Braid Fad Over?

Seafever

Seafever

Well-Known Member
All I'm reading these days (and overhearing in tackle shops), is how guys are switching back to wire after having had it up to here with braid d/rigger line due to better fish catch rate and less worry about line cuts etc.

I was even thinking about it myself.......

One of the problems I have with braid is that when I tie a knot the tag end of the braid will slowly but surely unravel into separate strands, travelling right into the knot.

Tried nail-polish, spar varnish, glue on the ends........but this just wears off.

What do you put on it to stop line fray?
 
hmmm havent had that happen? what brand of braid? test etc.. which knot are you using?
 
Nope way more people switching to braid than switching back to steel. That said I know some killers who still fish steel. Mostly ex commies.
 
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The catch rate thing I think is goofy--if you have a fishy boat, you could use parachute cord on your downrigger and still catch fish. Maybe the hum of wire attracts fish. Maybe it spooks fish. All I know is I switched to braid 4 years ago and NEVER looked back.

If you catch enough fish to be happy, then that seals the deal for me if the gear is easier to user. Braid has some downsides (blowback is one of them), but it sure beats worrying about the kinks you see in your wire, screwing around with crimping tools, having to switch it out every year because you're worried about losing your $ 30 cannon ball. And no more getting stabbed in the hand and fingers with fraying strands.

Braid requires a bit different approach when attaching things to it. I ALWAYS double it over when tying knots (Uni-knot, fisherman's knot, whatever knot) . When I knot it to gangion, lots of knots will work, even a simple over-hand knot (what commies use when halibut fishing and they need a quick knot to tie off a break in their ground-line)

A dab of epoxy on your knot will keep the fraying thing to a minimum. Change out the knots once a season unless your hammering your balls into the reefs and bouncing it on the bottom---then more frequent knot change-outs are in order

Lots of braid knot info on this site---do a search. or check out the Australian kite-fishing websites--those guys have the braid thing all figured out

Fad? No way. New tech at its finest!
 
Don't have experience with braid - but have used the following stopper method with other knots.
Will a 2nd overhand knot acting as a "stopper" work in this case?
 

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I had braid on one downrigger but took it off due to a problem I was having getting the right depth on the counter. The real problem was two pins that hit the counter were broken off the reel. Scotty fixed the problem. Other than that I thought it worked pretty good and I will be trying it again when I need to replace the line.
 
Yeah, ditto that. I've been happy with braid since I switched over...after dealing with the dark sides of steel too many times.
 
Switched first 1 then both to braid.
Never thought of going back. Lose fewer balls/gear with braid, never had a not fray, altough the last 10 feet can get abraided when trolling the bottom.

Right now looking at 2 new downriggers for the new boat, and only the 2106 B comes with Braid - I find that kind of surprising. Thought it'd be an option on most/all now.
 
Never switched. Wire has always worked well for me so why change?

Just like all the new fishing gear.......aren't they the same fish for the last 50 years? So, why change what you use? Just to keep the fishing gear companies with high profits?
 
Fishtofino said:
Never switched. Wire has always worked well for me so why change?

Just like all the new fishing gear.......aren't they the same fish for the last 50 years? So, why change what you use? Just to keep the fishing gear companies with high profits?
Click to expand...

The first design isn't always the best design.
There's more than one way to skin a cat....

ect ect If we still did things in the shop the way my father and business partner did, our production would decrease by 75%. We use the same tools, and same machines...but technology and technique are destined to advance with time.
 
Man, no way i would ever go back to wire.
200lb power pro is awesome stuff, no more rusted,frayed wire
to break off, jab you and spring off the spool into a friggin' birds nest.
I can't say enough good things about it. :)
 
I'm a braid guy too BUT I have a dream of finding a kevelar braid. I have searched and searched and could never find a product that would work. My reason for trying to find kevelar would be to increase the strength and reduce diameter if the line. I figure that if I found the right material it would or could be thinner than the common wire we have used for so long. This would be very advantageous.

