# What braid for estuary?



## Fishrock

Hi guys,
I do most of my fishing in and around the noosa river and I'm wanting to try braid for the first time. 
I have 10lb Berkeley red line (mono) on my rod now. 
Rod is a Berkeley dropshot 4-8kg with a Abu Garcia omega 4000 reel. 
Reason I want to try braid is I want to start using lures more and chasing jacks, cod, trevs etc 
Also isn't there special knots for braid?
Thanks
Adam


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## spork

Hi mate.
Most braid breaks at quite a bit higher than it's stated breaking strain. 6-8Lb stuff should do you fine. Probably won't break at less than 12+ pounds if your knots are good. I like the fireline, but there are as many people who hate it as love it. There are lots of opinions on the "best braid".
As for knots - there are some "special" braid knots - personally I don't use them. I always use a leader, and connect this to the braid with an albright. Others prefer slim beauty, sebile, double uni... IMO, learn to tie one or two knots well, don't try to learn every knot in the book.
I used to use a swivel to connect my braid and leader - still do on the odd occasion I'm bait fishing. In this case a simple locked half blood-knot has never failed me - but use (approx) double the turns that you would for same breaking strain mono. For 4-8 pound braid I do 13 turns - my lucky number.


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## CLJB

Spork has covered everything you need to know well, but I reckon if you want to chase trevally and jacks you may want slightly stronger line (15/12lb) to handle snags etc
I bought a spool of 30lb here: http://www.downriggershop.com.au/braid-lines.html recently, the price is incredible for 1000m. Although your reel could probably run 30lb easily, 12lb would be a better match. As spork said, braid can handle fish almost double the weight rating.


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## Fishrock

Thanks heaps guys. I'm wondering if braid is worth the hassle?
I do like my clear mono. 
Might learn some braid knots and give it a go. 
Why do people use braid over mono? Is it purely because its thin and strong?
Will do some more reading on here 
Adam


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## CLJB

Braid has many advantages over mono when lure fishing. The fact that it has no stretch means that you can feel every touch on your lure and know when to strike. It makes fishing soft plastics far easier, as you can actually see when your lure is sinking or on the bottom (as the line will float), and also see any bites while the lure is sinking. The finer diameter also aids casting significantly, particularly with light lures. Braid is also known for being pretty abrasive resistant.

I learnt to love it very quickly as I predominantly lure fish now, and haven't looked back since. You can still enjoy the advantages of mono or fluorocarbon though, as you use it as your leader - that would probably be the way to avoid wasting the mono you have at the moment


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## dru

Think about your rod selection too. The Dropshot is fab, but 4-8kg is over kill. Think 2-4 or 2-5. I'd suggest 10lb leader, 15 for jacks. Braid at 20lb.

Ie, it's upsized bream kit. Reel is good.


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## CLJB

My only experience with fishing further north than a few hours from Sydney was in the Kimberleys, so I may be a bit off, but 4-8kg shouldn't be overkill for QLD waters.

Your rod isn't particularly light tackle, but it should come in handy if you want to do the odd bit of trolling or flick large lures/fish deeper water. One of the estuaries near me is about 20m deep in the channels, so I use a 6-8kg rod to fish larger plastics/heavier jig heads that my 6lb outfit can't handle.

dru's recommendations would be ideal, but you wouldn't have to buy a new outfit to fish lures. However having a light and slightly heavier outfit with you when lure fishing would widen your options significantly. Besides that, it is always more fun fishing as light as you can.


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## shadowrunner

Fishrock said:


> Hi guys,
> I do most of my fishing in and around the noosa river and I'm wanting to try braid for the first time.
> I have 10lb Berkeley red line (mono) on my rod now.
> Rod is a Berkeley dropshot 4-8kg with a Abu Garcia omega 4000 reel.
> Reason I want to try braid is I want to start using lures more and chasing jacks, cod, trevs etc
> Also isn't there special knots for braid?
> Thanks
> Adam


most of my braid reels run 50lb dog tooth braid(big overhead game reels and 2 huge surf rod egg beaters set up for shark fishing(but then I am chasing pretty much anything that is capable of taking me water skiing and using 9/0 hooks on them) my lighter braid line (only have one lower than 50lb) is 10lb Hercules (by jarvis walker) and is on a baitcaster and is great for the smaller fish and it is alot stronger than the 10lb stated (so is the 50lb )


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## Fishrock

Thanks again. 
My rod is fine I'm unsure what you mean by its too heavy??
I catch whiting on it very easily plus it has the added benefit of being able to handle bigger fish. 
My mate has the 3-6 kg and its a 2 piece and has a stupid long butt on it. I like a small butt and a one piece rod. 
The 2-4 kg dropshot is tiny. 
I grew up fishing straddie so know enough about rod selection I think. 
More concerned about learning about the pros and cons of braid.

Also if you've got a mono/fluro leader doesn't that make the braid pointless?
Most times I've been snapped off its near the hook.


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## CLJB

Fishrock said:


> I'm unsure what you mean by its too heavy??


The only issue of the rod being too 'heavy' is whether it is too strong/overkill for the fish you would catch, I reckon it is fine/ideal for the same reasons as you mentioned.


