BEST BRAID TO USE

Howsit Guys

There is so much of Braid brands and types that its a big confusion to me !!!

Could somebody please suggest which braid is arguably the best.

Using it to cast 1 to 1 and half spoons , targeting yellow tail, kingfish, garrick etc.

Please guys your suggestions would be highly appreciated.

Newbie to braided line, tight lines guys.   ::slr::

Sufix 832 or PowerPro Slick 8. I find I get better distance with the latter, but that may just be me. Both are excellent braids in my experience, lasts long, good knot strength and no issues.

Have a look here:

http://paulusjustfishing.com/

::tight:

Excellent info, Thanks Guys

HMP or sufix are the ones that I use for my 20/30lb, best value IMO. One can spend more but one must not spend less I've found. The sufix a bit tougher maybe and does not cast as well, prefer the HMP but both of those get my rating as dependable, long-lasting enough and with a thin enough diameter.

I've found the line in bad shape and had to strip off and respool halfway through a season with cheaper stuff.

NOVATEUR BRAID!!!

Excellent quality!

Hi

There are many factors one should keep in mind when paying a arm and leg for the "best braid" available.

Have a look at your drag rating what guides compliments your rod and diameters against breaking strain.

The RSD magazine disguised this topic in detail a couple of months ago.

Have a look at enigmas post regarding braid and have a look at the link psy provided.

Just keep in mind that it is not worth it to save R500 because you want to compromise quality ....

Go well

Definitely the Sufix 832, HMP 8 braid or Gosen. Gosen is a little more expensive, but that doesn't mean the others are not TOP quality. I have Sufix 832 30lb on my Ultegra 5500xsc. Looks Very nice, can't wait to use it

EXTREMIST wrote:

NOVATEUR BRAID!!!

Excellent quality!

Click to expand...

prices?

http://www.novateurfishing.com/Products/Braided-Line/


see another thread from a few days back:

http://sealine.co.za/view_topic.php?id=103137&forum_id=1&page=1

Finaly HMP is now back up and running after a problem with sourcing their Dyneema from their suppliers.

Prices are looking great and braid is same awesome standard (Value for money just going to be Great)

Seems like sufix 832 is a good braid to use

Suffix 832 and Berkley Fireline have both been excellent for me. I've got Gosen on a new reel but haven't had a chance to test it yet. For 99% of our fishing applications I think you'd be well served with either.

The diameter is probably the most important factor when choosing braid for casting small spoons as the thickness and smoothness of the braid and your own ability will give you the desired distance when casting.

What brand of braid on the local market which will give you durability and strength, combined with the right diameter to cover the species you are trying to catch, is the big question?

Yellowtail is a dirty fighter and will head straight for structure and tie you up, so your pound to diameter ratio needs to be correct with a tighter drag. Garrick fight on the surface so you can go down in the thickness and play the fish at your own leisure. Never caught Kingfish, so cannot comment.

Braids I have used are Suffix 832, Jerry Brown, Power Pro (Original), Gator Braid (Triple Fish) and JDB.

*Suffix 832 - Strong, reliable, a bit thick which will restrict your distance. For trolling or backing no problem.
*Jerry Brown - Used some hollow core 40lb once, very strong but held a lot of water which restricted casting distance.
*Power Pro (Original) - Used the 30lb for a couple of years on Yellowtail, found it very strong, reliable and hard wearing, the roughness can restrict your casting distance. There is a slick version, not tried it so cannot comment.
*Gator Braid (Triple Fish) - Used the 48lb 0.21 thickness 8 strand and still have some on a spool. Casts a mile. You could use the 33lb variant or thinner too. Remember only ever buy the 8 strand in this braid, the 4 strand I had once failed miserably. I did notice with the Gator due to its thin diameter that the slightest wear will result in failure and you will have to re-spool new line when this happens. So great while it lasts but inspect regularly.
*JDB - Using some currently in 50lb which is 0.27mm thick, not bad, casts OK but the 40 or 30lb will do much better I think. Only being using it for a short while, seems good, so far happy with it. The diameter to lb ratio and slickness of this braid is very good. Once again only buy the 8 strand for casting.

I think all of the above braids are fine. Hope this helps.

This is exactly why PSY said to go look at JustPaulus testing site on braids. Original 30lbs Power Pro is a Thick 30lbs because it breaks at 43lbs average and is 0.307mm actual diameter.

Here is an extract from Paulus Just Fishing and their Braid review.....

"POWER PRO

A lot of this line is sold on Ebay and is counterfeit so be careful.
The line in the EU is sold as the lines breaking strain and the lines sold in other parts of the world are sold as knot strength. So be careful as they vary a lot.
When you see the test results you can see the EU supplied lines as they are much lower in breaking strains, and they may also be Chinese supply.
I feel this brand has now been totally compromised, by the Chinese you would never know if it is true PP, size / diam verses breaking strain is the only way to tell them apart. Anyway PP should not be making 4 strand lines anymore they are cheap, so they get copied."

