# Braided Line or not?



## bucksrus (Oct 9, 2006)

Pretty new to fishing here and have a question about line. When I went Walleye fishing this year on the river (jigging), I was told to use braided line. I'm not exactly sure why this was suggested it just was! 

Now I have two of my reels with braided line on them (one black one yellow). My question is will this be OK to use for pike and bass fishing right now? I know it is really strong so that would be a plus but is there an issue with fish seeing it? Should I change line and if so what do you recommend?

Thanks for any and all insight!


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## sslopok (Aug 24, 2009)

I use braid for everything except trolling the bay for walleye, then I use monfilament. You are good to go. The reason braid is good for jiggin is because it has no stretch and you can really get a good hook set and feel everything.
sslopok


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## bobcolenso (Sep 11, 2003)

All of my reels are spooled with 20# Power Pro in Moss Green, same size as 6# mono. I'll use a sacrificial (sp) leader when needed.

I don't know about your line, Power Pro makes what they call "High Visibility Yellow". There I would use a leader, 3 to 5 feet, the next size or two down from your main line.

And yes, braided line IS strong. Make sure your drag is the weakest link.


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## Kayak Dave (Aug 1, 2009)

I also find that the thinner diameter of braided line aids in fighting strong currents when jigging deep. Keeps your line straighter without having to weight heavier. 

Or if you shore fish and get caught up in all the crap in the bottom, with 10# mono it breaks no mater what you do. With 10# braided, I break off 1 in 20 with 10# test. 

When stuck, I wrap the line around my hand 2-3 times and give a very slow/steady pull. Its mostly just hung up on weeds, but occassionaly you will pull out a ball of line with a bunch of perfect lures. Or you can use the other meathod: rip on your pole like your snagging and straight snap your line or pole like everyone else out there.
(use a glove or shirt sleeve when using the 1st meathod as braided will slice you up good)

Finally, not all braided lines are equal. I had one brand of braided line that would knot up if you ever let it overlap on itself not on the spool. I dont remember that brand name of that one. 

I too prefer Power Pro. It has a coating that prevents it from knoting up. Its only down side is you need to tie a very good knot and its tuff to cut.


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## frenchriver1 (Jul 5, 2005)

Take a two foot section of mono and give it a slow pull. You will be amazed by the amount of stretch in most mono. Multiply that by 50 or 60 or more feet when trolling and you can see why braided with little or no stretch is bettter for that application, as well as normal casting...

The only downside to braided I have found it that when fishing from a pier, the wind tends to catch wet braided more than mono, IMO...


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## Ralph Smith (Apr 1, 2003)

Yes, it will work great for bass or pike, especially when setting the hook due to the no stretch as mentioned. Just make sure to use a leader line and good ball bearing swivel to connect the 2. Go lighter on the leader than the mainline to avoid breaking mainline if you do hang up. With pike, you might want a heavier flouro carbon leader(to avoid bite offs). They feed higher in water usually, and you should avoid most hang ups with them anyhow. I love fireline, and use it on everything, even my ice rods. It does feeze more than others, but I'm usually in a shanty with heat where it doesn't matter. Good luck.


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## bobcolenso (Sep 11, 2003)

Kayak Dave said:


> Its only down side is you need to tie a very good knot and its tuff to cut.


Everyone has their favorite knot. I always use the UNI or UNI-to-UNI. It's a strong knot, and easy to tie when your fingers are cold and wet. I also keep a small pair of scissors in my fishing vest. Finger nail cutters ussually don't work well on braided line.


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## hunter143 (Jan 21, 2005)

*I use trilene xl 10 pound on every rod i walleye fish with..I use the 50 pound big game mono for sturgeon fishing.Dont let all the braid warriors scare you off from mono.Ive been using it for yrs without a breakoff issue..And as far as sensativity goes i outfish mr power pro on the back of my boat 80 percent of the time....Good luck..*


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## bucksrus (Oct 9, 2006)

Thank you for all of the advice everyone!


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## sfw1960 (Apr 7, 2002)

As Kayak Dave mentioned the smaller diamters cut thru the water VERY well , if trolling or casting - aids in greater bait depths as well as staying vertical better if jigging.



Ralph Smith said:


> Yes, it will work great for bass or pike, especially when setting the hook due to the no stretch as mentioned. Just make sure to use a leader line and good ball bearing swivel to connect the 2. Go lighter on the leader than the mainline to avoid breaking mainline if you do hang up. With pike, you might want a heavier flouro carbon leader(to avoid bite offs). They feed higher in water usually, and you should avoid most hang ups with them anyhow. I love fireline, and use it on everything, even my ice rods. It does feeze more than others, but I'm usually in a shanty with heat where it doesn't matter. Good luck.


I've been using braid for over 5 years and just this year FINALLY , I had the knot break (I _ALMOST _never use a swivel , but tie a double UNI !)
:lol:
Swivel won't reel thru guides or the bail very well and they also add a sink factor , especially if I'm using jerk baits REALLY slow....



hunter143 said:


> *I use trilene xl 10 pound on every rod i walleye fish with..I use the 50 pound big game mono for sturgeon fishing.Dont let all the braid warriors scare you off from mono.Ive been using it for yrs without a breakoff issue..And as far as sensativity goes i outfish mr power pro on the back of my boat 80 percent of the time....Good luck..*


BLAH , BLAH , BLAH !

