Hooked on Braid

FishingMagic · Jan 12, 2016

Fresh from doing successful battle with - shall we say - other matters, Eddie Benham gives us some thoughts on braid and shows some of the results...

http://www.fishingmagic.com/news_events/headlines/18213-hooked-on-braid.html

greenie62 · Jan 12, 2016

An excellent article Eddie - thanks for that!
Your trials and tribulations starting out with braid and use of a 'shock leader' mirror the problems many of us went through when first trying this out for sea-angling some years ago.

Your closing comments about the banning of braid on many waters could lead to a whole new thread by themselves. I recently fished a 'commie' with large Carp and Pike in it - braid is banned for Carp fishing but is OK for Piking there! - go figure!

mg:

Some clonking Tench in those piccies!

Tight Lines :thumbs:

wanderer · Jan 12, 2016

Fantastic tench Eddie, i am a great fan of braid, Fox Gravitron for me, never use leaders but sink tubing will prevent fish damage, my fingers, never found much difference to the cuts i have received from mono, far better material.

laguna · Jan 12, 2016

Great article Eddie thanks very much. Some mighty big tincas there my friend! :w

I must admit, have never used braided mainlines for course fishing, for fear of snagging up and unable to pull free more than anything, but the advice you give regards a weak mono leader knot would probably alleviate those fears.

If I ever find a dedicated tench water round here, I will definitely consider changing over from mono.

Graham Elliott 1 · Jan 12, 2016

Eddie. A very good article and amazing tench. Must be Fred J's secret tench water near LHR!. No that was filled in.

As one who has used Powerpro for over 10 years for barbel there are a couple of things I would add.

1/ Any knots to swivels etc make sure you go through the eye twice at least before tying. It's slippery stuff.

2/ On no account use a hook link of mono or fluro of less than 2ft. Any vicious takes will crack the stretchable link quite easily if no line can be taken from the reel to cushion.

I always tend to slacken the clutch off for barbel close to the bank. No need obviously if the leader is on the reel I guess.

I wouldn't fish braid where mirror carp are in any numbers simply because scales can be protruding from the body .

Lastly, I have NEVER seen a problem fishing powerpro hooklinks for barbel ( probably 5000 fish) or seen fin or body damage to them unlike mirror carp.

Tee-Cee · Jan 12, 2016

Quality article along with quality tench....

Beautiful, beautiful specimens and fish of a lifetime for most of us !

Great stuff !

Ray Daywalker Clarke · Jan 12, 2016

Enjoyed that Eddie, some cracking Tench, and some good tips for those who may be thinking of using braid for the first time.

john step · Jan 12, 2016

Enjoyed that Eddie. Just turning green myself like others on here.

Philip · Jan 13, 2016

Good article Eddie and some lovely fish.

Not sure what your ratio of dropped fish on the running rig compared to the helicopter setup was but one thing I would suggest to try and reduce the dropped rate even more is to avoid a helicopter setup and fish an inline one instead. I think Helicopter setups put more stress on the hook hold due to the lead hanging and bouncing at an angle to the hook hold especially with heavy leads. The more direct pull through an inline system may help. In addition a line aligner setup at the hook end can lead to some good hookholds. If memory serves me well (and it usually does) I recall Jim Gibbinson inventing the line aligner to address dropped fish on a water were they had soft mouths.

Hope that helps.

---------- Post added at 07:53 ---------- Previous post was at 07:50 ----------

FishingMagic said:
Fresh from doing successful battle with - shall we say - other matters

What other matters would that be ? ....seems a very childish comment to me. If you want to start it all off again and prove how "succsessful" you were then re open the threads you closed and lets debate it.

...and dont forget ..YOU made the inflammatorycomment first not ME.

geoffmaynard · Jan 13, 2016

F'gawds sake, it's like a broken record... Please stop going on!
===

Eddie. Brilliant article and some HUGE tench. Thanks.

sumtime · Jan 13, 2016

I'm feeling very envious, Eddie, I just love tench.

eddiebenham · Jan 14, 2016

Philip said:
Good article Eddie and some lovely fish.

Not sure what your ratio of dropped fish on the running rig compared to the helicopter setup was but one thing I would suggest to try and reduce the dropped rate even more is to avoid a helicopter setup and fish an inline one instead. I think Helicopter setups put more stress on the hook hold due to the lead hanging and bouncing at an angle to the hook hold especially with heavy leads. The more direct pull through an inline system may help. In addition a line aligner setup at the hook end can lead to some good hookholds. If memory serves me well (and it usually does) I recall Jim Gibbinson inventing the line aligner to address dropped fish on a water were they had soft mouths.

