Let’s talk about braid!

[@dannyharris3580]

sufix rapinova is one of my favourites. Super smooth, quiet and very thin diameters to breaking strain.

[@Thomhuntfishing]

Yeah I’ve tried a few of the Sufix braids, most a Lee pretty good 👍🏻

[@Chrisowen1948Newbury]

Excellent video, very helpful thank you Thom , tight lines

[@Thomhuntfishing]

Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for the positive comment 🙌

[@Zafishowany]

Good piece of knowledge. Thanks Thom. See you soon on Pike Maniacs.

[@Thomhuntfishing]

See you there my friend 🥳

[@PinreelPaul]

Hi Thom, Can you please tell me the difference between your W3 braid and W6 braid (apart from the colour and cost)?

[@Thomhuntfishing]

Hi there. They are both 8-strand braids, but there are a few other differences. The W3 has a weave rate of 32 weaves per inch The W6 has a weave rate of 36 weaves per inch so slightly tighter and rounder profile. W6 has a slightly different (extra) manufacturing process meaning a slightly stronger fibre for its diameter so it is stronger/thinner for any given parameter like for like. W6 also has a Dura-coating improving abrasion resistance, reducing friction for longer casts and improved colour retention 👍

[@PinreelPaul]

Thanks Thom... That make complete sense to me now. Cheers!

[@bartvdh]

Thanks for your clear and extensive explanation Thom, this helps a lot in understanding how things work. Question, why do you use a 7lb 0.06 line, if there are also 0.06 lines on the market with double the breaking strength? (E.g. Berkley X9 0.06 14lb) What are your considerations there, except personal preference?

[@Thomhuntfishing]

This question is partly why I wanted to make the video and why braid is such a difficult topic and product to understand. Braids are made from PE (Polyethelene) fibres. When you add the fibres together and they are genuinely 0.06 they won’t be 14lb. And if you’re braid actually is 14lb strength, it won’t be 0.06. Berkley do not have access to a ‘special’ type of PE in the World that is twice as strong as anything else. It’s pretty much the same as any other manufacturer. My guess is that due to the fact braids are so thin, they state a certain thickness but it’s actually anything up to twice as thick, but they’re counting on people not knowing the difference between really really thin or really really really really thin! I mean how can we tell if a braid is 0.06 or 0.09 thick? We can’t! But there’s a 50% difference between those thicknesses. So a lot comes down to how much do you trust the brand you buy?

[@bartvdh]

​@@Thomhuntfishing Wonderful, thanks. Food for thoughts ;-)

[@Kajteliborackuuu1213]

Ever tried any braid form YGK? In my opinion they make the best UL braid money can buy, its a bit pricey but its worth every penny because the knot strenght is ridiculous and it holds color like no braid out there.

[@Kajteliborackuuu1213]

Oh fck you mentioned it in the vid, should've actually watched it before commenting lol

[@Thomhuntfishing]

Yep it’s very good. Not cheap though!

[@paake3134]

Recently gave a try for sufix 832 black mamba, seems solid

[@longfordman6865]

Should I debarb my hooks? I know it's better for the fish and a lot easier to unhook, but will I loose more fish? Thanks

[@Thomhuntfishing]

If you have a good balanced set up where your rod is not too stiff or too soft for the species you catch, then no you shouldn’t lose more fish. 👍🏻

[@benjones3819]

Good vid! I bought a 28lb Spiderwire camo braid not long ago, and it was handy to be able to know what all of the details on the packaging meant i.e. X8. The big question for me is would you use a backing mono/fluoro, or just straight on the spool? Ive applied some electrical tape to the spool, and was tempted to go straight on with a slip resistance type of knot. Bloody minefield😂

[@Thomhuntfishing]

It depends on the depth of the spool. If you have a deep spool and only 100 or 125m of braid that won’t fill the spool up properly then yes I’d put backing on. Makes no difference what the backing is just needs to bulk up the spool a bit. But also remember with braid not to over fill your reels or you end up with wind knots

[@leafysfishing]

I use berkley fireline, iv never had a wind knot or anything with it. Have you tried it? If so thoughts?

[@Thomhuntfishing]

No I’ve not tried it but Berkley is a solid brand 👍🏻

[@dag5421]

Any reviews on Varivas braids?

[@Thomhuntfishing]

Hi Dagnis, I have not tried it myself but heard - although very expensive - it is very very good 👍🏻

[@dag5421]

@@Thomhuntfishing They are realy realy good to say the least, mostly available in the baltic states tho. Hope you can put your hands on it.

