Since getting into the sports side of fishing and not chasing a feed all the time I've switched from mono to braid. A great thing about running braid is the capacity you can hold on a reel at one time, being such a thin diameter most beach reels will hold 300m+ of braid quite easily. Secondly is that braid has no stretch
or memory, what this means for a fisherman is when your out drifting around bottom bashing in 50 meters if water and you feel a bite, striking the hooks if you lift that rod up half a meter then your hooks move up the same. The no memory is great as when you get the line tangled, with normal mono once it's kinked or twisted it will always want to stay like that while braid won't, stopping tangles.
I've been fishing with braid for years now and have used dozens of different braids on many different reels. Here are just a few and what I think of them.
Rovex Viros Braid
What I really liked about this braid when I first started using it was it small diameter, smaller than most braid. What that meant was 50lb viros was equivalent to 30lb of the other brands.
I have used this up north at steep point a while back for spinning, being such a small diameter it was a beaut to cast and of all has the least wind knots, but I found it didn't have as strong a strength as others I've used. I still managed to land fish just I wasn't able to go as hard as I thought I would.
FINS Braid
I am currently using this on my 18000 Spheros running 50lb and this has proven itself over and over again. Many sharks and rays have been landed on this line and the amount of strain that has been out on this line has been immense, yet it's never faulted. This braid is thicker than most which I think gives it it's strength, with 30lb breaking much higher then one would expect. It's been the only braid I've used for beach fishing just for the fact a spool usually lasts me quite a while without any faults.
This is my main line that I use when up north walking the reefs bottom bashing for those baldies and other type of fish that hang near the rocks. Although most people will use mono for this I've just found running a long wind on leader with this has me being able to muscle most fish from there holes.
Instinct Zulu Braid
After purchasing my sustain 5000FG I had it spooled with 20lb Zulu braid. This line is also made by fins in the US that's made from their bulletproof specter fibre, meaning it has a high abrasive resistance and incredible ability to hold a knot. One thing that drew me to this line on my light tackle outfit was that it came in either 200yd or 400yd spools, with 200yd and backing fitting onto my spool nicely giving me that extra bit of peace knowing I've got that little but more to play with.
Since using it I've landed dozens is pink snapper and a few few big eagle rays and it's held up flawlessly. It ties great, had enought strength for what I need and it's never failed yet. On the spinning side it casts nicely but as yet I haven't given it a proper test.
YGK Power hunter Braid
Of all the braid I've used this is one
Of the best get. This was used on my saltiga game 3500 in the pe2 range. This is a colour coded braid which means every 10 meters it changes clour, perfect for jigging so you can tell where roughly your jig is. When using it you could feel the quality in the line. Of all the braids I have used I would say that it's been the best, never once failed and would cast perfectly with no wind knots.
There have also been other brands I've used over the years that have not quite been up there, wether it be from poor manufacturing faults causing it to break or just being not suited to certain types of fishing i do.
If you need any more info on braid or want to get a more indepth feel about a certain braid I would strongly recommend jumping onto www.paulusjustfishing.com as it's got all the info you would need on most brands of braid.
These are just my thoughts on the brands and what I think of them, I hope this helps you out with your next purchase.
Feel free to comment with your experiences with different brands and what you think.
Tight lines
Reece
