BRAIDED LINE

[STRIPERKING]

Braided fishing lines have become very popular during the past few years. They work well in certain fishing situations and are extremely strong. They do have some drawbacks that out weigh the benefits at times, though.
Braids are made by braiding or weaving fibers of a man-made material like Spectra or Micro-Dyneema into a strand of line. This makes a very strong, tough line that is very abrasion resistant. This line is so strong that you have trouble breaking it when you get hung up. A fish is very unlikely to break it.
Braids are very visible in the water. For that reason many fishermen do not like it in clear water. It may spook the fish, especially on finesse baits where you are trying to entice a fish to bite a lure they can see for a long time.
Some folks say braids will cut into rod guides on inexpensive guides. If you use it you should make sure your rod can handle it.
Braids have a small diameter, are very limp and don't have any memory. They float so they can be good for topwater baits, but they have very little stretch so it is possible to pull the bait away from a fish. And you must have drag set so a fish does not rip the hooks out of its mouth if it makes a strong run right at the boat. You can even break your rod because of the lack of stretch if you set the hook too hard.
Cutting braids can be tough...
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[snook.hooker]

I've been using PowerPro for a little over two years now. I used my brother's rod this summer, with mono, and it felt like a long rubber band! As for spooking the fish, I always use a florocarbon leader, 2-3' long, so they don't see it. It doesn't take much effort to set a hook because of the lack of elasticity - and hook sets are faster for the same reason. There may be drawbacks, but for me the benefits outwiegh them. To each his own, but if you haven't tried it, you should!
snook.hooker
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[gdn443]

I've been useing Fireline for three years now and haven't had a problem catching bass. I swear by it. This stuff is extra sensative and does all I want it to.
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[davetclown]

I use braided line for trolling and ice fishing.

as for the line spooking the fish, I cant count the number of times I have heard that fairy tail.

I used a large diamiter floresent orange braded ice fishing line to troll for walleyes to settle a bet and more so to prove a point, it is not the color of the line that scares the fish, what matters more is the quality of your rigging how your bait is presented along with the amount of attentiveness you give to fealing the weight at the bottom of your line... at the end of the day I caught more walleye than every one else in the boat combined.

the point is braided line even the larger and thicker diamiter is strong reliable and dosent scare the fish, it dose require you to use a different feal than what you are used to when using mono, and I like using mono... I also beleive that braided line has a longer shelf life than mono.... I havent heard of any comparesing reports though to state the facts.
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[dabluz]

Here is a site that compares line diameter to stated line test : [url "http://www.mels-place.com/Contents/ABCs_and_Goodies/Line_Diameters/line_diameters.htm"]http://www.mels-place.com/Contents/ABCs_and_Goodies/Line_Diameters/line_diameters.htm[/url]

Here is a site that compares tensile strength and abrasion resistance between different lines : [url "http://www.sportfishingmag.com/article.jsp?ID=23589&typeID=347&categoryID=262"]http://www.sportfishingmag.com/article.jsp?ID=23589&typeID=347&categoryID=262[/url]

Any surprises?

The surprise for me is the fact that I won't be using "fluorocarbon" or "co-polymer" lines for anything.

I know for a fact that I get more bites when finesse fishing with 4 lb clear mono than with 6 lb clear mono. However, not as much difference between using 2 lb mono and 4 lb mono.

I am positive that some fishing presentations (cranking, soft baits in very heavy cover etc) does not demande an invisible line as much as slow fishing with bait or slow moving artificial lures. Is it maybe due to the fact that fishing line also sends out vibrations (tiny pressure differentials) that the fish's lateral line can detect? The larger a fish gets, the more sensitive his sensorial organes become. Unlike humans, their sensorial organes continue to grow throughout their life. The cells that make up these organs do not grow bigger but become more numérous.
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[davetclown]

no doubt about finer lines being more productive, I even like the mat colors over the clear when going down deap.

