Braid from the beach

[Pete B]

Is anyone casting braid, I have a baitrunnner loaded with it for fishing at close range & Im really impressed with the direct feel how the bottom & bites are transferred to the rod tip but am not impressed how it weakens so easily. As you know its made from strands & if one takes a nick it may cut the 15lb class rating to a 10lb class.
Is anyone using it at distance from the beach? how are you finding it?

[darenw]

I used it twice off the beach in october, mainly because it was already on a b/runner.It chafed quite badly over a shingle bar and although it didnt seem to lose much of its strength I lost confidence in it. I have used it quite a bit long method feeder fishing and bites do show up better than mono, having said that sea fish dont seem shy as far as bites go so no advantage there IMO. On a boat it could work as well as wire given its smaller diameter to BS compared to nylon. Have you used it afloat? .As a final thought Im sure the stretch in mono is a help sometimes .

[squideyebarnes]

braid is the biz on boat for me and 90% on the shore.Floatfishing for bass camo braid looks the dogs.

[Pete B]

Yes, I always use it in the boat (other than up-tiding) & its absolutely brilliant, bite indication is unbelievable & obviously the low diameter beats the tide with minimal lead needed.
The down side was when I went as light as using 6lb class braid over broken gound & then lost a really good red mullet (possibly a B.R) on the surface, snapped clean. Further inspection showed that the braid was down to only a few strands in places. Cut to peices by the bottom.
I just cant imagine such a soft material being washed around the seabed & in the surf in the quantity it does when beach fishing, atleast from the boat the percentage of mainline dosent make contact with the bottom.

[slippery]

The only way on the boat if ya aint uptiding!! But not for me on the beach rods wave action pulls ya griper out straight away if slighty choppy cause no stretch and probably my luck but when i tried it bass fishing with a 15ft leader plain weights I was pulling hooks and at the time thought it was lack of stretch? but i could be abit of bully!!

[Pete B]

Good point Slippery about the gripper pulling out from the beach (same as uptiding), does anyone know about the different types of braid, fused braid etc? theres a few different types I know

[darenw]

I think you need a bit of stretch in a line and certainly in freshwater a length of mono helps stop the hooks pulling out when they're close in, its like a shock absorber i suppose. I have seen a guys finger cut to the bone too, its like a cheesecutter on skin.

[dean macey]

a 3metre mono leader should be used, solves the problem of bumpted fish and abrasion on the bottom.slso just a thorght try using a system similar to a method feeder for the hooklength and have some extra stretch.

[slippery]

forgot to say I have used a braid called toothy criiter for hook lengths for eels, made up of multi strands 200lb breaking never ad a eel go through it ever, makes for nice presetaion and alot less diameter of line (think it was the same as 40lb line)...
Also tried it short range luring (40ft cast) with a 12ft 12lb mono leader and it was rubbish for me cause of wind knots that you cant undo, I was losing 20ft every couple of trips.
When bass fishing you can end up missing loads cause what you think is a monster is infact just a touch(lack of stretch) then ya strike n its gone!! but if you used a float like squidey this wouldnt happen maybe........

[Steve (Original Leadchukka)]

I use Fireline 20lb and Spiderwire Stealth 14lb from the beach. They are both thermo-fused braids and are nice to use. They both roughen but not had any problem with it weakening by any significant amount. Beware of an overrun on a multiplier as it is a b**tard to pick out. That aside - I am a convert. I love the stuff. My mate uses it on his large fixed spool reels for beach casting and has done for some time. My fish take has improved since I moved to it too.

[darenw]

Is that the new braid that is somrwhere between a braid proper and a mono Steve?.

[Metal_Micky]

A local Deal bloke, Tony Libby, swears by the stuff on his fixed spool reel. Since he started using it, he has never used mono.


What i'd like to know is what strength braid to use for all round fishing, Does anyone have an idea?

[Pete B]

mickmacey said:

A local Deal bloke, Tony Libby, swears by the stuff on his fixed spool reel. Since he started using it, he has never used mono.


What i'd like to know is what strength braid to use for all round fishing, Does anyone have an idea?

I personally would go for 30lb, I have had 30lb (fireline, I think) on boat reels for over 3 years now. Its still perfect & has the diametre of 6 lb mono.
Both Dantastic & reelbargains from the forum will vouch, we all bought a bulk spool & we are all still using it. Ive only had probs since I went very light, 6lb stuff. I still would use this but keep it for clean ground marks.

[Steve (Original Leadchukka)]

darenw said:

Is that the new braid that is somrwhere between a braid proper and a mono Steve?.

The Fireline has a slightly rougher feel to it but it is still a one piece line (as opposed to a lot of fibres like cotton). The Spiderwire Stealth feels better and is smoother. It certainly behaves like mono but without the stretch.

If you intend to try it, I would suggest buying a 125yd spool of it rather than bulk as it is quite expensive if you don't like it. All a matter of taste. 18 or 20lb is sufficient for beach use IMO.

One big advantage is that it has a much smaller diameter and therefore cuts the weight you need to hold in a tide and is less affected by the wind and waves. Pulling weed off is easier too.

Good luck.

[RichardB]

Steve was certainly using it to good effect loaded on multipliers Saturday night. He let me have a titanic struggle with a dogfish as a test !