# Braided on Convential Surf Reels



## Kwesi W. (Apr 14, 2006)

I have two new setups.. One being a 12 Premeir\Avet sx, the other being a HDX\penn 525 mag. My question is will braided line make a big differeence in distance? The local tackle shop wanted me to put braided on them, but I was a little nervous.. The one thing thing that kept coming to mind is BRAIDED BIRDS NEST!!!!!! All opinions welcomed.


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## CrawFish (Sep 23, 2003)

read this write up.... if it doesn't answer your question... just do a search on "braided" then you'll find what you need.

http://www.pierandsurf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=34575&highlight=braided


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## fish bucket (Dec 5, 2002)

try braid on the 525 mag.adjust the mags right and you should have no problem with birds nests.
before you write braid off,try it.it makes a big difference when you're casting far.


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## striperswiper (Nov 30, 2004)

fish bucket said:


> try braid on the 525 mag.adjust the mags right and you should have no problem with birds nests.
> before you write braid off,try it.it makes a big difference when you're casting far.


YEA and go to the point with it  :--|or a pier


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## fish bucket (Dec 5, 2002)

is there a point to your reply or is it just braidaphobic ramblings?


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## Digger (Jan 4, 2000)

fish bucket the Point in Hatteras braid is looked down upon, as it is on the pier that we target big fish on. Most people from up north don't understand the place, or how tight it is. Oh Montauk in the fall is wide open compared to da point.

Now a tackle shop would want to sell braid over mono because of the higher retail= greater profits.


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## Railroader (Apr 13, 2005)

If you are using any kind of a power-cast with a conventional full of braid, and ANYTHING goes wrong, you've got a helluva mess on your hands.

Been there, done it, hoped I could make it work, and cut the nests out.

If you're a lobber, or run your reels with the brakes, mags, and tensioner set to preclude any chance of blowing up, then you might get by. If that's you, then more power to you, have fun.

If you run your reels on the ragged edge, and throw hard, like me and the crowd I run with, you may try braid, but I'll bet you a 300 yd. spool of your favorite that you'll be back to mono. 

It just ain't worth the hassle.

If you are set on using braid, get a nice spinner and have at it. Works WONDERFULLY in that scenario. 

Am I a braid hater??? Not at all! I love the stuff. It's on my 'yak and walk around rods, both caster and spinner, and I also have braid on an AWESOME 3 pound test curve Shimano carp rod with a 360 Slammer, that serves as one of my whiting/pompano surf rods.

I just ain't putting it on my long distance conventionals EVER again.


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## fish bucket (Dec 5, 2002)

digger,i wouldn't use braid at the point cause i know the system there.i use it on my beaches cause we have to cast very far a lot of times.
railroader,i use it on all my conventionals,magged or non-magged and i throw 175-185 yds consistantly.i also use it on my spinners.oh yeah,i'll take you up on the spool bet.


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## Railroader (Apr 13, 2005)

fish bucket said:


> railroader,i use it on all my conventionals,magged or non-magged and i throw 175-185 yds consistantly..oh yeah,i'll take you up on the spool bet.


Show me a video of 5 (for consistency) measured 175-185 yd casts with a conventional full of braid, and then name your brand and color...I'll gladly send it on it's way, by priority mail.


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## nomadfl (Jan 7, 2007)

I use braid as backing on my Penn 525 mags, and Okumas, put on a roll of 150 yds, then top up with mono. at least you know that when you get to the braid, you have 150 yds. left. And if the mono gets damaged...just change the mono :fishing:


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## fish bucket (Dec 5, 2002)

for me to make a video would cost more then the line.i was trying to make the point that braid can be cast far without birdsnesting.
why is braid vs mono such a touchy topic?


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## Railroader (Apr 13, 2005)

Braid Vs. Mono is not a touchy subject at all with me, but it always makes for a lively discussion, to say the least... 

I know when to use it, and when not to. My reasons are no doubt different than yours, his, or hers.

I dunno why folks get so pizzed off about it. It's just line....