I couldnt agree more that slow fishing demands even finer lines. when it comes to fishing though a hole in the ice I drop right on down to two pound test clear mono. I out fish most of the guys on the lake, the guys who out fish me are using one pound test. I just dont have the feal for one pound test, just a flick of the rist or a not tied to tight and your jig is gone with the first fish that hits.
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[dabluz]

I use 1 lb test and 3/4 lb test mono for tippets when fly fishing. It's surprising how resistant these lines are. However, a fly rod is much more forgiving, there is no ice to cut the line, and the flies are tiny so they penetrate much easier.

I had the chance to use 3 lb mono one time. It's called "Tectra" line and it was fabulous. Since Stren overrates their mono, I use 2 lb Stren Original Clear quite often. It's quite close to 3 lb test.

Yes, very fine monofilament line will definately result in more fish. My buddies often come ice fishing with me and swear they have 4 lb mono....but it's easy to see that they often have 6 lb mono. And then they wonder why they get fewer strikes.

When using very light mono, I retie after every fish. If I keep some fish for the table, I just cut off the line and recuperate my hooks when I clean the fish. Most of my icefishing is for brook trout. A 1 to 4 lb brook trout has large sharp teeth, yet they rarely cut the line.
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[davetclown]

you bring up a good poing retying jigs is most important.

on my 4 pound test I use as a set line spicificly for crappie that range 12-15 inches maybe a pound to two I retie after every dozen fish and always a new tie every time I go out regardless to how many fish I have caught on that tie.

on my 2 pound test that I work I change after every 20 keepers unless I tie in to crappie then every half dozen I will retie. I have worn out jigs that I have retired because I used them so much that the point has worn down to the barb.

I went though a lot of jigs before I came down with a standard of when I need to change my tie before risking loosing my jig. I found with the two pound test I avarge 25 keepers that is 20-30. every one knows in the machiening busniss when it is time to change your cutting tools for most tool life and production time.

the old timers fishing with the one pound test may have me on the timeing of fish but I have them on the cost efectiveness. we tie on the numbers because of state set limits. they may leave before I do with thier limits, but I know it cost them at least 8 - 10 dollars in lost jigs. they would loose a jig about every 10-12 fish not nessasarily keepers.
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[dabluz]

Crappie have no teeth. You can easily get away with retying less often. With small brook trout, I often don't retie my hook. Very often, the eye of the hook is outside the fish's mouth. But for brook trout over 1 lb, it's an absolute necessity to retie. The end of the line is often fatigued and close to the hook, I am sure there are some invisible marks on the line.

But, "MAN!" is fine line ever effective. I try to go as fine as I can. I prefer seeing and losing a fish than not getting any action.

For northern pike, I often use 8 lb mono or 10 lb Fireline on a baitcaster and I add some special European metal leader material. This stuff is finer than 4 lb mono, is 12 lb test, 49 strands of steel that is so flexible that I can tie improved clinch knot in it and join it to the main line with a uni-to-uni knot. It costs 17.20 Euros for 5 meters. That's 7 dollars Canadian per yard....plus shipping.
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[davetclown]

nope crappie dont have teeth, blue gills do, but what kills my line most is the ringing around the bottom of my hole in the ice and my hemostats have teeth and when I get numb or when it is dark out I miss the shank of the hook and hit the eye with the hemostats and that can wear down the line pretty quick.

I pulled up a 17 in crappie once on 4 pound test during the summer, I would have never got him through my 6 inch hole in the ice. I caught a 14 inch blue gill once out of the same lake a couple months apart. I got a picture of the blue gill some where, still looking for it, but I never took a picture of the crappie, wished now that I had.
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[dabluz]

Crappie and bluegill don't get that large up here in Canada. Where I live, there are non. There are no members of the bass family up here at all. I haven't caught a crappie, rockbass, bluegill, bass in over 25 years. I sure miss the bass fishing. I make up for it by fishing northern pike. It's quite similar to largemouth bass fishing.

