I have been hearing a few buddies talking about being out 30-40 miles and using braided line with a fluorocarbon leader. Has anyone tried it on the pier?
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I have been hearing a few buddies talking about being out 30-40 miles and using braided line with a fluorocarbon leader. Has anyone tried it on the pier?
Sure, in certain applications it is great.
But not for everything ;-)
I've had braid on 2 Shimano Stradics a 4000 & a 5000 for around 4 years now and have not had the first problem with it. Had J&M put 30lb.on a Battle 4000 and it didn't last anytime at all. It threw wind knots till I finally had to change it out. The new braid did the same thing down to half a spool now.
I have a few reels with braid on them under mono top shot(spanish reels),just incase a king hits it I have more line capcity then if I had all mono on the reel.
The key with any braided line is to ensure that it is spooled on incredibly tight the first time around, and to not use it in applications where light-tackle techniques are the norm (i.e. topwater, float fishing, etc). It sounds stupid, but when I spool up with new braid, I crank it on the reel then take it to the high school where they have 250 yards of open space. I have my kid grab the line and then walk it out until I'm down to the backing. With as much resistance as possible, I then crank him in. Been doing this (or something similar) for the last 20 years and I rarely have a tangle and/or wind knot. At 150# now...he's quite the beast to haul in these days.
The best braid that IMO is Suffix Performance braid. It's completely round, casts very well, and is strong...really strong.
It works great on the head boats with fluor, if your the only one fishing. The boat boys hate it because it likes to tangle and it really causes problems with the other fishermen on the boat. I wouldn't use it on the pier but for inshore fishing or fishing from your boat, it would be fine. Make sure you spool it on correctly.
I'm using some 40# on 5000 series spinners on charters for bull reds. I have several different kinds spooled up. the jury is still out..but...all braid is not equal for sure and not for all applications and most certainly where, as BFG adds, that there is not some weight on the end. My first conclusion is I am leaning Power Pro and to burn all Fireline or make survival snares or trip wires out of it or something because I sure don't like it for fishing string! lol
From what I've experienced, most pier rats use mono - when braid get tangled, you have a mess. If you tangle with a couple of other lines, you will be cutting free, especially if someone has a hook-up. I have braid on a couple of my reels, but if there are many folks fishing for Spanish or Kings, I use mono on the pier. Even free-lining, if someone casts over you with braid, it can be a nightmare to get untangled. Maybe during the week, but on week-ends, braid gives me lots of headaches.
I use braid with mono backing and 10 yards of mono or flouro topshot.
Given my limited opportunities to fish - my line spends most of it's useful life hanging on the wall. For the sake of economics, I used to spool every rod with braid because it would not suffer from spool memory, and could be fished for years with out issue. We hardly ever ventured to the sacred Octi, and did not have many issues with tangles or cut lines.
A couple falls ago, my wife accidentally, lol, hooked into a huge jack about half way between the tee and the Octi. She did well until the big jack realized he was hooked, and immediately headed south - in a hurry. She was spooled with 20lb suffix and that stuff cut through every line in the water like a weed eater. The only ones that were spared were the ones that reeled up and got out of the way. "COMING DOWN" means nothing to some folks....especially the youth more interested in his phone than fishing. I rescued his rod just as it flipped over the rail. He had braid too, and as soon as both lines got tight - my wife's popped.
Lesson learned. we now back all spools with braid, just in case. 50-60 yds hi-Vis suffix mono connected with a FG knot. Another 10ft or so of FLOUROCARBON at the terminal end to trick the line shy ones.
The economics now work, and disasters are usually averted.
I fish for flounder from a boat and use only braid.i can feel the lightess bite and know its time to catch em up but mono will stretch some and easy to miss the bite.
Now on the pier it's mono all the time.Easy to untangle and cut and re-tie.
I use braid on 2 of my king rods, the main thing about braid and being on the pier is being courteous, be aware of your line and dont let it drift down into everyone else's, and use a bright colored braid easily seen, i use a bright blue that the fish seem to ignore but everyone can see