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## fish bucket (Dec 5, 2002)

to me it's just line
to you it's just line
but to some people it's something else!
i use mono on party boats cause braid and mono when tangled,is horrible!


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## Webmaster (Jun 13, 2005)

I use braid exclusively on three of my mag elites' and very rarely run into a birds nest
going out an average of 450’; mag set always at four and then back off it after the cast.
At 'The Point' I do get chastised occasionally cause it will easily cut mono ( they call it “chainsaw line”), but I am very carefull there not to cross someone up – when in the conga line one would do that anyway !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Roy


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## Shooter (Nov 14, 2004)

It's been gone over before but will do it again,,,, at the Point everyone usally goes with a 8oz sinker and mono because that way when one line flows to the right or left everyones flows at the same speed and cuts way down on lines getting crossed up. There is a method to the Point madness but if your bound and determened to be the lone stand out be ready for a lot of folks walking over and under ya.
Just think of it as your on I-95 in the Left hand lane doing 35 MPH, be ready for some horn blasting and finger *aint sayn which finger* pointing, much eaiser to go with the flow of traffic.

Yea you can run braid on a conv. been there did that but when ya do have even a small birds nest so much more of a pain to get out and go back to fishn time.


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## thebeachcaster (Aug 7, 2006)

*Mono or copolo*

is the way to go. The point and piers are two very good reasons. Also, if you ever spike fish at night (not at the point of course) and your own lines get crossed you will thank yourself for not using braid. I was using Silver thread at the point one time and it worked great...Until the sun set. Even though it was a mono, we still could not see it. Even with a flashlight. I quit fishing because it was not fair to those using suitable tackle. I used to preach silverthread (and still think it is a good line) but I switched to the suffix tri high-vis and let me tell you, I love it. It took Firespyder a while to get me to make the change , but I love the stuff. Now when the sun sets at Cape Point, I can see my line and help my fellow fisherman instead of hurt them. If you want to fish braid, there are lots of places where you can do so without cutting everyone elses line.


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## Webmaster (Jun 13, 2005)

From my experience, in the conga line, rolling in the current at ‘The Point”, the drag on braid is about the same as mono – so – we’re all rolling as should be, no problems.
Also, when the current is moving strong, six and eight oz. seems to roll comparably
so I use six cause I get better casting distance than with eight.
I really believe that braid is a much superior line. 
I wouldn’t drive a Ferrari 120mph in traffic with a bunch of cars doing 40mph,
but that doesn’t mean that I can’t safely drive the Ferrari in 40mph traffic.
I HAVE NEVER CUT ANYONES MONO WITH MY BRAID !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Pretty soon, I expect someone at ‘The Point’ to come up to me and say I can’t fish there
in the wash unless I can reach at least 550’ every cast or some other like absurdity.
The only near entanglement disaster has ever occurred when someone else is not
acting responsibly nor respectfully – and I compensate for that and go on fishing
enjoyably.


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## barty b (Dec 31, 2004)

kmw21230 said:


> I have two new setups.. One being a 12 Premeir\Avet sx, the other being a HDX\penn 525 mag. My question is will braided line make a big differeence in distance? The local tackle shop wanted me to put braided on them, but I was a little nervous.. The one thing thing that kept coming to mind is BRAIDED BIRDS NEST!!!!!! All opinions welcomed.


Well kmw...you have opened up the P&S "pandoras box" called Braid VS Mono. I think it's high time this topic had its own forum...And I swear to God I would NEVER look in there.

To answer your simple question which was "will braid outcast mono?" The answer is simple...Yes.

Explanation (Having absolutely nothing to do with Cape Point) Braid Will outcast mono simply due to the fact of the smaller diameter. put 50 lb mono on your 525 and see how far you can throw it. Now put 50 lb braid on the same reel and see how far you can throw it. Given that you don't blow up, the braid will win every time.

Now the perticulars of making this work with braid instead of mono has a lot to do with how your line is laid on the reel. It needs to be as evenly laid as possible as it likes to dig into itself and this is the major factor in overrun backlashes.
Using a heavier braid than you would mono, really helps. I would never run anything less than 30lb braid on a conventional due to the small diameter. I cast conventionals loaded with braid (90lb) for shark fishing from the beach. If you trust your casting abilities and have a well controlled reel you should have no problems.


