What is the attraction to low test braid? 2024
Further North reply :
Another topic I saw here this AM got me thinking: Having tried low test braid (Let's call it anything under 30# for the sake of discussion) and not liking it much, I am wondering what it is people use it for, and why.
I don't want to poison the well with why I don't care for it, I'm more interested in the positive reasons for using braid under 30#.
I figure maybe I'm missing something?
Drew03cmc reply :
I love 20# braid on my casting reels and 15# on my spinning gear. It handles amazing.
Further North reply :
Thanks Andy...by "handles amazing", what does it do that 30# doesn't do?
Drew03cmc reply :
Well, when I use heavier braid, I don't like the feeling that I could be overloading my M and MH casting rods that I use on the creeks.
Further North reply :
Overloading in terms of using a lure/bait that's too heavy, or having a line on that has the potential to snap the rod if you hook the bottom (or a huge fish)?
NHBull reply :
My first experience with braid was 10 lb on a spinning rod and loved it.
I then tried 10 answer 20 on a casting set up.
Was then given a 30 lb to use and it felt like rope and I sacrificed casting distance.
Truth be told, I seldom am in the weeds and mostly on flats and droppoffs.
Last Fall I went for strippers and was bringing in 35 inch strippers on 10 lb Braid had great luck.
I believe the biggest bass on my lake this year was just over 6 lbs.
I have Never had an issue with it digging in......so simply stated, it is my comfort zone and I can always bump it up if needed.
Side note, I have yet to use FC leader bigger than 15, and often times tie directly.
Hope this helps
Further North reply :
On 8/19/2017 at 10:07 PM, NHBull said:Hope this helps
It does, thanks.
A-Jay reply :
For revolving spool tackle, 30lb braid is the low end line for me as well.
Except for a very few sort of specialize presentations, any benefit of using casting gear with less can be improved upon by going with an even smaller diameter braid and utilizing spinning tackle.
Additionally, as the design & technology improves, we are seeing new braids now that test out even higher and are somewhat thinner than what we may be accustomed to at say, the 30lb standard.
So this may change things again to where 30lb may not be the line in the sand much longer.
A-Jay
HookRz reply :
Even low test braid is amazingly strong, and the thin diameter cuts through the water better for Finesse presentations. Try fishing a light hair jig Ned, 1/16 oz tube deep or in current with 20# braid and you'll have a have a five foot bow in your line. Less affected by wind too. I often use 6# braid with a 10-12# leader. The leader always breaks befor the braid. The only braid I run is 6-10# for Finesse, and 50-65# for Bubba fishing.
Darren. reply :
I could flip the table and ask why use 30# and up? 
Of course there are reasons, and techniques like flipping
in thick cover, etc. But like @NHBull, those aren't things
I do much, if any of. I've never seen the need for 60-80#
line, but plenty use 'em. In the end we use what we feel
comfortable/confident with.
10 and 15# braid are my staples on spinning gear, and 20
is on my casting gear (and always with a leader) For one,
line management is better on spinning, for which I use 1000
size reels. I can fit more on them than if I used 30. And yes,
I've used 30 and 40# braid in years past, just prefer thinner
lines....
As for 20 on casting, yes, it is light, and there can be issues
with dig-in, but in my use, I'm keenly aware of that fact
and always take off line if I've fought a big bass, or pulled
in a log. I'm truly amazed at how strong 10, 15, and 20#
braid is. Stronger than we think, I'd wager.
Lost.. reply :
On 8/19/2017 at 10:07 PM, NHBull said:My first experience with braid was 10 lb on a spinning rod and loved it.
I then tried 10 answer 20 on a casting set up.
Was then given a 30 lb to use and it felt like rope and I sacrificed casting distance.
Truth be told, I seldom am in the weeds and mostly on flats and droppoffs.
Last Fall I went for strippers and was bringing in 35 inch strippers on 10 lb Braid had great luck.
I believe the biggest bass on my lake this year was just over 6 lbs.
I have Never had an issue with it digging in......so simply stated, it is my comfort zone and I can always bump it up if needed.
Side note, I have yet to use FC leader bigger than 15, and often times tie directly.
Hope this helps
What were you using for bait? Dollar bills?
Further North reply :
On 8/19/2017 at 10:40 PM, Darren. said:I could flip the table and ask why use 30# and up?
That'd be a great question for another topic 
I've got a bunch of reasons, but I'm more interested in learning why folks use lighter braid in case I need to adjust some tactics.
Your info was good, thanks!
On 8/19/2017 at 11:38 PM, djektd said:
What were you using for bait? Dollar bills?