However, a couple of striped bass have been caught not far from my home in the Saguenay River. They are a protected species. The stocking program in the upper part of the St-Lawrence river may start to pay off.
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[davetclown]

I seen some of them pike from up your way, my dad brought half dozen home one year. smoked them and hung them in the garage. they were 6-7 feet long. they sure dont get that big down here.

there are big fish to be caught every where, we just have to be flexible enough to target different species.
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[dabluz]

I fish for northern pike about the same way a person further south would fish for largemouth bass. It's a lot of fun. Like largemouth bass, pike often jump out of the water. However, unlike bass, pike battle by taking rapid forward lunges and short fast runs. They often come up to my canoe quite meekly and I can see them looking at me. When they do that, I know they are still too green. I just wave my hat and they take off again. Unlike bass, pike are great eating. I often keep one or two around 4 or 5 lbs for a shore lunch and to take home. The larger ones are too precious to kill.

If I do catch one that is over 40 lbs....I may keep it. Not for bragging but it could be worth some money. I'm not much for bragging. It pulls too much attention to where I'm fishing. I've seen too many places get wasted because of someone bragging. I know what I caught and that's enough for me.
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[davetclown]

I like to eat the smaller pike as well and then I mainly target them though the ice. Bass how ever if caught through the ice are good to eat. right around mid december on. my season ends with the coming of the new year for bass, so I always pray for early ice. As to eating summer bass, dont want them. I throw them all back. I might keep a medium one on opening day come the end of may and the waters have only begun to worm up, after that they all go back. I will keep a couple sumer summer small mouth bass, they tend to stay in cleaner water than the large mouths.

I hear what ya mean about the bragging. I have seen the same thing happen here. mostly on privet waters.

Bragging dose have its place. it is actualy a tool used by our state as a way of wild game managers measuring the sucsess of thier plantings. What happens is if no one catches sizeable fish that have been planted there then the state will say the lake cant suport plantings and will never restock. then when it gets fished out of lets say prized walleyes then there wont be any more planted in the future. the only way our wild game managers know if their plantings were worth thier efforts is by anglers bragging. It cost way to much for them to hire some one to go out and search the entire lake to see if they have taken hold.

I used to work for the wild game management here so that is how I lernt about it. I dont know if you have lakes up your way that are managed, but if you ever do get in to one and you catch something be sure to give out a hoot and a hallar...
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[dabluz]

I worked for a number of years as an auxiliary conservation officer/biologist in a territory called a controlled exploitation zone. There are many such zones in Quebec. They are controlled by hunting and fishing associations and are non-profit. All the money goes back into managing the ressource. In our zone we have about 600 lakes. All brook trout. Nothing else. Not even bait fish. Since 1978, the fishing in these zones is monitored by 2 methods. First, counting all the fish that come from each body of water. Next, weighing as many fish as possible from each body of water to find the average weight. Knowing that each acre of water will support a certain mass of fish and knowing the average weight of the fish in the body of water gives us an idea of how many trout are in the lake. When about 50% of the trout population have been caught....we close the lake till next season. Some zones have other fish species and they use a similar pattern to determine when the ressource should be shut down in order to protect the spawning populations. Spot checks are carried out by netting fish to see if the average weights are similar to the ones taken at the gate when the fishermen leave the territory. The netted fish are released. Other checks include patrolling the territory and taking stats from the fishermen's catch right out on the lakes....along with controlling any poaching. The fishing is as good as it was and even better in many lakes since these zones were instigated in 1978.

Before these zones came into existance, these territories were private clubs. Only members and their invited friends were allowed to fish. Now, anyone can fish for a small fee, get some good fishing. Access is unlimited. When a lake has been fished to a certain extent, it's closed till next year.
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[davetclown]

that is an exclent program.

ours quality and quantity controls do not go to that extent. would be nice...

ours is controled by gate ticket sales on public waters. if the gate ticket sales drops to a certain point the number of fish stocked will drop, if it drops to an even greater extent stocking will stop all together.

there are several areas near my home that have lost their stockings due to lack of intrest in anglers for one reason or another. most is because of lack of word of mouth getting other anglers excited about hitting those waters. This leads our wild life manigers to think that planting fish in other areas would surve better intrest, this of corse leaves the remaining anglers wondering why the quality and quantity of fish have droped in the lakes they were fishing.

in the same breath where there is a lot of bragging going on about quality and quantity our manigers are planting even more fish.