Hope that helps.

---------- Post added at 07:53 ---------- Previous post was at 07:50 ----------

What other matters would that be ? ....seems a very childish comment to me. If you want to start it all off again and prove how "succsessful" you were then re open the threads you closed and lets debate it.

...and dont forget ..YOU made the inflammatorycomment first not ME.

Hi Philip...................Glad to see that this article is much appreciated by so many. I feel that I was very fortunate to be in the right place at the right time with an exceptional bait and was able to capitalize on some wonderful fishing.
I would have to check my diary notes to see the comparison for heli rigs or a free running inline setup, but I do recall that on some days the heli rig completely outfished the free running inline setup. I would usually start off with one on one rod and one on the other and then change over to which was was producing more action.
I never used heavy leads either and I always use a line aligner, but not the Jim Gibbinson one. The one I use was shown to me by a close friend and I've not seen it used by anyone else.
Can I just point out to you all that the reference to 'other matters'at the head of my article was not made by me.
As far as I am concerned Cliff chose to close the previous thread and that's it. Can we all move on now please.

Eddie

Philip · Jan 14, 2016

eddiebenham said:
Hi Philip...................Glad to see that this article is much appreciated by so many. I feel that I was very fortunate to be in the right place at the right time with an exceptional bait and was able to capitalize on some wonderful fishing.
I would have to check my diary notes to see the comparison for heli rigs or a free running inline setup, but I do recall that on some days the heli rig completely outfished the free running inline setup. I would usually start off with one on one rod and one on the other and then change over to which was was producing more action.
I never used heavy leads either and I always use a line aligner, but not the Jim Gibbinson one. The one I use was shown to me by a close friend and I've not seen it used by anyone else.
Can I just point out to you all that the reference to 'other matters'at the head of my article was not made by me.
As far as I am concerned Cliff chose to close the previous thread and that's it. Can we all move on now please.

Eddie

Hi Eddie...sounds like you know best and judging by your results its hard to disagree !

....& yes I know the comment was not made by you, it was made by the Editor who choose to drag the subject up again. ..something Geoff Maynard should also note for his future finger pointing.

Tight lines.

eddiebenham · Jan 15, 2016

Graham Elliott 1 said:
Eddie. A very good article and amazing tench. Must be Fred J's secret tench water near LHR!. No that was filled in.

As one who has used Powerpro for over 10 years for barbel there are a couple of things I would add.

1/ Any knots to swivels etc make sure you go through the eye twice at least before tying. It's slippery stuff.

2/ On no account use a hook link of mono or fluro of less than 2ft. Any vicious takes will crack the stretchable link quite easily if no line can be taken from the reel to cushion.

I always tend to slacken the clutch off for barbel close to the bank. No need obviously if the leader is on the reel I guess.

I wouldn't fish braid where mirror carp are in any numbers simply because scales can be protruding from the body .

Lastly, I have NEVER seen a problem fishing powerpro hooklinks for barbel ( probably 5000 fish) or seen fin or body damage to them unlike mirror carp.

Hi Graham....It must be great catching barbel on braid, the feeling of contact with the fish must be superb, you've certainly caught a few by the sound of it.
Your first point is important, and personally I always pass the line through twice when tying a knot to the swivel.

I use a 12- 15 foot leader so that it offers some (limited) stretch at the business end and I also fish with a lightly set clutch. So it's not quite so important to use long hook links, mine are usually 8 - 12 inches. Might be different for barbel of course as they tend to rip the rod from the rod rests with great force.

With regard to the mirror carp. It's not a problem with a 12 - 15 foot mono or fluorocarbon leader.

I don't use Power Pro for my hook links though.

My Power Pro has faded with use, but is otherwise ok. Is yours still ok after 10 years or have you replaced it with new ?

It's odd that on some fisheries braid as a main line is banned, but can be used as a hook link, which could be 6 - 8 feet long, and that would be acceptable. Would that not cause damage to the fish ? (other than barbel).

Eddie

Graham Elliott 1 · Jan 15, 2016

Hi Eddie. Thanks for the update.