...probably on sinning tackle...
Scott F reply :
Except for musky fishing, I never use anything higher than 20lb on my baitcaster and nothing more than 10 on spinning gear.
For spinning tackle, 10lb casts my light lures much better, and when I get snagged, I can break if off. Just yesterday, my boat partner got a snag, upstream on the river with 20lb line and couldn't break it off.
On casting gear, I never used anything stronger than 17lb mono. When I switched to braided line I went with 20lb and never saw any need to go higher. I've never had the line dig in and didn't know that was a problem for anyone until I read about it here. I don't "punch" or fish heavy cover being mostly a Smallmouth guy. I never understood why people would go heavier to match the line diameter of mono and lose one of braids best properties of being thin for its break strength.
Delaware Valley Tackle reply :
What's the attraction to any particular line? The appropriate blend of manageability, strength, abrasion resistance, visibility and bait presentation for current conditions. All in the eyes of the user of course.
Drew03cmc reply :
On 8/19/2017 at 9:54 PM, Further North said:Overloading in terms of using a lure/bait that's too heavy, or having a line on that has the potential to snap the rod if you hook the bottom (or a huge fish)?
Umm, honestly, I could use 30/8 PP, but with swim jigs and lipless baits, I prefer the smaller diameter for casting. I don't like using the heavier lines. I will on a MH, but prefer my 20/6 big time. I have some casting reels with smaller capacities and I love that I can fit half a pony spool of PP 20/6 on them. I also prefer leaders of 8 or 10 YZH on bc and 6 YZH on spinning.
Further North reply :
OK...great stuff, thank you!
...some questions:
- Does 10# braid (same brand) really cast further than 30# braid?
- This might be a subset of, "How far do we really need to cast?"*
- Do we really need more line on the spool...or does more unused line just get trashed when we replace it?
- Does "digging in" still happen with the newer, rounder braid?
- What is the benefit to being able to break off lighter line?**
*I catch a lot of fish (largemouth, smallies, pike and musky) on fly gear where 70 ft. is a long cast.
**I'd rather get the lure back.
Team9nine reply :
Won't use braid for baitcasting outside of frogging, but for spinning, I use 3#, 5# and 8# braid almost exclusively. The reason is simple. If you believe that lighter diameter line gives your bait better action, along with the other benefits that come with decreased diameter (drag, visibility, etc.), why would you negate those benefits by using any larger size line than necessary?
rippin-lips reply :
On 8/19/2017 at 10:40 PM, Darren. said:I'm truly amazed at how strong 10, 15, and 20#
braid is. Stronger than we think, I'd wager.
I got snagged on the river kayak fishing. I was using #10 braid and a 3/32 ned rig. I wrapped it around my hand assuming that it would either break or the hook would bend/break. I ended up in the water haha.
Scott F reply :
On 8/19/2017 at 11:56 PM, Further North said:OK...great stuff, thank you!
...some questions:
- Does 10# braid (same brand) really cast further than 30# braid?
- This might be a subset of, "How far do we really need to cast?"*
- Do we really need more line on the spool...or does more unused line just get trashed when we replace it?
- Does "digging in" still happen with the newer, rounder braid?
- What is the benefit to being able to break off lighter line?**
*I catch a lot of fish (largemouth, smallies, pike and musky) on fly gear where 70 ft. is a long cast.
**I'd rather get the lure back.
10lb braid casts my lures much farther. 8lb casts farther than 10. For my style of fishing, long casts are important. For your style, maybe not so much.
If I put more line on the spool, as it wears down, I can take it off and reverse it.
I do like getting lures back but there are times when it's more dangerous or just not possible to pull the hooks out.
I know I do not fish the same way as many members here do so what works for me may not apply to the way you fish.
IndianaFinesse reply :
Two big reasons, longer casts and better control of the bait (which means better action and depth control).
badgerboyng reply :
I use 10lb white braid on my spinning gear because it gives me greater sensitivity, allows me to cast further, reduces line twist greatly on spinning gear (bye bye wind knots!), and because the thin white braid floats enough for me to see when the line twitches (very important for most finesse techniques) but not thick enough to where it's floating so much that there's a huge bow in the line. As for breaking the line on a bad snag, I'd rather lose the lure than break a rod from trying to free a snag with stronger line or dealing with cut up hands from stronger braid digging into me while freeing a snag. Sure you can bend out hooks with stronger line, but with finesse fishing, I'm not usually losing anything expensive... Maybe a tube jig or senko. Not the end of the world. And as others have said already, don't underestimate the strength of 10lb braid, it can easily bring in the fish of a lifetime in open water.