I admit both methods work well. Our method just requires anglers to step up in their reporting results. one out of one hundred anglers reporting catching a fish just dosnt get it.
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[dabluz]

Yes, I can see the difference. The U.S. method is based on economic reasons. Putting the fish where they will be most likely pay off the most.

Our system is similar when you get down to it. A Controlled Exploitation Zone (ZEC) here in Quebec must upkeep the fauna otherwise their profits at the gates drop. When the profits drop, the ressource suffers through layoffs (the biggest expense), upkeep (second biggest expence), surveillance, scientific research all follow along.

These ZECs would like to increase their prices, receive the money their conservation agents from any illegale practices, receive governement subsidation (I opt for the last one). The only government subsidation they get now is for projects .... like return to work projects. The bill is splitt 50-50 so then again the ZECs are in the red. Some ZECs have fared better than most (like the one I used to work in which is about 20 minutes from where I live because the fauna is abundant. Others fare well by cutting on costs yet are remote or difficult to access enough that they break even. Others have taken to increasing revenu like renting boats, selling ordinary items at the gate, renting cottages, convienience store on the territory. I am fully against this approach. There are outfitters who depend on their ability to fill vacancies. ZECs were put into place to get rid of the private clubs and allow the whole population who are the true owners of the land to have access. Rates are controlled by the government. If the ZECs were let loose, they would up the price so much that only their members would go.....back to the private club regime.

ZECs are set up close enough to urban centers that it will allow the surrounding population to be able to use these territories and be back at home at night. Outfitters (with exclusive hunting and fishing rights) are usually outside of that range. There are outfitters set up on public territory (do not have exclusive hunting and fishing rights). Outside of all this again are the native lands. Most of the territory belongs to the indian bands. There are quite a few outfitters (owned by the natives) throughout their territory. Lands rights are being disputed and each province seems to be slowly making arrangements.

There is a new entity in all this. It was one of my ideas from over 20 years ago called "Aire Faunique" (Area for Fauna). These are territorys that are very close to a number of municipalites, yet have an interesting ressource....lets say a long section of the Mississippi River that crosses a couple of state lines and goes through many cities and towns. All of these people get together, invest in the ressource, set up a system similar to ZECs (surveillance, testing, selling (ex. licences to fish in the river). All the money made goes to protecting and increasing the ressource. Ok, there are losses for the first years but eventually more money will be made and secondary revenus will increase throughout the municipalities in the region. The board of governors that controls this "area", is made up of people from the Quebec Wildlife Federation, local hunting and fishing associations, biologists, represntators from the municpalities.

The one example I know best is " Lac-St-Jean" (you can find stuff on the internet). It all started over 20 years ago when I co-founded an association to protect the landlocked Atlantic salmon (ouananiche) in the lake. 10 or 12 years later, when the ouananiche was on the come back, we closed our association who was now a member of the board. Since we belonged to the Quebec Wildlife Federation, we just gave our chair to them and closed shop....our job was done....the ouananiche and also the walleye are well protected and on the slow comeback .

Lac Gouin is another such entity. It was public land where a bunch of outfitters had set up operation. They have banded together with similar partners in protecting the ressource (walleye).

The Quebec Wildlife Federation is associated to the Canadian Wildlife Federation....which is associated with the World Wildlife Federation.

I'm a firm believer that the population should control have the final say in it's own ressource...not the government nor local commerce....these 2 should be there in a secondary role.

Tourism is becoming more and more popular and important. It's a good investment. It is self supporting. Canada is a huge playground. There are no deadly animals or diseases. Crime is very low. Huge spaces where you are surprised to see anyone else. I only have to go north about 20 minutes and there are no more cities, towns, villages between me and the North Pole. I can drive 2 hours north on a logging road and fish in a lake that maybe has never seen a fisherman....and it's free. Yes, I love wilderness canoing and camping. Futher north east or north west there are a few native communities and small logging and mining communities. But north of the 50th parallel...it's almost all wilderness.
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[saleen121212]

i have power pro on every reel i own its the best i love it. i wont fish without it.
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[lunkerhunter2]

Saleen said it all!! POWER PRO is the only braided line i use.
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