyone e is very true, and I get frustrated with it sometimes. One day I’ll get off my wallet and try some of the Japanese PE but until then…….

Originally Posted by skeetbum

I have many rods that I carry, and a couple have mono in 2 and 4 lb. Some of the tougher conditions demand it for the abrasion. The rest have braid with all of mine being domestic. Like Alphahawk, I tried the Nanofil and fell in love with its casting. Yes, I have to use a leader and it parts at the most in opportune times, but I’ve also landed some large fish on it that I don’t think I should have. I believe it’s termed not fused, or maybe not coated. Whatever it is, it’s a love/hate relationship. I can shoot a tiny jig a long way under a tree that’s adorned with other peoples lures and get the fish that lie beneath. It takes a dedication to try it for a given period, longer than usual, to see if you like it. And it isn’t for everyone.

The others are Sufix Nanobraid and fireline crystal, bot in 2 or 3 lb. Neither cast like Nanofil but they are much tougher in trashy areas. My favorite 1/43 is noticeably too light for the two lb of either, but I’d like to try the one pound Jack spoke of. One thing I haven’t heard anyone mention is the wind. These little lines will have you making up new bad words in windy conditions, the Nanofil being the worst. It has more sail area than the fused or coated lines which behave noticeably better, but still have a mind of their own at times. I tried some nylon line that had more stretch and softened the bites leaving the most subtle undetectable. The casting was better than mono but it got put aside. I’ve never tried a copolymer so I have no comment. The common voice stating that braid isn’t for everyone e is very true, and I get frustrated with it sometimes. One day I’ll get off my wallet and try some of the Japanese PE but until then…….

I too wondered how a braided line with 0.0029 inches diameter would behave in the wind. I had no issues with it at all. Believe me I can’t afford to have tip wrap on a 500 dollar rod. I first tried it out on 200 dollar rod…..although I didn’t want to get tip wrap on that either but that was my test rod. A nylon line you may want to look at is the Varivas Twitch Master VLS…..which stands for very low stretch. I use it in the 3 and 4 pound strength. Very soft and supple…..great casting distance…and small diameter …and for a nylon line good sensitivity.

Regards


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Originally Posted by Alphahawk

There is braid....then there is Japanese premium braid. Then thanks to some on the forum here whom had started using the Varivas Infinity PE X8 braid I gave it a try. Love the stuff...no wind knots...breaks at the 5.4 pounds it is rated at...casts a 1 gram jig head coast to coast. The diameter of the braid is 0.0029. The micro guides on my JDM rods are the smallest they make...believe me when I tell you they are tiny...much smaller than any micro guide on US market rods. I have no issue at all with knots passing through those guides. I love fishing hard baits with it...but it fished soft plastics well also. You may try it and still not like braid...but it is nothing like US market braid. It is expensive at 50 bucks a spool but if I am going to use braid that is what I will be using.

Regards

For $50 , give or take a couple of bucks depending on the daily price on Amazon, I can get a 3000 yard spool of 2# Mist Green P-Line that’s around .004in in diameter and breaks around 2.5# .
A made in Japan copolymer line that I’ve pulled 9.5” bluegills out from around bridge pilings up at the pond .
And a 3000 yard spool will give me 25-30 fills . I use SOS 2# line for backing on my deep spool reels .

I was worried about braid, but tried the Suffix nano-braid and am pretty unlikely to go back to mono. With a really light spool, I can cast my 4-lb nano-braid further than I ever could cast mono. It did cut the hell out of my hands the first time using it though - like a more painful razor-blade cut. When this runs out, I am planning to explore JDM braid.

Originally Posted by gillchaser999

For $50 , give or take a couple of bucks depending on the daily price on Amazon, I can get a 3000 yard spool of 2# Mist Green P-Line that’s around .004in in diameter and breaks around 2.5# .
A made in Japan copolymer line that I’ve pulled 9.5” bluegills out from around bridge pilings up at the pond .
And a 3000 yard spool will give me 25-30 fills . I use SOS 2# line for backing on my deep spool reels .

Could you send me a link for the 2lb.? I

I'm having trouble finding

Originally Posted by DALE HOLLOW NUT

Could you send me a link for the 2lb.? I

I'm having trouble finding

Link sent .

What it comes down to in my book are the different braid lines sold - many that have inherent problems such as the casting of very light lures, rod tip line knots and digging into the spool. I use a specific braid and have none of the problems listed above by many. It casts the lightest jigheads, with soft plastic lures the main weight, 50' of more. Lately I've been casting 1/32 oz jig in very shallow water and gotten the best daily springtime numbers of my life!

Using a particular 8# test/4# test diameter braid has the strength that allows me to pull my small row boat toward a snag and never snap, but also set the hook after feeling a light strike from a good distance from even the smallest fish that hook themselves after feeling the zero-give.

The braid I use is uncoated and soft. If more line is needed after the usual knot messes, a line to line uni-knot still allows good casts through even the smallest rod guides. I only use uni-knots to connect lures. I use light action rods for shock absorption when fighting a fish and last week caught a 2 lb. smallmouth bass that bent my rod when it went under the boat three times. The rod was the only concern - not the line.

I figure it this way: any line that can cast light jigs/lure combos from a spincast reel a long distance cast after cast, is the line I want on my reel. Forget leaders, I could never see the benefit. I also have braid on my baitcast and spinning reels, pound test depending on what I'm fishing for. My rod actions are light to medium depending on the weight of lures used and the combination of both determine braid diameter/test.

Float & lure fishing is something I've enjoyed recently using only braid. There isn't the lift of light lures and line as when I used mono or f/c line because braid absorbs water. Boat drift/ float fishing does well with braid.


This 4 lb white sucker caught on a light lure and braid could not get free.

150 fish/ 6 species in two consecutive days week before last should tell you something. Even three pickerel couldn't cut the braid.
Just my two cents. (BTW, the braid I use is one of the cheapest lines anywhere!)