NHBull reply :
On 8/19/2017 at 11:38 PM, djektd said:
What were you using for bait? Dollar bills?
Everything up to 2 ounces and yes, on baitcasters.
Spinning gear 10 lb
Caster with CB. 10 lb
Caster with everything else 20 lb.....including 2 ounce surface and swimmers
Edit...those concerned about digging in should consider smackdown..
Further North reply :
On 8/20/2017 at 7:03 AM, NHBull said:Edit...those concerned about digging in should consider smackdown..
Agree.
I also have very little, if any issues with Sufix 832.
LxVE Bassin reply :
On 8/20/2017 at 7:03 AM, NHBull said:Edit...those concerned about digging in should consider smackdown..
That stuff is way too high!
Further North reply :
On 8/20/2017 at 9:22 AM, LxVE Bassin said:
That stuff is way too high!
You mean too expensive?
It is what it is, and like most things...you get what you pay for.
craww reply :
Its a gift from above on spinning reels. I lean towards the appropriate daimeter line for application. For example when shad fishing w/ultralights alot of guys use 2-4lb mono. Just so happens thats 10-15lb braid. I did use the 8lb test 1lb diameter with great results this year.
One reason to push diameters/lb tests down is less water resistance. You'll get improved action in some specific situations. Also Baits will run deeper, and that can mean the difference between catching fish and not. I caught 5 fish to a friends 1 using 8lb braid wherr he had 6lb suffix seige mono. Same lures same pool.
As for baitcasters I cant go below 30lb. Any distance increase seen by the small diameters is negated by the fact you cant "push" it when going for max distance. Mono/flouro type lines are more forgiving when picking out backlashes, and its painful on the wallet to hit a limb or something and blow up a spool of braid. Though u could justify it perhaps with braids longevity I suppose.
Bluebasser86 reply :
I use 20# on some of my casting reels. It's amazing the difference in feel and handling between 20 and 30 pound braid. 20 is just so much more supple and cast so much further. I also have lots of situations when I need to cast as far as absolutely possible. So in those situations, I not only need a long casting line, but I need the ability to put a lot of it on a spool to get the most out of my cast. I tried to up to 30# once because I'm dealing with very large fish potentially, but found I couldn't even come close to reaching the fish when I made that move.
EW6 reply :
I'm a fan of using at least 20 lb braid for most applications. It casts fine and I don't lose fish.
ChrisD46 reply :
I suppose it depends on the application with Braid :
* Spinning : Shaky Head , Weightless Fluke / Senko , T-Rig Worm: #10lb. ~ #15lb. PP + FC leader
* Bait Cast :
a. Any application in open water - #20 lb. PP + FC leader.
b. Any application around weeds #30 lb. PP + FC leader.
c. Frogs : Open Water ~ Light to Medium Cover - #40 lb. ; Heavy Cover : #50 lbs. (both straight PP)
d. Flipping / Punching : #65 lb. (straight PP).
Braid Tips :
*First put 1/4th ~ 1/2 spool of cheap #8lb. mono on tight for backing.
* Uni-Uni knot to braid and spool tight
*Close spinning reel bail by hand after each cast and pull line tight before reeling
*Pull a couple of feet of line out after snags then reel tight.
*Always try to reel braid back on the spool with a little tension
*KVD Line Conditioner can even be used with braid
*Check top rod guide for loops after each cast before reeling
*Loosen drag to match no stretch characteristics of braid
*Sweep hook set with lighter braid (lighter braid can have poorer shock qualities due to no stretch nature thus snap easier).
*Make longest cast with lure you get the most distance with - then pull off 10 ~ 15 yrds. more line , place strip of electrical tape on reel , then reel line back on the reel under tension over the electrical tape ... If you ever get a professional over run it won't go past the strip of electrical tape on your reel .
LxVE Bassin reply :
On 8/20/2017 at 9:35 AM, Further North said:You mean too expensive?
It is what it is, and like most things...you get what you pay for.
I don't use it. I use PowerPro and Suffix 832. I don't like the thick diameter of smackdown and I'm sure not paying $40 for 150 yards. Just an observation no knock to anyone that uses it.
NHBull reply :
On 8/20/2017 at 9:22 AM, LxVE Bassin said:
That stuff is way too high!
If you are talking price, you can't tell the cost until the accounting period is over.
A 150 yard spool could last 8 yrs.
Spool 75 yards over backing
Use it 2 years
Swap ends and use 2 yrs
Repeat with the remainder of the original spool.
