braid whats the preferrence

[jim sylvester]

Been talking to a few people that have been bouncing from powerpro, to fireline to suffix.

I have always been a powerpro guy, never had one pop on a rock on me, but interested to see what everyone else is using now.

suffix feels like silk (limp as a 80 year old without a refill of viagra)
fireline always the standby
powerpro never gave me a problem

just wondering

[fishaholic18]

Love my PowerPro. No reason to change.

[JFigliuolo]

for me, too many rock lost fish with pp, Super braid, spiderwire. Now using 30lb fireline. If that lets me down, it's back to mono.

[BigBo]

I like Fireline (although, not really a braided line) the best. I do have, and use PP without any real problems. I just like the Fireline better. I also like and use Cortland Spectron quite a bit too.

[RIROCKHOUND]

Back to Mono on the rocks.. 20lb Ande BC...
50lb PP on my boat stuff
80lb Spider on my jig stick...

[Saltheart]

Cortland Spectron is the toughest braid. Can only be used on conventional reels.

I use 35 lb on a 6500 size reel and 50 lb on a 7000 size reel.

[Back Beach]

PP on everything except the boat stuff, which is 25 or 30 big game or backcountry. The pp has served me well so far around the rocks as well as in the canal with larger fish. I've noticed no adverse effects on the line yet, in fact it fishes better as you break it in. Been using about 3-4 feet of 50# ande flouro and the system has worked well.

[fishsmith]

I've used powerpro and spiderwire 30lb - 65lb, spin and convench reels, no problems with either, but both are a dog in the wind.

[piemma]

Originally Posted by Saltheart

Cortland Spectron is the toughest braid. Can only be used on conventional reels.

I use 35 lb on a 6500 size reel and 50 lb on a 7000 size reel.

Cortland just came out with a new braid on the Spectron line called Master Braid. It it awesome!! I have it on 2 Calcutta 400s and it's far superior to any braid I have ever used on conventionals. No idea how it will perform on a spinning reel. BTW, it's a bit pricey. A 300 yard spool cost me $41.00.

[jim sylvester]

PAUL,
WHERE DID YOU PICK IT UP BIG BEAR?

[JoeP]

I've used 20 LB to 50 LB Power Pro for 4 or 5 years now with NO problems. Gonna try 65 LB this year as well.

I flip the line on my reels each year and get 2 years out of each spool.

[piemma]

Originally Posted by jim sylvester

PAUL,
WHERE DID YOU PICK IT UP BIG BEAR?

Jim:
Yes, George had about 3 or 4 spools

[choggieman]

one choice- whiplash

[ThrowingTimber]

30 lb fireline 80# leaders

14lb fireline 80# leaders

15,20,60 flouro when theyre picky..

[The Iceman 6]

Fireline for me, always had problems with PP. Love the fireline though...

Ice

[Saltheart]

$41 for 300 yards , Yikes!!! That's twice as much as the Spectron!!

[In The Surf]

I like power pro it just doesn't like rocks. I still have it on a spool and wouldn't hesitate to use it in open, clear areas. Lose a nice fish in a boneyard of boulders or sharp underwater ledges and you'll want to switch to fireline too. Love fireline in these areas or just about anywhere the stuff is great.

[Tagger]

Fireline for me,,, I didn't get along well with pp..

Rocks ,,I fish #30lb Berkley Ironsilk.. I know its not a big seller down the sandy cape... best line I've found for rocks,, last a long time..

[Mr. Sandman]

It all depends on the reel IMO. For spinning PP will cast further and it has improved over the years. I have not lost that many fish on rocks with it but I have broken off a few over the years. None recently though. 2 years ago I loaded spool(s) with most of the popular brands and did a head to head cast and crude fiction test. PP outcast them all but was not as rugged as some of the others. I was going to write a article about the results and see if the fishermen would publish it but I thought the "tests" were not scientific enough and would be the subject of a lot of critics soi I said the hell with it.
But IMO if you fish heavy rocks where your line is rubbing on rocks all the time I would go mono. It has better abrasion performance then any braid. Test it yourself...get a 3-4' lenght of line and put tension on it and scrape in on a rock. Count how many passes you go before it breaks. Do the same with mono. Come to your own conclusions. Most tackle shops will give you 3' of line for noithing and you can test it in their parking lot. For my money braid will catch you more fish though. I have stood next to guys fishing mono who could not work a shad along the bottom for very long in a strong current while the braid could and I pounded fish while they had a very slow night. Several guys asked me "what the hell is your secret?"....braid line. I notice they fish with it now too.