[@Mrbeastly84]

What are the pros of using lighter braid, I always use 16-24lb braid for everything, and have one setup at 66lb for big pike, is it worth changing my 2000 reel out with 6-8lb or is 16lb alright for UL fishing?

[@Thomhuntfishing]

The pros of lighter braid are it’s thinness. Most people think braid is all thin so how exactly can it make a difference. Well when you are down to 0.6-2g or fishing really small hooks or baits it makes a fairly big difference in how much you can feel, how much the wind, flow or tow catches and creates a bow etc

[@Mrbeastly84]

@@Thomhuntfishing Thanks for the reply mate, so would you reckon 12lb Is a good shout for 1-10g bfs fishing or a bit too heavy still? Would would be the biggest diameter you’d recommend for a 4000 size spinning reel aswell? Casting 30-80g lures? Many thanks Thom

[@ComeFishingWithMe]

Great video!

[@bonesapart8210]

Any experience with sunline braid? I've grown to appreciate it for all-round jigging (zander, pike, asp, perch). Very pleased with momoi fluoro as well.

[@Thomhuntfishing]

Not used Sunline before but heard they do a very good ultra light braid called Small Game PE but it’s pretty expensive

[@OVSpr]

@@Thomhuntfishing I fished it for one year exclusively and bastard still holds on like new. I got to the point where it pisses me off!lol. It’s way over anything I tried for ul fishing. Anyway best of the best, and I tried nearly everything on the market, eu, usdm and Jdm, Daiwa makes the best braids. Morethan x8 is the best braid price/quality ever made.

[@danevans740]

Do you fish for zander much? I've set a goal to catch my first zed this year but can't seem to find many places that havent been electrofished (I'm from the midlands).

[@bonesapart8210]

Were the zander removed during electrofishing?

[@danevans740]

@@bonesapart8210 I was talking to a lad from the canal & river trust and aparently they were

[@Thomhuntfishing]

Hi Dan, yeah Zander are probably my favourite species. For the midlands canal network, yes most of them get electrofished to remove the Zander as they are classed as an invasive species, however, they never get all of them out so even areas that get electrofished there will still be a few in there. But your best bet will be either Tusses Lure club or the LACC (lure anglers canal club) they have sections that have not been electrofished for years

[@billbob7170]

if i use 6lb braid what pound floro leader should i use

[@Thomhuntfishing]

That’s an Ultra Light braid, so I’d recommend 3-5lb Flouro trace to balance it

[@billbob7170]

i got 6lb floro thinking it needed to be the the same weight as the braid will it be ok and why do you have the floro a bit lighter ?@@Thomhuntfishing

[@Thomhuntfishing]

A couple of reason…. Firstly if you hit a snag a 3 or 4lb Flouro will break first, but with a 6lb Flouro vs 6lb braid most likely the braid goes first as it doesn’t have as high knot strength as Flouro. Secondly a 6lb braid is very ‘light’ but 6lb Flouro is ‘medium’ so to keep things balanced a 6lb braid generally goes better with 3 or 4lb Flouro. However, having said that you can use 6 or 8 or 10lb Flouro if you want to, it’s up to you 👍

[@billbob7170]

thx pal just wish i found your channel sooner @@Thomhuntfishing

[@leafysfishing]

Thom... do you think ky 7 to 10cm shads will work for bass in estuaries and rock fishing around Devon? I'm taking my light lure stuff just incase 😇

[@HBweisse]

It’s not the first time I hear it, but why do you use the term breaking STRAIN for the resistance? In theory, strain is, by definition, a deformation and not a strength or a resistance in general terms. And the deformation of braid is not generally given (as it’s almost zero and not of interest)

[@Thomhuntfishing]

Hi there….. it sounds like you may be coming from an engineering or science background referencing the definitions. While I have not doubt you’re technically correct…. The term ‘breaking strain’ is just a phrase I have always known regarding fishing lines and never really thought about the term in much detail!

[@HBweisse]

@@Thomhuntfishing hehe yea indeed I’m an engineer. I’ve also heard it a few times with regards to fishing lines, so probably is quite of common use. Anyway, not of much importance considering that it is clear that you referred to the resistance of the line. Anyway, just discovered your channel as I live in the UK and recently approached perch and pike fishing (I am a saltwater angler mainly). Hopefully I’ll catch a pike before the winter kicks in! Keep up the good work with your channel!

[@dariuszblahuta3348]

Sufix131 and nothing better not exist.