Fishrock said:


> Also if you've got a mono/fluro leader doesn't that make the braid pointless?


Definitely not, the amount of fluoro or mono that you fish when using braid is insignificant compared to the proportion of braid. Therefore you have most of the advantages of mono/fluoro as the fish cannot see your line/there is a small bit of stretch for a fish to strike, yet you still have all the advantages of braid as your main line is braid - you still have the sensitivity, zero stretch under load, strength (although somewhat limited by your leader), floating main line for soft plastics, visibility, castability etc


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## Fishrock

Fishrock wrote:
I'm unsure what you mean by its too heavy??

The only issue of the rod being too 'heavy' is whether it is too strong/overkill for the fish you would catch, I reckon it is fine/ideal for the same reasons as you mentioned.

You never know what you'll hook 
How long is this leader. 
I used to catch a lot of fish on red Schneider fishing line so I'm really unsure whether line colour makes a difference.
I spose ill have to try it and see what I think.
Thanks a lot guys. Cheers


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## Jeffen

Fishrock,

braid is great, you just need a few more twists in your knots.
A 2 meter leader is fine, wont stretch much at all.

As for the rod, I fish with a mate and his old dad, old dad uses a rod with as much bend as a broomstick (oh and it is spooled with heavy mono),
I wouldn't do it, but he still gets plenty of fish.

Technique beats gear often.


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## dru

The rod will work fine - didnt mean to cast aspersions. But i still think you'd have more fun on something lighter.

Braid will snap much more quickly than the leader. It's quite "brittle" when it comes to rubbing against things, and most estauirne fish will head straight to the nearest snag. The advantage is mush less wetted resistance for the some (tensile) strength compared to nylon. response in the hand for finesse fishing is way beeter even compared to the low stretch nylon.

have fun.


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## shadowrunner

Fishrock said:


> Fishrock wrote:
> I'm unsure what you mean by its too heavy??
> 
> The only issue of the rod being too 'heavy' is whether it is too strong/overkill for the fish you would catch, I reckon it is fine/ideal for the same reasons as you mentioned.
> 
> You never know what you'll hook
> How long is this leader.
> I used to catch a lot of fish on red Schneider fishing line so I'm really unsure whether line colour makes a difference.
> I spose ill have to try it and see what I think.
> Thanks a lot guys. Cheers


red is the first colour of the spectrum to be invisible in the water that being said the greenish and clear monos are almost impossible to see in water anyway
even if it is a yank fishing site it gives some great info on the reasons of coloured lines
https://floridasportfishing.com/mag...ntly-impact-your-overall-fishing-success.html


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## CLJB

If you could get your hands on a new spool, you could fill it with braid, and then alternate between the two depending on how you want to fish without having to sacrifice your favourite mono.


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## millonario

It has all been said, but I'll put my two cents in anyhoo. For me, the benefit of braid + leader over a whole reel of mono is the "feel factor". You feel EVERYTHING. As mentioned, it doesn't stretch like mono, so imagine the tiniest little bites on your lure/bait and imagine seeing the tip of your rod twitching at every bite.

The only way to really get a good idea of the difference is to have a go on someone else's gear. I used to fish with a Jarvis walker spin rod and a sienna reel with mono straight thru when I first started, and due to ignorance and inexperience , my catch rate was miserly at best. I finally listened to some good advice and _voilà_, my catch rate improved and so did my confidence. The braid has so much more sensitivity, but you need to match the strength with what you are targeting.

Good luck!


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## Fishrock

Thanks a lot again guys. 
Sorry if I came across rude dru. I never meant to. More so just pointing out I'm right with rod selection 
The extra spool has been on my mind a bit actually CLJB. Also useful for heavier line on one spool and lighter on the other 
This is a great site. 
Thanks again everyone 
Adam


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## Duggo

I think you'll find once you try braid you will never go back. I converted a couple of years ago and haven't looked back, I know only use mono when I'm livebaiting where you want that little bit of stretch. Go into your local tackle shop and have a chat with them, I always find them more then helpful.


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## Fishrock

Thanks duggo. Yes tackle shops are very helpful. 
Just had a thought. I use triple or double zero sinkers, I like to fish light. Will braid be ok with that? I remember someone saying braid floats?
I'm gonna give it a go though. I'm pretty keen to try it out now 
Adam


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## CLJB

You would fish the leader as you would mono normally when using bait. Braid does float on its own, but sinks slowly behind weight - which allows you to tell the exact instant you hit the bottom when fishing lightly, and when your lure/bait is sinking (such as soft plastics).


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## shadowrunner

Duggo said:


> I think you'll find once you try braid you will never go back. I converted a couple of years ago and haven't looked back, I know only use mono when I'm livebaiting where you want that little bit of stretch. Go into your local tackle shop and have a chat with them, I always find them more then helpful.


i still run both braid and mono, All my overheads, game reels, and heavy surf eggbeaters have braid but every other spin reel still runs mono.
(livebaiting i prefer straight braid with no mono leader but a steel trace on it)
It all depends on what i am fishing for ( that being said i have one baitcaster with braid and one with mono as i am only just trialing the braid on a baitcaster)

I have found i can feel bites better with the mono yet the braid is by far better for lure and trolling work


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