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## Kwesi W. (Apr 14, 2006)

thanks bartb


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## Fishbreath (Nov 11, 2004)

nomadfl said:


> I use braid as backing on my Penn 525 mags, and Okumas, put on a roll of 150 yds, then top up with mono. at least you know that when you get to the braid, you have 150 yds. left. And if the mono gets damaged...just change the mono :fishing:


I like using the braid as backing as well. The point is that you can put a heck of a lot more mono on with braid underneath and less worries about getting spooled by a bigger fish. About 100 yards of braid is all that is needed. 

But, taking all braid to "the Point" is just asking for trouble, even if you don't "blow up".... JMHO


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## thebeachcaster (Aug 7, 2006)

*If you blow up with braid,*

and it cracks off and it ends up in the water, it easily causes snaggs. the next person to cast on that exact strand of beach will have his line cut off buy the braid connected to the 8 bait. Then another 8 n bait and another 8 n bait. Finally you have a good hole or hot spot like "the point" with Braid snaggs. JMHO (but also the truth.)


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## fish bucket (Dec 5, 2002)

thats your opinion,fine,but it's far from the truth.up here we use a lot of braid and i've never seen or heard of a spot being ruined by braid snags!


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## thebeachcaster (Aug 7, 2006)

FB I wasn't trying to make an attack on you, (nor anyone else) for fishing braid. But what I said about snaggs could be true. It's not like I've ever swam out in the water to confirm what I suspected to be braid, snagging my line. So I can honestly say I am not 100% sure that it is braid whenever I get snagged................Will you admit that it is at least possible? (even if unlikely?)


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## TreednNC (Jul 1, 2005)

search is a wonderful tool...too bad it wasnt utilized before the thread got started...opcorn: :beer:


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## Digger (Jan 4, 2000)

TreednNC said:


> search is a wonderful tool...too bad it wasnt utilized before the thread got started...opcorn: :beer:


Here Here :beer: :beer:

Things are very different north of the Mason-Dixon Line. Oh on the snags I know of one I hope will be analized this summer, I'm sure most is mono but it will intresting to see how much is braid.


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## Big Rad (May 19, 2003)

*I pull in*

quite a few snags every year. The majority of the line I pull in consists of mono  I guess my braid is strong enough to break the mono loose. I once pulled in a snag that had at least 100 yards of some very bright green line attached to three sets of bottom rigs. The culprit was what looked like some very heavy leader material on a fish finder rig. I almost bent my jighead hook straight.....good ole 30lb power-pro.........caught me about 40 bucks worth of tackle last year.


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## HuskyMD (May 19, 2000)

Big Rad, I pulled in a snag monster at KN with 30 lb power pro as well. Question for those who do use braid on conventionals - do you only change the line out once a year? I wouldn't mind trying it but can't afford to be changing the braid...


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## fish bucket (Dec 5, 2002)

huskymd,i have some reels with braid that is at least 5-6 years old.still usable!


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## thebeachcaster (Aug 7, 2006)

*Let's say braid cuts Mono,*

If one stran of braid cuts one stran of mono, the two are now basicallyin the same spot. Now another guy comes and fishes mono, and that is cut (by the braid.) And so on and so on. Most people fish mono so of course most of it will be mono.
I typically pull in snaggs with mono and no braid at all. A mono crack off is easily brought in by the next cast because mono won't cut your line But the braid is what causes the original and worst snags. you get a few 8s mired down in the sand and now when your mono gets caught in the snagg it does not matter where it is hung. Hung on braid=cut and lost tackle. Hung on mono=broken-off and lost tackle. But that original braid crack off is the OG. Now that is just one theory opcorn:  opcorn:  :beer:


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## JAM (Jul 22, 2002)

*I'll pass this go around ..*

And wait for another train.. Cheers.. :beer: JAM


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## TreednNC (Jul 1, 2005)

JAM said:


> And wait for another train.. Cheers.. :beer: JAM


opcorn: :beer: amen


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