Favorite Braided Line?

[Honey Hole]

The "Hi-Vis" thread got a comment from gottafly about braid on his trout rods... hence the thread.

I started out with spiderwire years ago, and switched to fireline... then to power pro, and use braid on almost everything other than my Old Drum/Cobia rods.

This past year, I've switched back to Fireline on my puppy drum rods for it's abrasion resistance. It seems that the multi-strand Fireline just holds up better against the oyster shell bottom... and has resulted in FAR less break-offs.

On my trolling rods, I still have 130 lb. Power Pro. Some say it's overkill, but it's easier to work with, won't cut you as bad as the lighter test braids, and will take a LOT more abuse before parting.

On my trout rods, I still like the thinner diameter of Power Pro. Some say the wind knots are bad, but I haven't seen it. Grubs/lures cast a lot easier with the single strand braid than with the multi-strand Fireline. Some say the "no-stretch" is not good for the soft mouths of the specks; my feeling is that between the type rod used and the drag setting, this no stretch is a non-issue... not even considering the added sensitivity.

So, that being said, what do you guys like... and why?

[madgaffer]

im in the process of switching all my rods of to momoi diamond hollow core braid that line is sweet and highly recommend it but its very expensive just bought a sppol of 100 lb @ 5000yds 740.00 but you can get about 7 shimano tiagra 50 w sppoled than do your top shots with 80, 100, 130 into it.

[BYRD]

Good thread Al. On my spinning rods I like fireline. On my bait casters I like Power Pro. For me, it seems the Fireline lays on the spool of a spinning reel better. I also seem to cast the fire line better than the power pro the times I had Power pro on the same setups. My speck/pup set ups are identical I have 4 2500 stradics on 6'6 St. Croix Preimer rods. All have 14lb fireline on them. I agree that the rod action and drag, play a far greater role than the stretch on mono. If you lock down the drag with mono one can rip the hook out as well.

On my baitcasters I like Power Pro. I think it throws better than fireline. Again just my observations with how I fish. I use 50lb on just about everything. It is over kill, but like Al said it don't cut your fingers as bad as 20lb. I have 65lb and 80lb Power pro on my deep drop setups. For my drum/Cobia/ offshore reels I still use mono.

Braid is great. The brand depends on whether it is a spinner or a bait caster.

Looking forward to reading the rest of the responses.

[JMS-ILM]

Some say the "no-stretch" is not good for the soft mouths of the specks; my feeling is that between the type rod used and the drag setting, this no stretch is a non-issue... not even considering the added sensitivity.

i agree....fish the proper rods and drags, and pulling hooks should not be an issue with the trouts and braid.

i am going to get a couple of my spare reel spools spooled with daiwa samurai braid this week to try. it is manuf. with polyethylene(PE) instead of spectra.....resulting in a much smoother and slightly smaller diameter line than the equivalent in a spectra line. power pro is so rough compared to this stuff. a few more cents per yard but looks promising.

we will see......