Who makes the best braid?

The previous post makes my stance on braid pretty clear. If you haven’t made the switch to braided line yet, its time. Now that we have that out of the way there are a few more details to consider. The term “braided line” actually includes a variety of different materials from a handful of companies. To properly understand braid you must begin by understanding that not all braid is created equal.
I’m not here today to advocate a single brand. However, I will tell you that before reading the following material I fished with power pro and P-Line Spectrex interchangeably. At this time, I’m not sure what I will be using in the future. I’ve always liked the thought of using a brand of braid that had more carriers, as they are typically smoother and more manageable. The downside to this, at least in my own thinking, is that they tend to be weaker overall than lines with only a few carriers. I’ve been arguing with myself about what brands to try and what options might meet my needs for over a year now.
On a recent trip I stumbled my way into the pages of Florida Sport Fishing Magazine. As I thumbed through the pages of the September/October issue I was happily surprised by an in-depth article on braided lines titled, “The 30 lb. Challenge, All braids are NOT created Equal”
I was in for a treat! There are four primary factors that you need to consider when looking at a braided line. As explained in the article they are the fibrous material the braid is made of. (Typically Dyneema or Spectra fiber) The number of carriers (individual threads that will be weaved together to form the line), The “picks” per inch (this represents the number of times the carriers cross each other in the weaving process), and the final coating process.

Once you bring these four factors into play you can select a line that will meet your needs. In the meantime, I’m happy to share this graphic from the magazine. I hope you find it as helpful, eye-opening, and possibly even as much of a shocker as I did. As the title of the article stated, braids are NOT all created equal!

I have to admit that I was completely shocked by some of the results of these tests. Again, I am not here to promote any specific brand. However, after seeing these results I will personally be looking into a few different brands that may better suit my needs. I hope you’ve found this information useful!

If you’re interested in gaining a better grasp of how braided line is made and what separates one brand from another I highly recommend you visit the magazine’s website and contact them directly to try and pick up a copy of the September/October issue at: http://floridasportfishing.com/magazine/

Also, I beg you to support your local tackle shops. We’re in the midst of a tough market and they need all the help they can get. However, if you don’t have a local shop I recommend purchasing your braid from tacklewarehouse. Here is a direct link to their Braided line selection: http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Braided_Fishing_Line/catpage-FLBRAIDED.html?from=tbassin

Did you enjoy this post? Was this information new? Leave a comment and let me hear your thoughts.

Making the Switch to all Braid

It was only a few short years ago that I believed braid was only good for frog fishing. Oh how the tides have turned. Today you will find that every rod I own is spooled with braided line. From the smallest of dropshot rigs, to the heaviest of swimbaits its all braid of varying brands. Obviously making a switch of this magnitude is not simple. It requires quite a few changes to how you fish but more importantly, to the gear you use. However, there is good news! You don’t need to spend a fortune to make the transition to braided line. This video will explain how to do it with the equipment you already have. If you haven’t made the switch yet, its time.

One of the key differences between fishing braided lines as opposed to straight monofilament or flourocarbon is the need for leaders. I’ve actually already filmed a video describing how to tie the necessary knots. If you look to the upper right you’ll see a window highlighting the most popular posts. It is called, “Four Essential Knots for Bass Fishing.”

In the next few days I will do an additional post that discusses the different brands of braided lines. Not all brands are created equal. I’ll show you some of the differences and even show the specific braided lines that I choose to use for my day to day fishing. Stay tuned!

Simple Swimbait Modifications

You don’t have to spend more than a couple days on Clearlake (or most other lakes) in the Spring to realize that, 1) you should be wearing a hard hat while you fish with as close together as all the boats get. 2) that the fish are beginning to see TONS of swimbaits. And 3) that you need to do something to stand out from the crowd. There are all sorts of modifications you can make to a bait but here are a couple simple ones that can be completed in a matter of minutes to make your bait unique. This video shows how to add gills and front fins to a Huddleston Deluxe 8″ trout but it can be applied to any swimbait to help you get more bites, even under pressured conditions.

Would you like to see other modifications? Let me know via the contact page or comments  and I’ll get the camera rolling. Enjoy!

Which swimbait should you choose?

Has anyone else noticed that there are 10 or 20 times the number of swimbaits on the market today than there were 5 years ago? Some of the biggest “brand name” baits in the industry have only existed for a year or two.  What is an angler to do? You can buy every last one of them in order to see which ones consistently catch fish and which ones don’t but then there is no money left to put in the gas tank. A boat full of baits and no where to go sure won’t help you get bit!  At the request of several anglers I put this video together to shed a little light on which baits work. Forget the hype, forget all the talk about which bait is better. I’m sharing with you a handful of the baits that consistently help me put big fish in the boat, in every season of the year. These aren’t the only baits I use but these are the baits that are widely available and that I firmly believe will get bit coast to coast, day in and day out.

Has this been your experience? Are you one of those guys that lives and dies with a hardbait in your hand? Feel free to leave a comment and let me hear your thoughts. I don’t claim to be the best or to know it all but these are the baits I love to fish. If you take the knowledge in this video and apply it to your time on the water, big things are sure to come.