Looking for some input. I have a field & stream MH 6'6" with a silver max Abu reel. I use this setup for jig & T-rigs. I have only used mono & now I'm looking to make the leap to super-line. I read all the reviews that customers have made about Braid & Floro. But, that only makes harder to choose one. What do you guys like & why?
If you fish a lot of murky weedy water than braid is your best bet but when it comes to clear water you will definitely get bit a lot more with a lighter 6-10lb floro. I tend to fish more deep clear water lakes than shallow murky weedy water but when i do fish the murky weedy than i definitely want to beef the line up a bit. If you do switch to a lighter test floro, make sure if your fishing around rock or any hard surface, you check your line constantly for nicks and dings because they will make the line a lot weaker and you will loose a lot of fish.
Evan,
I personally use some braid, mono and fluoro. None are perfect but my observations.
Braid: amazingly strong. I use a 30lbs braid that is same size as my 6lbs mono. Casts really well, you can't break it (your knots will break first, or even bend hooks). Casts really well, and perfect for thick weeds and cover. I use for jigs, flipping into cover, lilly pads. Downside is that expensive, tangles are tough to get out (mostly cut them out), it floats (so if wanting to get something like a spinner bait deep then is is tough).
Fluoro: I use fluoro as my go to line. It sinks, so great for baits you want to get down in the water (lipless crankbaits, spinner baits, deep running crank baits, some jigs with a worm or drop shot). Is pretty strong, probably stronger than equivalent mono, but not as much as braid. It's invisible in water, so ideal for clear water. I have a real tough time tying fluoro, the knots do not slide very well.. this is my biggest frustration with fluro. Mostly use 12-14lbs fluoro.
Mono: we probably all know about mono. I use for mostly topwater baits, ties easy and cheapest.
I personally use some braid, mono and fluoro. None are perfect but my observations.
Braid: amazingly strong. I use a 30lbs braid that is same size as my 6lbs mono. Casts really well, you can't break it (your knots will break first, or even bend hooks). Casts really well, and perfect for thick weeds and cover. I use for jigs, flipping into cover, lilly pads. Downside is that expensive, tangles are tough to get out (mostly cut them out), it floats (so if wanting to get something like a spinner bait deep then is is tough).
Fluoro: I use fluoro as my go to line. It sinks, so great for baits you want to get down in the water (lipless crankbaits, spinner baits, deep running crank baits, some jigs with a worm or drop shot). Is pretty strong, probably stronger than equivalent mono, but not as much as braid. It's invisible in water, so ideal for clear water. I have a real tough time tying fluoro, the knots do not slide very well.. this is my biggest frustration with fluro. Mostly use 12-14lbs fluoro.
Mono: we probably all know about mono. I use for mostly topwater baits, ties easy and cheapest.
I find that plastic lines just turn into bird's nests on my baitcast reels...it may be my casting style, but I don't find it worth it to run a whole spool of flouro (unless you enjoy picking bird's nests out). Braided line stays pretty tight on the spool and if you still want the benefits of flouro, tie on a 6' leader, that seems to work for me.
I made the switch to braid this year and haven't looked back. Every presentation I throw has benefited from this switch (except maybe using spinnerbaits, I do still find mono and braid equal to me for this application).
Most notable has been topwater, rubber worms, and jigs.
Topwater: I can buzz a buzzbait in a much larger range of speed (for example: even really slowly it still stays buzzing at the top). With Spooks and hula poppers I can start engaging topwater action at ANY distance, while with mono I can't really do that until I reel in somewhat close to me.
Rubber worms: have improved for me because I feel like setting the hook is much easier. With mono I feel like I have to reel in much more slack before I set the hook because of its stretch, while with braid the hooksets are much snappier for me.
Jigs I can feel the bottom much better.
As for brands,
I started out with power pro, which I liked. Then I tried the dark green Stren Sonic Braid which I love. Now they make the Sonic Braid in clear blue fluorescent color which I am really looking forward to seeing and trying.
Most notable has been topwater, rubber worms, and jigs.
Topwater: I can buzz a buzzbait in a much larger range of speed (for example: even really slowly it still stays buzzing at the top). With Spooks and hula poppers I can start engaging topwater action at ANY distance, while with mono I can't really do that until I reel in somewhat close to me.
