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#1 Aug-24-09 5:16AM

bigjeffie
Patagonian Toothfish
Registered: Feb-24-09
Posts: 1456

beaverdam

went sunday for the afternoon

beautiful day
i was wading, throwing paca craws & J&P

managed a few shorties

i was experimenting w/ braid, so i probably gave away some hits there.
i wasnt up for the leader routine

if i have to play w/ a leader, i will opt for straight flouro, or good old trilene xt

i have been throwing 12# trilene xl, and while it is a good line, it wont take much abuse
when my offering loads up w/ grass or algae, i like to snap it clean.
a nick, or the stress from a hang up, can mean pop goes the weasel if i dont retie often

charlie taylors post about the limitations of monofilament is holding more water in my thinking all the time

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#2 Aug-24-09 5:51AM

Ernie
Administrator
From: Ashburn VA
Registered: Feb-03-06
Posts: 15561

Re: beaverdam

A properly tied (uni or blood knots) piece of fluoro will help you out.......not a big deal


Time to go fishin' again!

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#3 Aug-24-09 6:53AM

bigjeffie
Patagonian Toothfish
Registered: Feb-24-09
Posts: 1456

Re: beaverdam

agree,
but even the flouro will nick in beaverdam, necessitating a cut back and a new tie, which means reworking the whole leader eventually, which means carrying more tackle, and more set up time like on a hang up that has to be cut,

so, i have come back to straight flouro in my thinking again.

braid for night time and pitching heavy brush

primo flouro for hog hunting, or standard mono -with a nod going in to what it might cost me on the back side

i really did have fun out there. no sign of VGIF

not many people

Last edited by bigjeffie (Aug-24-09 6:55AM)

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#4 Aug-24-09 7:43AM

Ernie
Administrator
From: Ashburn VA
Registered: Feb-03-06
Posts: 15561

Re: beaverdam

So....if you use 15 or 20 fluero, do you still think it will nick? I use that to catch stripers and blue fish and I rarelly have to change it. I start with 30 in. and wirk it down to about a foot.


Time to go fishin' again!

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#5 Aug-24-09 8:23AM

Dominion Dan
Patagonian Toothfish
From: Falls Church, VA
Registered: May-24-08
Posts: 1059

Re: beaverdam

If fluoro is getting torn up by abrasion then don't switch to braid in that area because braid has even worse abrasion resistance. Braid is strong but it does not do well when rubbed against anything but vegetation.

I really like fishing braid with a fluoro leader but I understand your complaint about the hassle of carrying leader material and having to retie...It is almost impossible while wading. I've been fishing just green braid lately and I honestly don't think the visibility is an issue except in the clearest of water. I really like the sensitivity of braid and how it allows for good hooksets at long distances.

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#6 Aug-24-09 4:34PM

Paul Naj
Northern Snakehead
Registered: May-20-08
Posts: 385

Re: beaverdam

Jeff,

On another note, you may want to check the regulations or be careful wading at the reservoir. I don't know how it is here but a buddy of mine got fined in NJ at a reservoir there because there was a No Swimming policy. Being in the water regardless of the fact he was fishing was considered bathing.

Paul

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#7 Aug-24-09 8:04PM

bigjeffie
Patagonian Toothfish
Registered: Feb-24-09
Posts: 1456

Re: beaverdam

i was throwing flouro down there in the spring and had some nicking issues, although it was 14#.
i found that trilene xt seemed to have better abrasion resistance, but it was stiff and developed spool memory quickly.

if you look at the avg diameter of xt, it is equal to a heavier # test of xl, something like a  12xt equals a 16 in xl.

xt is very good, but i would change it every 8 to 12 hours of fishing for easy handling.

xl is very good, but abrasion and knot fatigue are issues in my mind.

--there are some guys that jig at a pier in occoquan in the dead of winter, i mean like through the ice cubes.
they tie braid straight to crappie jigs, and the fish dont seem to mind.
I was watching my presentation on braid, and whether it bothers the fish or not, it creates a confidence issue
for me.

the sensitivity w/ braid is interesting. i could actually feel my sinker touch bottom. i could feel it sliding down the line and ticking the top of the hook on a texas rig.

abrasion resistance was good w/ the braid as well. the only time i had to retie was for a few hang ups that wouldnt budge, but i had to cut the line.

to each his own.
i think i will throw flouro. If it is good enough for KVD, it is good enough for me.
He makes many good points about the benefits- sensitivity, low stretch, low visibility

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#8 Aug-24-09 8:59PM

Dominion Dan
Patagonian Toothfish
From: Falls Church, VA
Registered: May-24-08
Posts: 1059

Re: beaverdam

yeah, XT and XL are just variations of the basic mono. The XT (Extra Tough) is tougher exactly because it is thicker. XL (Extra Long casting) casts farther and is limper because it is thinner. I used to use XL on my spinning gear because of the longer distance. Now I fish copoly which is also thin and limp as well but less stretchy which helps on hooksets with single hooks. I still use XT on my swimbait rod because I want a tough line to throw a 7" $35 bait...I'm not going to throw that thing on a line that is going to break easily.

