Good Braid

Hi all

I thought I would ask for advice here on a decent braid for my new mitchell carp reels. I've started fishing a pit thats heavy weed but has no restrictions on braid as a mainline. After using daiwa sensor on my big pits for a long time ive decided to give a braid line a go.

Im after a braid thats low diameter at about 15-20lb's around .22 mm and not way mad expensive. Ideally something that would camo against silk weed. It needs to be tough enough to survive freshwater mussel beds and some really tough weedbeds.

Ive had a look at Spiderline camo green and that looks like an option. Does anyone else have any ideas or experience of braid mains that would fit the bill?

Thanks in advance.

G.

Power pro and whiplash are good brands of braid. I tend to use these for lureishing but im sure they could be of use for carp. My only reservation with fishing these brands of braid for carp are they are floating so maybe hard to pin down and conceal your line. (could use a backlead?)

There are a couple of braids on the market aimed at carp these are sinking braids, "fox gravitation" and "nash bullet" ive no direct experience of these braids but im sure that they would be worth a look.

powerpro is very good

I have whiplash on my lure reel - not had any problems with it - what price range are you budgeting for?

Power Pro is excellent and is neutral buoyancy. Initially expensive but lasts ages, is very reliable and takes a 4-turn grinner.

I have used fox submerge in the past which sank like a stone and was good but very expensive. Useful if you are rowing baits a long distance and wanting the line on the deck but very expensive.

Have used fireline in the past which floats. Wasn't that keen on it.

As an inveterate mug punter for trying out new things and long since discontented with spongy mono and fracturing Flouro I have been through most of the various braids as they have come out. It's definitely another vote for PowerPro.
Works well, knots well, doesn't suffer from line twist too badly. Some braids are absolute shockers when it comes to twist - though to be fair it is worth remembering that most braids have been designed with spinning and multipliers / baitcasters in mind, not fixed spools and float / leger use.

PowerPro is not the thinnest for strength but on the other hand it knots properly and isn't so slim that it cuts through itself. Which is a problem with some of the new nano / fusion braids. 5lb PowerPro is as thin as a human hair and effectively invisible in use against a dark bottom or amongst the likes of silkweed. 3Kilos / 6.5lbs is only 0.06mm. 8Kg / 18lb is 0.13mm. Your suggested thickness of .22mm is closest to 15Kilo / 33lbs line (actual .23mm).

I wouldn't use it for a hooklink though when it comes to carp or other larger fish. Soft and / or coated braid or high quality mono only for hook lengths. The Cheese wire thingy is all too true. Plus I find it helps to have just a weeee bit of stretch in the system. Though not too much - once you get used to the instantaneous connected feel of braid you won't go back . If you're getting bump offs then use a softer rod.... simples.

You also mention fishing over mussel beds. There I think you have a problem. Any braid, even PowerPro is super vulnerable to a sharp edge and parts like rotten string. If you have mussels and sharp objects then its back to good old Daiwa Sensor for me, every time.

PS. in my experience PowerPro is more on the floating side than neutral... if you want a genuine sinker then Ashima Dyneema sinking line is pretty good but definitely more on the silky side of braid than robust. On the other hand I have found the finer Ashima braids to have bad line twist problems, to the extent of once having to throw away an entire brand new reel full after just a couple of hours fishing. An expensive waste that one....

---------- Post added at 00:39 ---------- Previous post was Yesterday at 23:56 ----------

PS. to check diameters go to PowerPro Super Lines
and click on the "click here for specifications" pop up.

Figures from the horses mouth as it were. Anything else (particularly ebay listings ) tend to vary wildly and differ from the actuality...

Mainlie braids should NEVER be used as a hook length material!!!

I have a real quandry here then. I need to fish at 150-180 yards. The Daiwa Sensor is really tough and resilient but bite detetion at that range is dreadful and im finding that more often than not I have to strike at single beeps and disturb the swim only to find there was no genuine take. If I go the braid route im going to get snapped off on a mussel bed but probably get some nice screaming runs. Some of these beeps do result in fish so its not always a problem with aborted pickup. At shorter ranges I dont have the same problem using KD rigs with a realy supple braid hooklength.

So ive spoken to a friend of mine not of the FM community and he is recommending Ultima power carp. I beleive its pre stretched and flouro coated so it sinks like a stone. Anyone any thoughts on this.

Also many kind regards to all of the posters your thoughts are much appreciated even if you dont agree with braid.

G.