Rubber worms: have improved for me because I feel like setting the hook is much easier. With mono I feel like I have to reel in much more slack before I set the hook because of its stretch, while with braid the hooksets are much snappier for me.
Jigs I can feel the bottom much better.
As for brands,
I started out with power pro, which I liked. Then I tried the dark green Stren Sonic Braid which I love. Now they make the Sonic Braid in clear blue fluorescent color which I am really looking forward to seeing and trying.
Looking for some input. I have a field & stream MH 6'6" with a silver max Abu reel. I use this setup for jig & T-rigs. I have only used mono & now I'm looking to make the leap to super-line. I read all the reviews that customers have made about Braid & Floro. But, that only makes harder to choose one. What do you guys like & why?
For multi-purpose (Baitcaster) jigs/ t-rigs: Suffix Seige Camo 12lb or 14lb test. Although it is Mono, this stuff is like cable! Super castable and unreal knot strength (palomar).
For Flipping/Pitching into heavy cover (meaning a an exclusive rod for this purpose) tie your jigs direct with either braid (30/40/50lb) or PLine Fluorocarbon--one or the other, either way you cant go worng. Don't use a leader for Flip/pitch as you essentially have a breaking/weak point.
The only problem I see is this: if you tie on braid; you limit yourself to choice of lures. Example, topwater lures can be terrible on braid (it causes some of them to sink). Either way, you have to experiment because you may personally either love or hate braid. Personally, I have a love hate thing for it. I have had knots slip, leaders break (tying double unit knot to perfection), and heavy cover shear my braid like its silly string. On the other hand, I love it when I'm using finesse methods: 8lb braid with a 8/10lb floro leader, as it does give me that added confidence when dropping to such lite line and lures, etc...
Looking for some input. I have a field & stream MH 6'6" with a silver max Abu reel. I use this setup for jig & T-rigs. I have only used mono & now I'm looking to make the leap to super-line. I read all the reviews that customers have made about Braid & Floro. But, that only makes harder to choose one. What do you guys like & why?
For multi-purpose (Baitcaster) jigs/ t-rigs: Suffix Seige Camo 12lb or 14lb test. Although it is Mono, this stuff is like cable! Super castable and unreal knot strength (palomar).
For Flipping/Pitching into heavy cover (meaning a an exclusive rod for this purpose) tie your jigs direct with either braid (30/40/50lb) or PLine Fluorocarbon--one or the other, either way you cant go worng. Don't use a leader for Flip/pitch as you essentially have a breaking/weak point.
The only problem I see is this: if you tie on braid; you limit yourself to choice of lures. Example, topwater lures can be terrible on braid (it causes some of them to sink). Either way, you have to experiment because you may personally either love or hate braid. Personally, I have a love hate thing for it. I have had knots slip, leaders break (tying double unit knot to perfection), and heavy cover shear my braid like its silly string. On the other hand, I love it when I'm using finesse methods: 8lb braid with a 8/10lb floro leader, as it does give me that added confidence when dropping to such lite line and lures, etc...
personally, I love braid. I use 10 lb test on two of my rods and 30 lb test on my pitching/flipping rod. I fish almost all lilly pads and heavy weeds so the disadvantage of the visibility of the braid doesn't outweigh the advantage of its strength and ability to rip through weeds.
I very rarely get any rats nests with the braid and have found that it casts much more smoothly than mono. It also seems to last me a lot longer. For the rod I use the most, I will reline it twice during the year but for my other two rods on the back burner, one new spool at the beginning of the season will get me through the year.
I very rarely get any rats nests with the braid and have found that it casts much more smoothly than mono. It also seems to last me a lot longer. For the rod I use the most, I will reline it twice during the year but for my other two rods on the back burner, one new spool at the beginning of the season will get me through the year.
I too prefer braid over any other line. I always mixed up lines on my rods but at the beginning of this year I lost a lunker after about a 45 second fight and the line snapped- I was using 12lb mono and my drag was set right so I can only attribute the incident to it being a large fish and not having enough line strength. At that point I switched to braid on all my rods and haven't lost a fish since do to snapage. I use 15-20lb braid on my everyday rod to work worms, tubes, jigs and top surface lures. I have what I call my heavy artillery which I use 30lb braid for mainly working big swimbaits, heavy spoons and deep divers. I feel that the confidence the braid gives me, the casting ability, the strength, lack of tangles and smooth feel outweigh any negative aspects of the line. My theory is, since we all fish for the big ones why not be equipt to bring them in if you're lucky enough to land one. I also do a lot of night fishing and it's nice to be able to fish most nights without any tangles, especially in the dark.
