Questions about braid...

[OldBasser]

I have never used any kind of braid fishing line. I may be going down south in a couple of months and "Think" I need to use braid for the first time.

Will braid last a lot longer than mono?

If my reels hold 150 yards of mono, how much braid will I need for the same reel using 50 lb. braid?

Do I use the same knots?

Are all braid brands about the same?

I used mono down south many years ago without any problem but, what do you all think about braid? If I fill up all my reels with braid, it's going to cost me about 200.00...I think. I sure would like to hear from some people that know's before I spend that much money or buy the wrong line.

As my name suggest...I am kinda old school, Thanks

[Tyme2fish]

How far can you cast? 150 yards? I use mono as a backer for braid to fill up the spool some before tying the braid to the mono backer.

Braid to mono know I tie a double uni. ( At least I think that's what it's called)

Braid to lure,hook, etc I tie a Palomar knot.

If you're really cheap (like me) when the braid starts to look a little used, I'll cut it off where it's tied to the mono and reverse the braid. ie:Tie the old end of the braid to the mono and just spool it up leaving the "fresh" end of the braid at the terminal end.

I've found that if you tie braid directly to the spool, it will slip and won't reel when pressure is applied. If you want to tie the braid to the spool, wrap one or two wraps of black electrical tape to your spool first.

[crappiepappy]

I have never used any kind of braid fishing line. I may be going down south in a couple of months and "Think" I need to use braid for the first time.

Will braid last a lot longer than mono?

If my reels hold 150 yards of mono, how much braid will I need for the same reel using 50 lb. braid?

Do I use the same knots?

Are all braid brands about the same?

I used mono down south many years ago without any problem but, what do you all think about braid? If I fill up all my reels with braid, it's going to cost me about 200.00...I think. I sure would like to hear from some people that know's before I spend that much money or buy the wrong line.

As my name suggest...I am kinda old school, Thanks

OB ... Yes, braid will last considerably longer.

Leave the mono on the reels ... pull off 50yds of that mono ... replace with braid.

I've used the same Improved Clinch knot, that I use for mono, and it has worked very well. Initially, when using the "new" braid to tie a lure to, I have had some slippage (being that the braid is still fresh & slick). I overcame that problem, by tying an overhand knot in the tag line BEFORE cinching the Improved Clinch knot closed. Then when any slippage occurred, the overhand knot stopped it.

No, "all" braids are not the same ... different materials, different shapes, different diameter to pound test ratio, different colors available, etc.

Also of note : back off your drag just a bit (remember, braid has little stretch) ... have a pair of Fiskar Scissors handy (for cutting the braid) ... have a wood dowel to wrap the braid around, in the case of being hung-up (braid will cut your hands, fingers, and cork or foam rod handles).

Now, mind you ... my use of braid has been limited to 20/6 Spiderwire, Cortland 15lb dacron, and PowerPro 10/2 braid. I'm not familiar with using 50lb braid.

... pappy

[DJD]

I have been using/experimenting with braid for years. My favorite is FireLine by ..get it at Walmart if your out of town as well. I like the dark smoke color and the mono feel it has. Seems to keep the color longer and roundness longer as well. I only use it on my spinning reels and it casts great.
Ever try and feed a thread through a needle eye? Well that's what some cheap or old braid makes you feel like your doing when tying onto a small hook, not Fireline. It's fused with a bonding agent to give it that roundness and smooth feel. There are many types out there and alot of them are good just gotta figure out what your willing to pay. Try a few but my hands down favorite is FireLine.

[waterdog101]

I've used it to drift for cats, in the Ohio river. and below loudon dam in tn. but other than that, I don't like it.

[linedrager]

tried braid years ago and hated it, recently put it back on a spinning reel to use for sauger fishing, worked a lot better than I remember, I am going to proceed with caution and just use it on one or two reels and see how it goes, one thing I hated about it before is if you put any pressure on it it would cut into itself on the spool and the next time you would cast it would stop short from being stuck in the other line in the spool, good luck with your choice.

[GeoFisher]

I have been using/experimenting with braid for years. My favorite is FireLine by ..get it at Walmart if your out of town as well. I like the dark smoke color and the mono feel it has. Seems to keep the color longer and roundness longer as well. I only use it on my spinning reels and it casts great.
Ever try and feed a thread through a needle eye? Well that's what some cheap or old braid makes you feel like your doing when tying onto a small hook, not Fireline. It's fused with a bonding agent to give it that roundness and smooth feel. There are many types out there and alot of them are good just gotta figure out what your willing to pay. Try a few but my hands down favorite is FireLine.

I've been using fireline for years too. Not for everything, but for quite a bit.

[onemorecast56]

I used braid the hold time in Northern Wi musky and bass fishing and loved it,,but get spiderwire ,,i used some cheaper braids and had trouble with it breaking real easy some times when i was casting a real heavy baits..never had trouble with siperwire,,,but i love the way it cast on bait casters and spinning

[stoner]

Started out throwing fire line then experimented with some others. Power pro is slightly more limp I believe than fire line and doesn't seem to dig as bad. Spider wire stealth (I think) is the best casting of the three. Stren sonic braid is ok, but would opt for the power pro over it. These were all on bait casters if I spooling a spinning reel I try the spider wire stealth.....jmo!

[OldBasser]

Thanks for all the good info...I'll probably be fishing Southern Florida so I think I'll try 50/60 lb. braid on three or four of my reels. I used 25lb mono a long time ago with pretty good success but, I did break off some. I think I should be good with 50 lb braid.

I'm sure glad I don't need to fill up all my reels with braid, I'm cheep. Looks like I need to study the braids a little but, I'll take your reccomendations. I may buy two ro three different brands and see what works best. I'm going to try it just on my bait casters for now and if I like it I'll try it on my spinning reels also. If anyone else has anything to tell me I'm all ears.

Thanks

[sweetwater]

I would recommend you keep doing whatever you have confidence in. Confidence in your equipment and methods is everything. A good example is I hate using spinner baits and I've had very little luck with them, on the other hand I love crankbaits and I can outfish almost anyone with a crankbait. It's just a feel you acquire with experience.

I use mono almost exclusively, I like using it, I know how to fish with it and doesn't break the budget. Sometimes I use a flouro leader with it especially with c-rig. If you want to use braid Tyme2fish's response absolutely nailed it, unless your wealthy or single.

[Deven Hall]

I read above about a few guys using Fireline. I have been using it for about 5 years now, 6-12lb on my Spinning rods and 50lb on my Catfish rod. On my spinning rod I use a mono backing then spool rest with Fireline. On my Catfish rod however, I use all braid. A few years back I hooked into a pretty big fish down on the river and it ran my line down to where I used to split braid/mono and it instantly broke off and the fish was gone. If you are targeting big game fish I would highly recommend using all braid on the spool.