Assuming the original spool was 8.00 more expensive, it has cost you less than a cup of coffee per year to have the line you desire.
Further North reply :
On 8/20/2017 at 7:07 PM, NHBull said:If you are talking price, you can't tell the cost until the accounting period is over.
A 150 yard spool could last 8 yrs.
Spool 75 yards over backing
Use it 2 years
Swap ends and use 2 yrs
Repeat with the remainder of the original spool.
Assuming the original spool was 8.00 more expensive, it has cost you less than a cup of coffee per year to have the line you desire.
That's one of the things I figured out about braid the first year I used it. Pretty obvious it was going to last multiple years. I have some that hasn't even made it to the swap point yet that's been on 5 years.
That's really a big part of "You get what you pay for".
I've got Smackdown on two reels, I put it on at the beginning of last season. Good stuff, so far.
LxVE Bassin reply :
On 8/20/2017 at 7:07 PM, NHBull said:If you are talking price, you can't tell the cost until the accounting period is over.
A 150 yard spool could last 8 yrs.
Spool 75 yards over backing
Use it 2 years
Swap ends and use 2 yrs
Repeat with the remainder of the original spool.
Assuming the original spool was 8.00 more expensive, it has cost you less than a cup of coffee per year to have the line you desire.
I do that faithfully with my braid. I'm all about cutting cost. One set up is going on 3 years with the same braid.
Attila reply :
I currently use 20lbs Power Pro Super 8 Slick w/ a fluorocarbon piece added on when I use my jerkbait spinning setups and I can cast my lures pretty far. That said, I'm going to give 15lbs Smackdown this fall on one of my setups to see how much further I can cast with it as I use jerkbaits as a search bait so want to be able to cover as much water as possible.
I use straight 30lbs PP Super 8 Slick on my walking style topwater baitcasting setup and find that I don't have nearly the casting distance as I do when I run the lighter line on my jerkbait setup.
I think this is due to three factors. The first is the diameter of the braid; the second is the weight of the lures that I use; and the third and final reason comes down to rod length. My topwater rods are 6'6" and my jerkbait rods are 7' long.
Cheers, hope this information helps.
RPreeb reply :
I used 30# (8# diameter) Power Pro on a Shimano Spheros 5000 spinning reel when we lived in the Bahamas, fishing for snapper, grouper, jacks, and the occasional barracuda. After we moved back to Colorado, I reloaded it with 10# Berkely Trilene. I'm heading up to Cabelas (Sidney NE) on Tuesday to shop for a learning friendly baitcaster, and I'll likely load that with the 30# Power Pro because I have the remains of a 3000 yard spool that needs using.
That spool was bought in the US and taken to the Bahamas in my luggage with all of my other fishing gear, because availability of fishing gear in any variety is limited in the Bahamas in general, and nonexistent on the Out island where we lived (I used to shop for and bring back gear and baits for local fishermen on most of my trips to the States). I doubt that I'll generally need 30# in my current life, but since I have it, I'm going to use it. It should last until I"m too old to fish, and I'll dispose of what's left when that time comes.
Burke reply :
Been using Sufix 832 braid Ghost line at 10LBS on my Wacky Rod (6'8 LTB)
It works great and I feel that its little better .I have tried powerpro and I hated it so much.
I only use white braid Sufix or Tuf-Line since its more softer for me. Not only that, I want to watch the line to see if it flicks/moves. If it does, I know there is a bass on the lure and its time to "HAUL" it up !
Mosster47 reply :
The castability is better especially when you go down in lure weight. The leader knot is smaller adding to casting distance. It also handles better.
fishwizzard reply :
I dislike braid as feeling/hearing the leader knot tap the guides is like nails on a chalkboard for me. I do use it on spinning rods that I use for plastics as it does give more casting distance (I use 8lb on my ML and 15lb on my M) and more importantly, I like to be able to see my line for deadsticking/no-feel presentations. I tried to move to straight floro for a bit but I was not 100% happy with it so I switched back. I think I am going to pull the braid (one advantage of braid, it is super easy to take off a spool and save) and give floro another go soon. I just hate the sound of that knot makes.
I really dislike braid on casting reels, but am going to give it a good try soon as well.
On 8/21/2017 at 3:16 AM, Burke said:Been using Sufix 832 braid Ghost line at 10LBS on my Wacky Rod (6'8 LTB)
It works great and I feel that its little better .I have tried powerpro and I hated it so much.
I only use white braid Sufix or Tuf-Line since its more softer for me. Not only that, I want to watch the line to see if it flicks/moves. If it does, I know there is a bass on the lure and its time to "HAUL" it up !