Dare to dream.
 
Fishtofino said:
Never switched. Wire has always worked well for me so why change?

Just like all the new fishing gear.......aren't they the same fish for the last 50 years? So, why change what you use? Just to keep the fishing gear companies with high profits?
Click to expand...

Like most fishermen out there I'm a total Gear Nut.......Tried lots of new stuff.....rods .....gear.....reels etc. and have always ended up using the same few things. That being said I too have stuck with wire because I haven't had any real issues with it. I'm a beleiver in some boats definitely being fishier than others. That being said if your rig fishes a little slow compared to boats around you then maybe the braid is worth a shot. Just my two cents.......Cheers!
 
I personally have never hand bombed my DR line in before? I just usually let the rigger bring up for me.....lol There's no doubt that wire can have issues. Just saying i've never had any. Hose it of after each trip and change it out every other year and no complaints.......:)
 
Gone to braid and staying there...don't miss losing half a dozen cannonballs every year, now only lose 1 or 2 a whole season by fluke or by guests holding the button so it drives it up into the rigger and snaps off...with wire lost a lot more, and always had to worry about being hot as the quarterdeck marina is very hot. Won't even touch wire now...
 
m2b

if ya do a search on this , quote , " COMPLETE JOKE " of a site lol , you will find endless posts and threads on this ,

Me personally ,I dont put the Pro ( guide ) hours on them , but pretty friggen close ,
I run 200 Power Pro , 15lb balls , i fish pretty hard ,when needed i drag em through the mud rocks etc.. ,
i believe this is what eventually breaks down the SS stuff , slowly fray , then ultimately break ,
this is my 3rd year fishing with the same braid i originally purchased , stuffs still like new ,

when i first started using braid , i was sceptical , so , i ran SS on one side , PP 200lb on the other , less blowback on the braid ,
fished fairly similar as far as production went , took the guessing out of the electrical current problems ,,,
once ya figure out the right knots and stopper set-ups , the stuff is golden,

so , my sell point , the stuff is durable , less blowback , still good for another season or 2 of more abuse ,
I would have changed the SS at-least twice by now !

pretty easy decission for me , whatever works for ya i guess...

Damn , even the ugly Muppet Osama switched over this year ,
id say %70 - %80 of my comrads are runnin Power Pro today , and climbing every year..

again

m2b


fd
 
And braid (450' of power pro 200lb) is the only thing that I have found to make the new HP counters accurate,
cause the HP SS they come with is way out to lunch, if you have 86' out by your counter, you actually have 100' of cable out, not very accurate now is it?
just a thought when your considering which one
Tim
 
The Fog Ducker said:
m2b

if ya do a search on this , quote , " COMPLETE JOKE " of a site lol , you will find endless posts and threads on this ,

Me personally ,I dont put the Pro ( guide ) hours on them , but pretty friggen close ,
I run 200 Power Pro , 15lb balls , i fish pretty hard ,when needed i drag em through the mud rocks etc.. ,
i believe this is what eventually breaks down the SS stuff , slowly fray , then ultimately break ,
this is my 3rd year fishing with the same braid i originally purchased , stuffs still like new ,

when i first started using braid , i was sceptical , so , i ran SS on one side , PP 200lb on the other , less blowback on the braid ,
fished fairly similar as far as production went , took the guessing out of the electrical current problems ,,,
once ya figure out the right knots and stopper set-ups , the stuff is golden,

so , my sell point , the stuff is durable , less blowback , still good for another season or 2 of more abuse ,
I would have changed the SS at-least twice by now !

pretty easy decission for me , whatever works for ya i guess...

Damn , even the ugly Muppet Osama switched over this year ,
id say %70 - %80 of my comrads are runnin Power Pro today , and climbing every year..

again

m2b


fd
Click to expand...

I switched to braid a couple years ago too, but what is that blowback you guys are referring to when you say less blowback with braid?
 
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