If you fish braid around rocks enough you will notice the lack of abrasion resistance when compared to fluoro. That is it's only flaw that I have experienced. I really like the strength of it, too. I fish with 50lb test on my frog/jig rod and 20lb test on my spinning rod. That stuff comes straight through weeds or rips them out. Timber is a problem but generally I will straighten hooks before the line breaks.

I get what you mean about fluoro, though. I am not as confident with braid in clear water as I am with fluoro or copoly. That is why I only have braid on my frog/jig rod and I use a fluoro leader on braid on my spinning rod. If the 100% stuff wasn't so dang expensive I'd probably use it more....except on my frog rod of course!

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#9 Aug-24-09 9:25PM

purpleworm
Northern Snakehead
Registered: Mar-06-09
Posts: 411

Re: beaverdam

I had some success this past weekend using braided line with a leader. I threw my frog and punched mats on a setup with 50lb spiderwire and a 20lb flourocarbon leader. Started out with a 3 foot leader worked down to a foot by the end of the day. I use a uni knot and I like to wrap the braid portion a couple more times than the leader. I also put a drop of super-glue on the knot and then roll it on a piece of cardboard to wipe off the excess. I also fished 15lb spiderwire with 10lb mono leader on spinning gear for the senko. I really liked this setup, it gave me better sensitivity on long casts and the mono provided a bit of a shock leader so it didn't tear a hole in their mouths. I tried throwing a finesse worm with this too but it didn't have enough weight to cast properly. We were fishing from a boat in clear, shallow creeks filled with grass, so tying on a leader seemed worth the effort. I generally prefer mono or flourocarbon over braid however, especially when fishing from shore. The braid makes a funky noise coming through the guides and it's a pain to break off when you get hung. Flourocarbon is very nice but in my opinion not worth $.10 a yard. I prefer Trilene Maxx, it's like a mix between XL and XT and it's 9 bucks for 300 yards. Of course, if you're fishing at Beaverdam you're gonna get your line torn up on those rocks no matter what you throw. About the only thing you can do is keep retieing. I'm always too lazy or disinterested in retieing and I always leave a couple dozen jigs out there every spring. Just waiting for another drought so I can go out there and get em all back smile

Last edited by purpleworm (Aug-24-09 9:34PM)

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#10 Aug-24-09 10:10PM

Dominion Dan
Patagonian Toothfish
From: Falls Church, VA
Registered: May-24-08
Posts: 1059

Re: beaverdam

If you get hung up with braid just point your rod tip at the bait, reel down and pull backwards on the rod (keeping the rod tip pointed straight at your bait) that keeps the strain on the line and the bait, not the rod. That usually allows you to get your bait back although sometimes it will come back with a bent hook. Also make sure to tighten down your drag and hold the spool while you pull back to keep the drag from slipping and giving up line. If you are hung up really bad then the knot will break (provided there are no knicks in the line). That way, you get almost all of your line back even if you don't get your bait back.

Last edited by Dominion Dan (Aug-24-09 10:12PM)

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#11 Aug-25-09 4:44AM

Ernie
Administrator
From: Ashburn VA
Registered: Feb-03-06
Posts: 15561

Re: beaverdam

I hope some of the younger guys read this discussion because there were many great points made by everyone. Who needs Bassmasters!!


Time to go fishin' again!

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#12 Aug-25-09 5:53AM

bigjeffie
Patagonian Toothfish
Registered: Feb-24-09
Posts: 1456

Re: beaverdam

i agree w/ the weird sound that braid makes when you throw it.

perhaps i am just accustomed to mono/flouro, but braid just doesn't "feel" right to me.

all of the feedback it conveys is sensory overload at times.

while mono tells me less, i am used to listening to it.
my instincts know when it says bit

kind of like a lifetime dance partner

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#13 Aug-25-09 5:57AM

Ernie
Administrator
From: Ashburn VA
Registered: Feb-03-06
Posts: 15561

Re: beaverdam

bigjeffie wrote:

kind of like a lifetime dance partner

Classic!


Time to go fishin' again!

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