Braid

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Braid Article is under development

[edit] What is a Braided line

Braid lines are made by braiding or weaving fibers of a man-made material into a very thin strand of line. This makes a extremely tough line that is very abrasion resistant. There are several manufacturer of these braided lines such as Power Pro, Suffix,etc.

Many of us in the OKFC tend to use Power pro. The following are excerpts from a post on the forum about braided lines

[edit] Spooling Your Reel

PowerPro now comes in boxes that allow you to put tension on the line while spooling it yourself using your knees. I put about 20lb mono backing on using about 2-3 square knots and put it on until the machined spool disappears... then double-uni to braid and fill it up (on Stradic about 1/16th from lip). You can also use tape as backing but that uses up more braid that chances are won't see the water. [Submitted by Edlive]

I usually use 15lb mono, 10 - 12 turns on the reel, then a uni to uni, then the 15 lb. power pro. with a uni to uni, 15 lb. leader. nothin' fancy. When it wears then I un-reel it, so that I can use the other side of the power pro that never hits the water. PowerPro is to expensive not to use the other side. [Submitted by Melo]

[edit] The purpose of the Backing

The purpose of the Backing is to keep the slick braid from sliding on the smooth spool and act as a filler if desired. [Submitted by Frambo]

Personally, I do not like to have "filler" on the reel but that is a personal preference. As I get tangles, knots and from general use, I notice my line always gets shorter and shorter...

I agree with the powerpro pack and have had some good results. Additionally, you can spool by facing the reel to the spool and making sure they are spinning in the same direction. I believe there are a few vid online showing this

Use your spare spool to put the full run of braid on first (and get the 150 yard spool, you don't need any more) and tie your knot of choice between the braid and mono (a uni-to-uni is fine), and I simply suggest using 10 - 15 pound test mono. The reality is that it's unlikely that you'll get to that backing anyway. Then transfer it from spool to spool so that it's the right way (mono on the bottom, braid on the top). Fill the spools to about 1/8 inch of lip on the spool.

I suggest no more than 10 pound braid to maximize your casting distance. Sure 15 pound braid is thinner that just about any mono, but obviously 10 pound braid is thinner than 15 pound braid. [Submitted by Hellrazor]

Use your spare spool and load it "backwards". Many brands of braids no longer sell 150 yd spools. You can either get 100 or 300. 100yds of braid is not enough and I think filling the whole spool is a waste. 150 yds is about right so what I do is buy 300yd spools and do two reels with it. Load it until you have about 3/16" of lip on the spool. Then use mono to bring it to about 1/8".

Keep mind that if this is the older FH series Shimano you would do well leaving a bit more "lip" and not load it as full to reduce throwing wind knots. (The newer FI series of Stradics are designed so that it's almost impossible to throw a wind knot).

As for knots, to start the knot on the spool the easiest knot to use it called an "arbor knot". Basically a single overhand knot with another overhand knot in the tag end to lock it up. [http://www.animatedknots.com/arbor/index.php ]

To connect braid to mono backing, I use a 4-turn uni-to-uni. Also, I use 10lb test mono for backing for the simple reason that the resulting uni-to-uni knot is less bulky. If you were to use 20lb mono for backing for instance, the mono-to-braid knot would be bigger, causing a small "lump" under the wraps on your spool. Braid compacts so perfectly that this "lump" translates through many layers even after you've wound a lot more braid over it. Sometimes these "lumps" can interfere with the way the line comes off the spool during a cast. [Submitted by Mike Wong]

I was taught that what ever size braid line you plan to put on your reel is the same size mono underline you want to use. That is to say, if your 15 lbs PowerPro line is 5 lbs diameter then use 5 pound mono. This way the braid and the mono will lay the same.

Another way you can spool you reel is to start with the braided line, and put the full box (100 yards) and then connect the mono line with a double Uni knot. Then fill the spool the rest of the way with the mono line. I then walk outside and tie the mono line to a tree and start walking out the line until I reach the very end of the spool. Then then tie that end to something else and walk back to the mono line end. Disconnect the mono from you tie point. Wrap the mono around the spool to form a 180 degree loop. Then tie a Uni knot with only three to four wraps. Slid the knot down tight to the spool and reel the line onto the spool. You know have your new reel spooled. [Submitted by Cagey]

[edit] Preventing Wind Knots

After a couple of times fishing, you may find your line not casting as well, or as far. Do just like you did when you spooled you reel. Hook the end of you line to something, and walk the entire line out to the very end. Then reel in all the line with a constant tension. If the line it not too twisted, it will spread the twists out across the entire line length, and make you reel work like new. If you find it still does not cast as far as when you first spooled you line, do the exact same thing, but instead of leaving the end of the line tied to something after your let out all your line, This time disconnect the end from you tie point, and provide tension on the line by pinching it between your fingers as you reel it in. You can do the same thing by cutting off your hook, and letting all the line out when you paddle, and then reeling all of your line in when you totally unspool your reel. I do not like this method, unless I do this in freshwater. I do not like having the saltwater soaked line against the spool. I know that the spool gets wet when you use the reel, but I do not believe that as much saltwater gets to the spool unless a fish totally de-spools you.

I hope this helps you get your reels all set up for fishing. By the way, all the knots you need to know will probably be included in the braided line box. I know that PowerPro includes a sheet teaching you all the knots that I discussed. Good luck fishing. [Submitted by Cagey]