Remember that Power Pro sold of the shelf in RSA is supplied by Rapala VMC so should be the right stuff unless the shop keeper bought Cheap Power Pro off of EBay

Jerry Brown 40lbs Hollow

Average breaking strain is 73.5lbs and diameter is 0.38mm this is also a contributing factor to Why it is Stron and why it casts difficultly.

Same as why the JB Line One (solid Braid) 130lbs presents as thick as it does, as it breaks close to 190lbs

JDB Braid, no results available as they are braids only sold/distributed by the iFish / Assassin in RSA and Australia and nowhere else

HMP manufactured and sold in RSA so the 8 strand 50lbs is weaker than the Power Pro 50lbs.

The HMP 50lbs tests 49.5lbs and is 0.34mm

Power Pro 50lbs (USA Spec)tests 60.5lbs and is 0.38mm

Power Pro 50lbs (EU spec) tests 47.4lbs and is 0.36mm

Power Pro Slick 50lbs tests 62.5lbs and is 0.43mm due to added coating to make it slick

Suffix 832 8 strand (USA Spec) 50lbs tests at 75lbs and is 0.47mm so yes it's a damn strong 50lbs braid (because it's 75lbs)

Also no tests available on Gator braid and it appears Gator is only sold in RSA and Australia

Paulus Just Fishing, Statement.

The results of line tests are provided from samples provided in good faith as described by the people submitting them, the tests are undertaken with industry standard electronic tensile testing equipment using the Worlds best practice techniques appropriate to the material type being tested.

Any branded product of a, Manufacturer, distributor, reseller who does not believe the test results reflect their typical product, as described, are welcome to provide additional samples for comparison testing & inclusion in the line test data set.

It has taken years to get to this point, testing every day, a lot of time on researching and developing braid holding methods, this translates to very accurate breaking strain results, leading to better manufactured braided lines.

The listed test results have been achieved by using certified test equipment and worlds best practice in braid holding methods.

Should you find you can't equal my test results it does not mean that my results are wrong, but that you are testing it and holding it incorrectly.

I agree fully with BTTB's post, except that I haven't used JDB, so can't comment there and I have used PowerPro Slick extensively, which is one of my favourites.

PP Slick casts very well and is hard wearing. I used it in Oman for almost two years fishing hard 2 - 3 times per week and never had any problems.

I'm spooling Gosen 80lb on my Stella 14k for Gabon in November and PowerPro Maxcuatro 65lb on my 'Gosa 8k for my second set-up; haven't used either before, so we'll see how that goes. I'll have PP Slick in my bag as back-up.

I agree fully with BTTB's post, except that I haven't used JDB, so can't comment there and I have used PowerPro Slick extensively, which is one of my favourites.

PP Slick casts very well and is hard wearing. I used it in Oman for almost two years fishing hard 2 - 3 times per week and never had any problems.

I'm spooling Gosen 80lb on my Stella 14k for Gabon in November and PowerPro Maxcuatro 65lb on my 'Gosa 8k for my second set-up; haven't used either before, so we'll see how that goes. I'll have PP Slick in my bag as back-up.

Enigma wrote:

This is exactly why PSY said to go look at JustPaulus testing site on braids. Original 30lbs Power Pro is a Thick 30lbs because it breaks at 43lbs average and is 0.307mm actual diameter.

Here is an extract from Paulus Just Fishing and their Braid review.....

"POWER PRO

A lot of this line is sold on Ebay and is counterfeit so be careful.
The line in the EU is sold as the lines breaking strain and the lines sold in other parts of the world are sold as knot strength. So be careful as they vary a lot.
When you see the test results you can see the EU supplied lines as they are much lower in breaking strains, and they may also be Chinese supply.
I feel this brand has now been totally compromised, by the Chinese you would never know if it is true PP, size / diam verses breaking strain is the only way to tell them apart. Anyway PP should not be making 4 strand lines anymore they are cheap, so they get copied."

Remember that Power Pro sold of the shelf in RSA is supplied by Rapala VMC so should be the right stuff unless the shop keeper bought Cheap Power Pro off of EBay

Click to expand...

I still have some of the 30lb original Power Pro on my spools as back up but as mentioned due to its roughness and thickness can restrict your casting distance and when it comes to sight casting which is what I do it can make the difference between an extra 10 meters on your cast and instead of landing over the fish you end up landing on top of the fish or short and no strike.

For a guy starting out, by all means go for the original Power Pro, it is forgiving in the sense of its hard wearing ability and can last you a season or more depending on how much you use it.

For durability the Power Pro beats the Gator hands down. However the diameter of 30lb is an mentioned by Enigma 0.307mm which is pushing the thickness we like to fish. So in the context of my style of fishing I prefer to go for thinner braid but which lack the durability of Power Pro having to replace the braid more often.

Put it another way, if the poster "derash" only needs to cast 50 to 60 meters then the Power Pro (also Suffix 832) is your best option. For us sightcasters that are pushing the limits in distance we look elsewhere. It revolves around the diameter and slickness of the line and yes the breaking strain will play a role but for the most part Yellowtail/Leervis (not caught Kingfish) usually weigh far below your stated breaking strain and you also have the drag to compensate.

For derash if he is starting out would need durability.