Man, I tried white Sufix for a while but it maybe stayed white for two or three trips max. I fish a ton of small ponds around here and so many of them are tea stained my line would turn brown super fast.
Dwight Hottle reply :
I use 10lb braid on lake erie for smallmouth fishing on both spinning & baitcasting. My favorite brands are suffix 832 & maxima braid. Most 10lb braid will break between 15 & 22 lbs so it is plenty strong. The smaller diameter allows me to get my jerkbaits deeper than 20 or 30lb braid. The increase in lure depth is a big advantage. I had a guy fishing with me that ripped his heavier braid off in anger after a day of less than successful fishing and added 10lb braid so he could be competitive. I add a mono/fluoro leader to the braid for visibility & abrasion protection.
Andy007 reply :
I have always believed in using the lightest line possible! For bass I've been using 10# power pro on spinning and casting reels without and digging in issues what so ever. Even when deep into the cabbage it works well. Have tried lighter (6#) for bass but it's not always strong enough to cut through the weeds, but in open water works great. I do retie quite often because of the low abrasion resistance and toothy critters. I do loose some because of the low test but really don't care that much. I believe I get more bites with lighter line to offset lost fish.
fishballer06 reply :
I don't know how you guys are going so light on braid on casting gear. I've tried 30# in four different high end brands of braid on my casting gear, and all of them dug in and gave me fits (with a mono backing base).
For spinning gear I use 20# braid and it does a great job for me.
Andy007 reply :
On 8/23/2017 at 12:13 AM, fishballer06 said:I don't know how you guys are going to light on braid on casting gear. I've tried 30# in four different high end brands of braid on my casting gear, and all of them dug in and gave me fits (with a mono backing base).
For spinning gear I use 20# braid and it does a great job for me.
Maybe I'm lucky? I have 10# on a Abu Garcia 4600c, 3600 and 1600, pro qualifier and Lew's tournament MB with the drags set close to breaking point without one dig in.
Quarry Man reply :
I have a cabbalas arachnid that is really hard to backlash. that is why i put 15lb power pro on it. it was extra line and i was on a trip and happened to need new line on a reel. i spooled it up and caught one on my first test cast before a tournament.
pros
cast distance
sensitivitely
long lasting
floats
thin
crypt reply :
first I use braid on all my spinning rods. 3 are spooled with 10 lb. the other 2 with 15. all power pro original. love the stuff never had an issue with it. all of them are at least 2 years running. easier to manage when throwing lighter lures,just as sensitive than heavier line and strong as all get out.
Crowcommander reply :
Haven't heard one word about Berkley Nanofil? Spooled up two spinning reels today (2-150 yds off the net for $20.98) Looking forward to throwing the Ned with them. Any Nanos out there?
NHBull reply :
On 8/23/2017 at 12:13 AM, fishballer06 said:I don't know how you guys are going to light on braid on casting gear. I've tried 30# in four different high end brands of braid on my casting gear, and all of them dug in and gave me fits (with a mono backing base).
For spinning gear I use 20# braid and it does a great job for me.
I have a couple casting reels with 10 lb 832. The backing is old braid and a couple times a day, I really throw it and reel it under pressure. It just works for me.....never had a problem with digging
Yumeya reply :
Everyone of my baitcasters has 20lb braid except my swimbait rod, it has 65lb braid.
My spinning reels have 10lb or 15lb braid.
I use Vicious no-fade braid on all my baitcaster, I have used almost every braid out there and the vicious is
simply amazing, it really does look brand new after months of fishing it.
My spinning rods get either Seaguar smackdown or P-line TCB8 in high vis-yellow, I would love it if vicious made
there no-fade braid in less then 20lb and in yellow.
When I first started using braid years ago I started with 30lb braid and it worked excellent but I find the 20lb
gets my lures deeper faster and I can cast farther, I have never had a dig in of any kinda with any braid.
The only line wind knots I got from spinning gear was from Daiwa.
Ksam1234 reply :
On 8/20/2017 at 9:35 AM, Further North said:You mean too expensive?
It is what it is, and like most things...you get what you pay for.
I use 30# braid on everything. For me I think it casts smoother and further. I also feel like the thick 50# braid an up the fish can see it... that's just me. I never had 30 pound braid break on me. Even wrapped it around a tree and pulled my canoe over to it without even a problem.
related Fishing Rods Reels Line Knots topic
most viewed Fishing Rods Reels Line Knots topic
© 2024 - fishing.qciss.net. All Rights Reserved.