Braid whats best

[MT]

Is there much difference in expensive braid to cheap and is fire wire braid????? If not whats best including breaking strain for rough ground drifting????

[mark]

fire wire is braid, and personally I hate the stuff, too stiff, hard to get a good line lay on the reel till its been well soaked, and impossible to anything with it other than just drop it over the side of the boat

I use dyneema braid which is soft and supple and strong as owt, got 80lb on one reel, which when snagged won\'t break! just anchors the boat!, usually 60lb does me

[Mike.Haley]

I,ve got Penn Dynabraid on one reel and some cheap stuff I bought at whitby Angling on the other two, all soft braids and cant see or feel any difference exept the colour.

[KeithB]

Have a look at this thread Ninga

http://www.nesa.co.uk/modules.php?op=modload&name=XForum&file=viewthread &tid=8186#pid55813

[MT]

Thanks keith but the boat fishing seems the same as shore its what anyones happy with!!

[MT]

People seem to have a different opinion as to breaking strain though ive read 30lb is ok for most drift fishing

[Tadpoleman]

best go for the higher breaking strain ninga as that fish of a lifetime is lurking and 30lb breaking strain is not strong enough...believe me ive been there several times once bitten etc 55lb dynon is the norm !
isnt that right NORM?
bert

[PhilT]

Does everyone use a mono leader? If so, what knot do you use to connect? I had a lot of trouble last year with line failure at the knot (Albright) but I was using only 30lb braid. Does the stronger (thicker) braid tend to cut the mon less, or does anyone ahve a better knot?

[Tadpoleman]

Dont use leaders phil !
waste of time much better up your breaking strain of braid and use a lighter class boat rod !
bert

[IanW]

No leader for me either, just tie the braid to a 2/0 snap swivel with a tucked grinner knot (think that\'s what it\'s called) never had it fail yet.

[PhilT]

Thanks guys. I generally do tie on a snap for attaching traces anyway, but losing the leader would be a major plus - I HATE tying on a new one out on the boat. Anyone dissent from this view?

My little book of knots suggests a Palomar as good for attaching swivels etc as you get a double thickness of line through the eye. Again, has anyone else got strong views of which knot is best?

[sless]

charlton swears by them
i would for ever be tying knots on the boat if i did
so i dont bother

[Oblickta]

I used leaders last year cos I thought it would save cutting expensive braid when tangled up and protect the braid from rough ground and wrecks. Verdict: waste of time !!

The first time I had too much backing on the spool and the leader knot kept snagging between the braid snd the reel seat (something to watch out for if you try braid for the first time and your as stupid as me). The second time it worked fine \'till I lost it and tried tying mono to braid on a big swell while all others were fishing. There wasn\'t a third time

[Norman]

Aye bert 100% with you on that 55ld as standard

and aye to sless, I agree (although mr Alan never does) that a leader is a waste of time , not in it`s no good, but just wastes too much valuble wreck time to keep putting leaders on.

when your out there after waiting for the season, waiting for the weekend, waiting for the weather, waiting for the tide, then waiting for the fish, there is no time left to tie extra pieces onto your line or rig, you just need to snap off a snagged line and re-jig and get back down there ........ whoo hoo I can feel the wreck from here

[mark]

nope, don\'t use a leader either, the way I see it, the rig on the end is always gonna be mono and break before the braid if you snag.