You can fish currents better, deep better, distance better , hookset better, fight the fish better, no UV problems, lasts all season (maybe more)and I love the sound it makes as it screams thru the guides. The downside is abrasion resistance is worse and it cuts your finger like a razor (on spinning) so use tape or some protector. On conv you can use other brands with equal success but spinning I like PP. Fire line and spiderwire are stiffer lines and work better on some older reels not desigened for braid. Tuffstuff seems good for conv's and stren braid was pretty good on spinning too but I can 't recall the details. One tip: If you put PP on a old penn you are in for a nightmare. Penns are not designed for braid they lay the line on the spool wrong for braid. You want braid to lay like rope on a big spool, not back and forth back and forth. This way when you cast it comes off smoothly. The only braid line that works (IMO) in penns is fireline and that is too thick for my preference.
I am not an expert. I am just telling you my experience with this stuff.

You have to test it out for yourself everyone has their own preference...as ususal: " Your mileage will vary"

[Vogt]

I'm a huge fan of fireline. Never had a problem with abrasion(20lber rubbing it on and old piling) Very few wind knots , and when they occur they are usually very minor.

[gone fishin]

I agree with Mr Sandman I too have spent a great deal of dough trying to find a line I like. I fish only conventional and have found that fireline has a tendancy to dig due to it not being round. The "old" whiplash was good line, but something has changed and the new replacement isn't as good. I find spectron too soft, has a tendancy to fluff on a cast. I stick with the power pro. Run a long mono leader and the abraision problem is gone. Also allows you too break off when giving your donation to the ditch lead god. I like 65 lb PP for jigging on a 525 or 7000 and 50 lb for plugging. I tried using lower test line, but found it real hard to handle - tough in high wind. Best feature of PP is you can feel every bump and hookup easier.

Just passing a fact along. When using PP or any braid it is wise to run a long mono leader to take up the stress when casting. It allows some stretch and saves the gear. Also helps with a hookset. If you try and cross the fishes eyes with braid on hookset you may tear the hook free.

[staltershoal]

i have always used fireline, until this year i switched one of my reels over to the new cajun red 14lb and i love it i have caught more fish this year on that line than i have in the past 2 years. no keepers yet but im working on that.

[Bob Senior]

Has anyone tried the new Master Braid Spectra by Courland on a spinning rig? How did it work?

[Mike P]

I've been putting two brands I've never tried before thru their paces in the Canal the last few weeks---Stren Super Braid and the new Berkley Big Game Braid.

The Stren is a little thicker and more wiry. It feels like it has some kind of coating on it. I've gone thru quite a few leaders, but the line itself hasn't chafed or abraded. It casts very smoothly. I'm running that on an Abu BG 7000 CL. Even tho the label "claims" that it has the same diameter as 15# mono, there was still a whole crapload of line left on the 300 yard spool after the reel was filled as high as I dared. Like most braids, it's "mono equivalency" is pie in the sky Since I'm using it on a level wind, I don't know how "thumb friendly" it is for reels without a level wind

Last couple of days I switched over to my Penn 525 Mag that's spooled with 65# Big Game Braid. I really like this line. It's a little thinner than Stren--the smaller 525 has about the same amount of line on it as the Abu does. Casts like a dream. I've been backlash free for several hundred casts on a very hot reel. It hasn't grooved my thumb, and it holds its color very well. After that many casts with Power Pro, my thumb would have been green and the line would be white. It's still not as thin as Whiplash, but it's the best braid I've used since they discontinued Whiplash.

[NIB]

I checked out the big game braid at the rissa show an got a spool of 50 seemed to appear slightly thinner than the fireline 30#.I gave it a shot even though it seemed thinner it took more weight for me to get my jigs down.It fished thicker even tough it had this nice silky smooth feel to it. it also broke before 40 lb leaders which scared me. so I took it off.I am a fireline guy.i had the nightmares with some other braids an I will never switch.

[jim sylvester]

Originally Posted by NIB

I checked out the big game braid at the rissa show an got a spool of 50 seemed to appear slightly thinner than the fireline 30#.I gave it a shot even though it seemed thinner it took more weight for me to get my jigs down.It fished thicker even tough it had this nice silky smooth feel to it. it also broke before 40 lb leaders which scared me. so I took it off.I am a fireline guy.i had the nightmares with some other braids an I will never switch.

tony

fireline over powerpro, right

nightmares with powerpro
thanks

jim

[NIB]

Ive gone as light as 14 lb fireline on beaches wit small plugs.20 lb on for lures 1-1.5 onces an 30lb For most everything else an rocky area's.the only other braid I use is 80lb Hercules kite string which I can't seem to get the same stuff anymore.It goes on my bridge rod a 1209.I buy the fireline in 1000 yd spools.i put 250 yds on an flip it when it gets tired.I change line often.

[Mike P]

I hung the 65# last night. The 40# leader broke first.