braid virgin

[dicky mint]

managed to get a bargain on flea bay, mint penn gto 220 loaded with braid for 35quid including the postage(). never fished braid before and was wondering if you just clipped your rig on the end or not? am sure i've read somewhere that due to its lack of stretch that you should attach a length of mono to act as a 'shock absorber'. . . . . .? what's the best knot to use to attach my swivvel to my braid mainline? am i any better off with braid as a main line or should i stick to mono? was just after a few opinions............cheers

dicky

[<(Andy2009)>]

i would attach a leader first before u add yor swivel. braid has no stretch so u usually end up with a (hard to pull) knot. i this when a go out on the boat, and it works a treat. the gud thing with no stretch also is that u detect even the smallest ov bites, which can always pay dividens

[KeithB]

I don't bother with a leader, you'd spent all day replacing it after every snag.

I just tie a loop in the end of the braid to attach a snap link.

[<(Andy2009)>]

av never had that problem, 50lb braid and 80lb leader, just either breaks the rig or pulls the snag oot

[jason]

i would use a leader if you fish with a broomshank style rod as there is no give when playing a fish. Most of us now use a lighter rod with your drag set right so you dont loose fish. I just pull straight from the snag and usually it parts at one of the knots on your rig or you loose the shad etc.

best regards
J

[oldessox]

I tie a snap link swivel or whatever they are called onto the end of my braid then clip my rigs straight to that , my lead weight is attached by a short length of mono to the bottom of the rig , your rod and drag on your reel are your shock absorbers when fishing with braid. The only thing I would say is , when you get snagged , use a piece of broom shank or something to wrap the braid round to pull out of the snag , usually the lead leader , hooklength or rig snaps somewhere but I was using a towel in my hand and wrapping the braid round that to pull from snags and if the braid is crossed on the towel it cuts through itself and breaks at your hand , expensive break when you are fishing in 60mtrs.
You've got it , you might as well use it , if you havn't used it before you will be amazed at the sensitivity of it , fishing in 60ft of water feels like the lead is 4 ft beneath the boat , it's amazing.

Ray

[The Great Wallsendo]

Like Keith says it would be a pain having to re-tie the leader every other drift and like Jason says a 20lb class rod should give plenty of play...nine times out of ten the nylon rig goes at a weak point rather than the braid snapping (at least with 55lb dynon it does anyroad)

simple double overhand loop is what I was shown and it works fine

[dicky mint]

many thanks for the prompt replies boys. i see a couple of you mentioned 50lb braid and also 'lighter' rods so i take it that the rod 'class', line weight ratio thingy mabob is not critical when using braid? the braid thats on me new reel is 30lb and i'll be using a northstar 8' 12 - 20lb rod, will these be ok together? i've only ever fished from a boat on half a dozen occassion's using me slosh 30 with 30lb line and a 6' 20 - 30lb calss rod and am not well versed' in the art so apologies if these are lame a**e questions

[lingking]

30 lb braid

30 lb a little light,for rough ground and wrecks for me i use nothing less than 50 lb for abrasion resistance

[el_sid]

aye just braid direct to snap swivel, a use a palomar knot(very strong and reliable, easy too ) then just clip on ur rigs etc great stuff once uv used it u'll not go back to mono

[northeast1]

As already said dont waste time and money with leader, i never used a leader and still have the same braid on my reel for the last 6-7 years its 50lb fireline.

I find you get the snap swivel and half of a rig back 8-10 times rather than it snap at the braid knot. You cant go wrong with braid but when it tangles its not much fun, even more so when its with 1 other braid.

[big sid]

Richy,passes the time away in the quieter moments un-tangling lines cant make my mind up whats worse? braid V mono or braid V braid

[northeast1]

My spare time on the boat if spend stuffing my face, getting a cold one out, filleting mackerel or checking charts for a virgin wreck

May pop down Friday and have a run around the mariner, drop a line over the side in the berth to see if i can catch, if that dont work drop a eel pot over...err Steve

[The Great Wallsendo]

...if that dont work drop a eel pot over...err Steve

We'll be repeating the experiment again this year...got a 6lb Cod to beat

Only this year it'll be in High Def video action

[northeast1]

pb pot caught cod err lol

May as well, if i remember that day right, it was a really hard day going at sea and not much caught.