Braid or not
 

I have been very conflicted recently as I have lost a few large fish in tournaments. Another guy asked me why I wasn't fishing braid that it would cut down on that. I have been worried about changing have thrown mono all my life. What do u guys think how is it for u guys how's it in the wind feel and what brands

Braid or not
 

I've fished with suffix 30lb braid for at least 4 years now. I'll never go back to mono. I always have a 4-6ft seaguar 20lb fluro leader tied on the end. Ive heard good things about the fins windtamer but never used it. Suffix > power pro in my opinion as far as castability

12-lb stren mono along with setting the drag correct is all you need,dont like braid but I'm not a pro,my biggest trout is only7-4oz

You'll feel more bites, get better hookups and I use Fins Windtamer on all of my setups.

When you throw braid up wind on a bait cast reel, it will snag a loop and lockup the cast, causing a backlash. It's far more forgiving on a spinning reel though.

Also, you should learn some new knots to use with it as traditional knots will slip right apart, causing you to think the braid broke, which it didn't.

Personally, I hate braid!

Concerning your breaking off fish you either have a bad batch of mono or your drag is too tight. I've caught 30lb bull reds on 12lb stren original. It just takes a lil longer lol

same here, stick with mono and just set the drag correctly and replace string when it gets old.

90% of the break offs I get are from specks knicking up the line and I forget to check it and retie it if need be after a dozen or so fish. that's not the lines fault its fisherman error for not monitoring the line

braid is ok and so is flouro but both are more sensitive for you as well as the fish so just like you feel the bite more they feel the line more so its a wash as being all that helpful or not.

braid might be a good choice for casting oyster beds for reds where your line is rubbing on sharp oyster shells

I hate braid....I only use it on my dedicated redfish pole because of shoulder injury...Better hookset because of no stretch...Other than that 14# original stren....I lost a lot of big trout on braid because they got ripped close to the boat....No stretch "shock" in the line....I'd use 12# stren but where I fish there's lots of oysters so 14 is more abrasion resistant...My grandson pulled in his first red , 12# on a perch pole with 8#stren...I had both my wrist operated on a couple years before and pulled a limit of reds , drum , and trout with the same pole....That is not for the weak of heart....

I don't really redfish a lot this is more for tournament trout fishing I use 15 lb big game change it after everyday of fishing and my drag is set properly. No problems with 3 to 5 lb fish but some of the big girls are a lot more erratic and will make some strong sudden runs on you and just pop. It's not the batch of mono because has happened on different spools.

could be nicks in your line from oysters or just bad luck. For me braid has resulted in more fish caught and less fish lost, but thats just my experience and opinion.

If your drag is set and no nicks like Meaux says I would go with a different brand....I grew up with original stren and tried others and came back....I tried all kinds of braid and the best I like which I don't like braid is 30# suffix....Then again its your style of fishing that makes your preference ....I only fish baitcaster in salt or for bass....On my youngest grandsons spinning reel I got braid so it doesn't coil on him and he has no problem with it...Helps him better set the hook also with no stretch...

Check the guides and tips on your rods to make sure the rings don't have any cracks, grooves, or abrasions that can damage your line. Use a cotton Q-Tip, if the rings have a damaged spot the Q-Tip will catch on it.

Thanks I will check it thoroughly that's something I did not consider.

30 lb. braid to 6' of 20 lb. flouro for me.

The cast-ability of braid ( Distance - no line memory ) and the senastivity of the two combined has me sold. Braid last quiet a while before needing to be replaced the flouro seems to be the most abrasion resistant I've found. If your having problems casting braid you may need to switch to a reel with a different braking system that suites your casting style better or take the time to learn the characteristics of it and educate your thumb to it.

I've switched quit a few of my Bass combos to braid/flouro in different weights due to the reasons above.

For stretch purposes I usually drop to a lighter power and/or slower action rod to compensate when using this line configuration.

Good luck with your search ...

I use 20lb power pro and either 15lb flouro or 20lb mono leader...I have no issues with this setup and it has also helped keeping my topwaters from tangling up in my line

I keep one baitcaster with 12# mono another with 15# mono and the other has 30# braid with whatever brand 20-30lb flouro leader I find in my boat that day. 2/3 of the time I am fishing with the braid. Better sensitivity is the biggest reason. We had one trip this year where the specks were sitting on bottom and with mono by the time you set the hook the fish had already spit the plastic. We all switched to braid and we were able to start putting some good size trout in the boat.

I have gone back in fourth between braid and mono. I much prefer braid because it has no memory and casts much further. I find that I have to change mono line much more often because of its memory which cuts down big time on casting distance. Also braid doesn't stretch which I like and its is very sensitive which is also due to the fact that it doesn't stretch. The main issue with it is that it is susceptible to the wind but I can live with the tangle issues because of all other benefits.

Never sport your braid


On serious note

Only mono when I fish soft plastics


20lbs fins windtammer for Topwater and other hard baits

I like the braid when fishing the deep holes in the winter . feeling that subtle bite is much easier w/ the braid.