Sounds like you've NEVER tried a super line yourself.
:lol:
Whoever you have on the back of your boat is the experience of just one person , and FWIW the person at the front of the boat statistically is SUPPOSED to out-fish the person in back because they have FIRST SHOT at the fish!


Every braided line I've ever used always has a higher break strength than ANY mono I've used and I was a Stren guy for more than 30 years.
*I SAW THE LIGHT.*
I still do use it along with Trilene XL & XT as well as Y0-Zuri Hybrid , Triple Fish and a few others.
Not ONE of my bait casters has mono on it and I have a few spinning rigs with mono or fluorocarbon on the SPARE spool. (My ice gear has some mono too))
If you think mono has better sensitivity than braid does - you just won't listen to your friends , FACTS or common sense.

I use what ever I want , I often troll stick baits on a long-line of 100-135 feet and I can tell you that with mono-filament a lure like a husky jerk just "disappears" after about 60 feet and with braid I have NO PROBLEM feeling a bait work 135 back.
Sometimes the big walleyes just barely "nip" at your lure and you get just a split second to take a poke at them , with braid ...it's like they are just over the gunnel on the hook set.
With your glorious mono , it's like trying to put a hook into bone with a rubber band that's over the state line. (Swing & a miss.)
*I know* - I've tried it both ways - and I do have the ability to learn from my own conclusions and some great friends I've met from here that have shown be some better ways to fish.

bucksrus ,
If you are using spinning gear the 'fused' lines like Fireline original will cast better with less wind knots than a small diameter line power pro...
It's stiffer & flies thru the wind gusts better - if you are using trolling or bait cast gear - Power Pro all the way , when you do get a tangle the larger diameter lines are easier to untangle than the small stuff.
You usually have to cut a snarl out if it's 10# Power Pro , but the Fireline being a bit stiffer can usually be untangled with a little patience.
I typically use 20 & 30# on my bait cast rods & 8-20# on my spinning.

G'Luck & let us know what you go with & how it works for you!

RAS


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## garyb (Jan 23, 2003)

fishing trenton on the detroit river i will use mono all the time , so many snags down there ,the braided is so hard to brake off plus i don't like to straighten the hooks out when i do get it back, just my 2 cents worth


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## coverdog (Dec 7, 2003)

garyb said:


> fishing trenton on the detroit river i will use mono all the time , so many snags down there ,the braided is so hard to brake off plus i don't like to straighten the hooks out when i do get it back, just my 2 cents worth



That's one reason why we use a mono leader.


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## Guppy (Aug 3, 2010)

I'v used braid since they came out with fire line,luv it, cant fish with mono anymore.Only use leader when all else fails and the water is clear....once u go braid there's no turning back....just use a more forgiving rod to make up for the no stretch thing.


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## diztortion (Sep 6, 2009)

I have mixed feelings on braid.


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## MFPS (Jun 21, 2009)

that stuff should be outlawed


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## Zofchak (Jan 10, 2003)

I use braid for 75% of my fishing. The exceptions being trolling for Salmon, fishing for saltwater reef species, and for stream trout and Steelhead. Braid has far better sensitivity(Less stretch), lasts much longer (Does not have a shelf life like mono), casts further, cuts the water better and allows you to use reels with a smaller line capacity. 

A few hints about braid if you are new to using it: 

YOU MUST back up braid when loading a spool. This can be accomplished by tying a short length of mono on below the braid, or by using electrical tape over the bare spool. If you skip this step the braid can spin on the spool when under load and you'll basically be unable to reel at all. Also you should spool braid as tightly as possible, if you don't it can easily cross over itself and make a complete mess.

If you are going to be casting a lot with the reel, I would recommend using nothing less than 15lb braid. The smaller diameter braids are notorious for wind knots and tangle easily. If you're just using the reel for jigging you can get away with using 10lb, but it does not give you much of an advantage over the 15-20lb line.


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## Drisc13 (May 6, 2009)

braid with flourocarbon leaders...95% of the time


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## sfw1960 (Apr 7, 2002)

MFPS said:


> that stuff should be outlawed


Food plots should be outlawed...


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## frenchriver1 (Jul 5, 2005)

sfw1960 said:


> Food plots should be outlawed...


Agreed. Hunting should be the simple act it once was, you against the beast, not with all the modern "tools" which reduces the challenge and stacks the cards against the prey.. 

RE: Braided line, making such a statement without adding any backup has no/limited value. Tell us why braided line should be outlawed, for religious reasons????


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## jasnooks (Jun 23, 2010)

frenchriver1 said:


> Agreed. Hunting should be the simple act it once was, you against the beast, not with all the modern "tools" which reduces the challenge and stacks the cards against the prey..
> 
> RE: Braided line, making such a statement without adding any backup has no/limited value. Tell us why braided line should be outlawed, for religious reasons????


 I'm wondering what the reason is too. As for the original topic, i use power pro moss green braid with a triple fish flouro leader on most of my rods. I like the low stretch and the fact that i dont have to re-spool multiple times a season like i end up doing with mono. I can usually get at least a couple years out of the braid depending on how much "stump cuttin" etc i do.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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