Great Lakes Bass Fishing Forum

What do you guys think of using braid??? What are the pluses and minuses to it for you guys???

We use it almost exclusively because of it's strength/durability and low stretch that gives a great feel for bites but I can't help but wonder of sometimes the visibility of it hinders the number of bites we get. What do you guys think?

Great for things like buzzbaits, horry toads, flipping heavy cover,etc. Most braid floats, no stretch, very visable. Just keep that in mind.

I use braid very little.  I too like them for frogs and heavy grass cover, but not much else.  I use 50# braid for frogs and plastics, but I avoid using it around wood or rock.  Just my preference.  I feel fluoro is better used in those situations.

I'm a big fan of BPS Excel braid though, but most braids are very similar in price IMO.  I would suggest you back fill your reel with 1/4 mono of comparable diameter.  Braid has a tendency to dig in if you don't.  You can also place electircal tape over the spool before hand as well.  That will help as well.  Backspooling the reel with mono with save you money on braid as well.

Eric

Like he said, it's pretty much the only way to go in the heavy stuff with frogs, etc. I have been using 20# with a long fluoro leader on my worm rods with good success too, you can feel everything. I tried it on the dropshot and didn't like it, not sure why, maybe I had too heavy of line. I know a lot of people don't like it for baits with treble hooks since there is no stretch, but I use it for them but I use more whippy rods.

i use mine mostly for feel and of course da frog...as i fish lakes with alot of rock i retie 3-4 times a day. rocks and mussels will eat braid up pretty bad.. as for vizability i even use it on my shakey head rod.i don't fish "clear water" like you all do...

clear water what clear water? dis is just STAINED

(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a240/zook_n_stien/zooker%20tackle/highrock11-26-06002-1.jpg)

zooker

How did you find a big enough mud puddle to launch your boat in?

obviously for the heavy stuff.
I also use 10 or 8lb power pro down to a swivel and a 5' 6lb floro leader for drop-shot. With the right weight you feel EVERYthing - a longer, lighter action rod will give you the more moderate bend you need, with out sacrificing the sensitivity of a still having a "fast action" rod.

i also use it for cranking in weeds. I use 15 or 20lb powerpro on a 7' S-Glass rod... same deal - you need a slow to moderate action rod to provide the "stretch" that the braid doesn't give you. I don't get as deep with my cranks, but i can tell the diff between the top of a rock, a weed a stump, gravel, sand, mud you name it.... and it cuts through weeds pretty well. I could get great depth running 8 or 10, but don't trust all the pike around here :)

I have braid on nearly every rod in my boat.  ALWAYS Power Pro.  Light line (10-15 lb) on spinning rigs, 30 lb on my baitcasters.  I run 8 lb P-Line floro leaders on the finesse rigs though.  Love the sensitivity.

I have a question about the power pro braid. The first time I ever saw it was at Gander Mountain and one of the sales guys was telling me about it. I haven't bought any yet but since a couple of you guys have mentioned it I wanted to ask why you like it better than other braids like Stren or Spiderwire??? And what do you all think of Fireline Crystal Fusion?

stren is pretty much the same and i haven't used spiderwire in a long time. its all pretty much the same stuff - i've always felt powerpro is the better quality. keep an eye out at meijer - they have it on sale. Gander mt. had it on sale recently via their online store also.


for the record also - i will never never never never never run braid to a floro leader ever again without a swivel... especially the lighter braid.. it just cuts right through the floro not.  i broke of like 6 fish out at the dk open because of this. i'll just use straight floro and be happy!

PowerPro braid is rounder then most other braids and stays round, meaning it cast better and is better handling.  It also doesn't cut knots and its self as much as other braids.

I run braid on heavy cover apps like everyone else (65 lb) and on all my spinning rods (15 - 20 lb).  Braid doesn't get twisted up like fluoro or mono will on spinning tackle.  I also run a fluoro leader on my spinning rods, unlike thedude, I tie direct to braid with a double uni knot and have great luck doing so.  I use a leader for several reasons, main reasons being, fluoro helps light baits sink, less visible than braid and you can break it.  If you hang 20lb braid you have going to have a heck of a time breaking your bait off.

Cy

I used to use Power Pro. Pretty good stuff, but P-Line sponsors this forum and I've found their Spectrex is also high end, quality line. Like all P-Line.

I like it a little better even than I did Power Pro, which is a nice bonus. I use light and heavy P-Line Spectrex now for things where I require very good control of a lure, and/or either don't worry about bass seeing the line (slop) or I feel the need to have a better shot at getting bass in that hit in areas where mono or fluoro might not hold up. Docks with lots of snags, cables, ropes for example. I've found Spectrex doesn't cut as easy on sharp edges as Power Pro. Just my personal experience.


If you go check out things on Gander Mountain's online store, consider using this link graphic and you'll be helping GreatLakesBass.com out. Thanks.

triton 20
thats high rock lake -ya might could have heard of it-during the fall bite please note the date is correct..

zooker

I've used Power Pro for years.
I've experimented and I don't think if you're using green 15# for things like Sickos that a leader is all that necessary most of the time.

Recently I switched to the yellow version.  I have trouble seeing my line and I thought that the yellow would help.  It does. But now I'm back to the fluoro leader.

I use a uni/uni knot to attache most of the time.  Then a drop of super glue.
But, with the yellow, I'm finding it "bird nests" more than the green, so I'm thinking I'm going back to using a high quality swivel.

Not like Torch at all is it? Visibility 3 inches verses 30 feet!

Like Cy (and unlike thedude) I use the double uni to tie my braid and floro to each other.  I don't have issues with the knot breaking at all (unless I MAKE it break like on a snag or hang up).  But with the 8 lb leader 98% of the time the leader breaks, not the knot.

I use 65lb spiderwire stealth on my frogs even in clear open water.When fishing slop its the only way to go. I use braid mostly when fishing a worm in the weeds cuts through easier then mono and less stretch

I just started using braid with a flouro leader on my dropshot rod. Super sensitive. The only problem is I have a hard time seeing the green braided line, So next season Im gonna try yellow braid. Anyone else have this problem?

Quote from: bassassasin88 on July 30, 2009, 09:17:49 PM
I just started using braid with a flouro leader on my dropshot rod. Super sensitive. The only problem is I have a hard time seeing the green braided line, So next season Im gonna try yellow braid. Anyone else have this problem?

Yeah, I have that problem.  I swear the day I turned 30 I could no longer see worth a hoot in poor lighting and it has gotten worse over the last few years.  I especially notice when fishing at dawn and dusk.  I can't see my line at all in low light or where my bait is heading.  I have to wait for the splash and hope I hit what I was aiming at.   :)  Gettin' old sucks!  I was thinking about trying the yellow line too.

Cy

Quote from: Cy on July 31, 2009, 02:32:32 PM
Yeah, I have that problem.  I swear the day I turned 30 I could no longer see worth a hoot in poor lighting and it has gotten worse over the last few years.  I especially notice when fishing at dawn and dusk.  I can't see my line at all in low light or where my bait is heading.  I have to wait for the splash and hope I hit what I was aiming at.   :)  Gettin' old sucks!  I was thinking about trying the yellow line too.

Cy

Trust me, it's not going to get any better the older you get either!