Yes as long as you have some decent stretch built into the rig I'm sure its fine. I always worry about some anglers not realising that using braid as a main line with a short mono or hooklink can be disastrous as all the pressure goes straight onto the hooklink. It has the same effect as if you yanked two ends of the line sharply and will crack well under bs.

I once saw an angler using pp for the first time crack off at the hooklink three times on savage Teme barbel takes.
As you say, no problem if rod set to give line if needs but no good on snag ridden swims.

Another big advantage is it can turn those missed nudges into full blooded bites as a pickup in the mouth needs little movement before the hook pricks home..

I have probably used 2 spools oc 15lb pp. As you say, part filling with mono first and reversing the braid every couple years.
One excellent tip is the fact that pp takes up colours of a felt tip pen very well as a hooklink.

AS I said, despite seeing recaptures, the tough scales of a barbel have shown no signs of damage, However the odd mirror carp have lost a scale or two when sneaking into my river swims.

PowerPro being so much softer than the initial braids (like piano wire and rough when slightly blemished) that I have no problem fully endorsing it.

eddiebenham · Jan 15, 2016

wanderer said:
Fantastic tench Eddie, i am a great fan of braid, Fox Gravitron for me, never use leaders but sink tubing will prevent fish damage, my fingers, never found much difference to the cuts i have received from mono, far better material.

Hi Wanderer....I've not used the Fox Graviton, but I'll take a look at it when my Power Pro needs replacing. I'm always open to improvement so I'll bear it in mind.

I decided to have a go at drop shotting for Perch last year so I bought a spool of Spiderwire EZ Braid to try. It seems a bit wiry to me compared to the Power Pro. I've matched it with a new Mitchell 300 and a Shimano Alivio Super sensitive cx 270ml Rod and the bites/takes are amazing. It's a really good method for perch and I've even caught small Tench, Carp and Catfish.
I note that you don't use leaders, but use sink tube, and I know that some people prefer not to have the extra knot in their setup, but I personally prefer a leader as it is more forgiving than braid straight through where you have zero stretch.

Eddie

wanderer · Jan 15, 2016

I think braid has an undeserved bad reputation for damaging fish, most carp anglers use braid hooklinks without complaint but braid mainlines seem to get so much stick. The only true contactact is the last 8 inches, on waters where braid is banned, the commys in particular, note the scale damage and mouth tears from mono before making a judgement, if used in a sensible way braid is a superior line to mono, no question.

---------- Post added at 10:32 ---------- Previous post was at 10:26 ----------

eddiebenham said:
Hi Wanderer....I've not used the Fox Graviton, but I'll take a look at it when my Power Pro needs replacing. I'm always open to improvement so I'll bear it in mind.

I decided to have a go at drop shotting for Perch last year so I bought a spool of Spiderwire EZ Braid to try. It seems a bit wiry to me compared to the Power Pro. I've matched it with a new Mitchell 300 and a Shimano Alivio Super sensitive cx 270ml Rod and the bites/takes are amazing. It's a really good method for perch and I've even caught small Tench, Carp and Catfish.
I note that you don't use leaders, but use sink tube, and I know that some people prefer not to have the extra knot in their setup, but I personally prefer a leader as it is more forgiving than braid straight through where you have zero stretch.

Eddie

You had my utmost attention with those tench Eddie, having fished Sywell , Cransley, and Tring, as well as the local gravels for years specialising in Tench, i could not match your catches, hats off fella, a true fish, beats the ten a penny big carp i have caught hands down, try the fox , its the best i have used and my advice to anyone considering braid is dont buy a cheap one, salute you Ed, love to fish with you .

---------- Post added at 10:44 ---------- Previous post was at 10:32 ----------

As a footnote, i always use a hooklink braid below the breaking strain of the mainline by at least five pounds, usually, Pallatrax.

Graham Elliott 1 · Jan 15, 2016

Wanderer.

Mouth damage is caused by a combination of three things in my opinion.

1/ Bent hook rigs.

2/ Barbless hooks

3/ Unattended rods.

A lot of anglers will disagree.

Graham

laguna · Jan 15, 2016

Many modern braids are coated but need to be stripped back and that's where the problems lies.
Uncoated/unprotected braids are designed to flatten and follow the contours of the mouth but they can cut deep on the edge under tension much the same as a blade of grass, a paper cut, or the edge of a tape rule can cut your finger.

Hooked on Braid

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