Most of my fishing is in Maspy and there is an abudance of weeds and rocks so it's nice to use braid because the line is so tough. It is a little expensive but my heavy artillery rod has the same line from the beginning of the year and the rod I use 75% of the time has only been spooled twice. After about 8 hours of fishing I'll cut about four feet off the end to ensure the strength of the line is adequate near the lure.
Most of my fishing is in Maspy and there is an abudance of weeds and rocks so it's nice to use braid because the line is so tough. It is a little expensive but my heavy artillery rod has the same line from the beginning of the year and the rod I use 75% of the time has only been spooled twice. After about 8 hours of fishing I'll cut about four feet off the end to ensure the strength of the line is adequate near the lure.
All lines have there place for my heavy pitching and flippin I use 50# braid for mats and timber I never use a leader a knot is weak spot.
Worm rods I use a flro my fav is p-line most of the time 10#
Crankin I will use a mono 14# because braid you can pull it right out of the fishes mouth before you fell it.
for you drop shot folks 6# mono you need a little stretch to it
because you are not crossing there eyes on the hook set.
But I always keep a spinning reel set up with 30# braid on a 7 MH
for all porposes
Knots I lways tie a palmor best knot for strength and easy to tie.
Of course this is all my opinon maybe thats why I have to work for a living and not a pro bass fishermen
Jack
Worm rods I use a flro my fav is p-line most of the time 10#
Crankin I will use a mono 14# because braid you can pull it right out of the fishes mouth before you fell it.
for you drop shot folks 6# mono you need a little stretch to it
because you are not crossing there eyes on the hook set.
But I always keep a spinning reel set up with 30# braid on a 7 MH
for all porposes
Knots I lways tie a palmor best knot for strength and easy to tie.
Of course this is all my opinon maybe thats why I have to work for a living and not a pro bass fishermen
Jack
Like everyone said each line has certain stregnths and disadvantages. I use mono only for topwater beacause it floats and wont tangle around treble hooks. Most braids float but because it is so limp it almost always wraps around my treble hooks. Ive also become spoiled using braid. If I use my mono rod for anything but topwater I get so pissed off when I set the hook. It feels like im fishing with a rubber band. I use braid or flouro for everything else, but mostly braid. Ill use flouro when fishing things like a shaky head, since it sinks. Ill also use it when fishing around rocks. It is very abrasion resistant. Although braid is extremely strong, it will shear off in a secong if a fish runs you against a sharp ot jagged rock. I have lost many fish that way. People say you need to use flouro when the water is extremely clear. This may very well be true, but I havent noticed too much of a difference when I use braid in clear water. You can always put a flouro leader on your braid if it really worries you (just make sure you use heavy enough flouro). Everything else, I use braid: fishing jigs, flippin and pitchin, plastics, slop frogs, etc. So, i guess overall, I use braid more than anything.
As for brands,
I started out with power pro, which I liked. Then I tried the dark green Stren Sonic Braid which I love. Now they make the Sonic Braid in clear blue fluorescent color which I am really looking forward to seeing and trying.
I ended up getting some of this new color Stren Sonic Braid for X-mas from my gf. She got me a 125 yard spool of 50 LB test (12 LB diam equiv) of the Stren Sonic Braid in "Clear/Blue Fluorescent". Someone already asked me about this stuff so I thought I would share my initial response to it.
-1st off even though its called "Clear/Blue Fluorescent" its more like a opaque white color with a VERY small hint of blue.
-It performance is terrific (just like the Sonic Braid in low-vis green). Its round, smooth, and it casts amazing. When they say trouble free performance on the package, they are not kidding.
-The package states that it "Fluoresces in Daylight and Black Light", I haven't tried putting it under a blacklight yet though.
-I am pretty sure it is considered a high vis line color. Its color tells me it has its place and time to be used, and for situations when it'd wouldn't be good to use, the Sonic Braid in low-vis green would be preferable.
I put this line on my new pike set-up, used it once a few days after X-mas on the Concord River and was extremely happy with its performance.