The Ultimate Guide To Braided Line!

The choices of braided line are overwhelming but understanding the nuances can lead to more fishing success. Use this ultimate guide to braided lines to help you make the right choice.
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[@DanielBoone337]

You are 100% spot on man... it really is kind of crazy how far braided line has come over the last 15 years or so. I pretty much use 5 different braids from Sunline 4 of them are 8 strand braids but all 4 are very different in makeup and uses. It's pretty cool that we have all these options so that way we can fine tune our line to the bait/technique. Great video as always keepem coming brother!!!

[@MattStefanFishing]

Thanks!

[@Glock-1]

I absolutely love Suffix 832 braid.

[@MattStefanFishing]

Thanks for sharing

[@NeilGraham.I.M.F]

A lot of great information. Some of it I know some of it I did not. I always like learning every Nuance about fishing applications that I can

[@MattStefanFishing]

Glad it was helpful!

[@daveversion2.2]

More excellent gear breakdown Matt! Great info, thx.

[@MattStefanFishing]

My pleasure!

[@qaze0338]

Yeah 4 strand cut through my guides (recoil) your right 8 strand smoother rounder quieter . Nice tips 👍🏻thx

[@MattStefanFishing]

Glad to help

[@BradleyBaker-f2y]

This cleared up my thoughts on braid, thanks Matt.

[@MattStefanFishing]

Happy to help!

[@jonbullard7074]

Great info Matt!

[@MattStefanFishing]

Glad it was helpful!

[@Nate_Higgins]

Thanks fornthe info. I fish alot of open water on Beaver. I was frustrated when i bought some braid that was flat. It didn't work as good as what id had before. Now i know the difference.

[@MattStefanFishing]

Glad I could help

[@frankfarris6485]

Thank you, and good luck on the tournament

[@MattStefanFishing]

Thanks

[@poppy.fishing]

I had no idea there were that many different versions! Thanks for the info.

[@MattStefanFishing]

You bet!

[@dennisederer3594]

Thank you. So much valuable information today.

[@MattStefanFishing]

Glad it was helpful!

[@farrzmd3038]

I’m super interested in a sinking braid for my spinning rods and finesse applications. …. I agree about the carrier count. 4 is frog, vegetation and 8 or higher is my open water. Great information

[@MattStefanFishing]

Thanks!

[@joepworther2284]

Thanks, Matt !!!

[@MattStefanFishing]

My pleasure!

[@srsykes49]

I'm surprised you didn't mention Berkley's Fireline. Advertised as being designed especially for Spinning reels. I know I get less tangles and wind knots on my spinning reels using Fireline versus other brands. Thanks for the video. 👍

[@MattStefanFishing]

I don’t use fire line much at all

[@BenHolliday1]

Thank you! This is very helpful!

[@MattStefanFishing]

Glad it was helpful!

[@RickyCarter-ro8fr]

Great video !!!!!!

[@MattStefanFishing]

Thanks!!

[@formerIWUcoachDDD]

What would you suggest for a Ned rig, hover rig, and maybe a spybait setup for the ultra clear water in Lake Michigan? Thanks Matt. Your knowledge is very helpful, even to we old, over-the-hill bass anglers!

[@MattStefanFishing]

A 7’ 3” ML fast action rod with 10 lb Berkley X9 braid to a 6 lb fluorocarbon leader of 15 ft

[@EdwardClarkIII]

Ha! How did I miss this? Just searched for Matt Stefan braid and only 2 weeks ago... I despise the power pro I'm using now.

[@MattStefanFishing]

Haha you found it

[@valentinloghin4004]

2 years ago I discovered the PE line , since then I switched all my lines to PE line, better castabilite ,not hard on guides and not floating

[@MattStefanFishing]

Thanks for sharing

[@johnwhite993]

Do you use straight braid to the lure or do you use a fluro leader and if so what knot do you youse to connect the two lines together. Thanks for all the info Matt

[@MattStefanFishing]

Depends on the the situation and technique

[@krispyk.1786]

Hey Matt- have you tried the newer Berkeley fireline “thermally fused tough”? I personally love how stiff it is… I don’t hear many people talking about it

[@MattStefanFishing]

I have not

[@mikeeller557]

Thanks Matt How practice

[@MattStefanFishing]

Decent

[@jamesbarron1202]

Have you ever tried the line conditioner sprays made just for braid? Thoughts if you have and do they last very long. I use KVD line conditioner on my copoly but I’ve never used the PE conditioners.

[@MattStefanFishing]

I have not

[@FISH-WERNER-OUTDOORS]

Hey man I have been building for a while now, and you have got me into it and now I’m hooked and starting my own business. And I want to build a new frogging rod. What blank should I use? What model number specifically from mud hole?

[@MattStefanFishing]

Man my choice is different than a traditional frog rod. I like the FP885 but i cut it down 3 inches

[@FISH-WERNER-OUTDOORS]

@@MattStefanFishing ok I will look at that I bought the oem 7’ 2” heavy mod fast for a frog rod and it’s like a medium 🙄 big waste of $40 but it will be a good crank bait rod

[@chadgreiner3114]

FYI I take my braid off when it shows wear and reel the line back to get the worn line on the bottom.

[@MattStefanFishing]

Good tip

[@johnwhite993]

Saves money too and less line in the trash

[@itllkeal]

I just put 50lb stealth smooth on my shimano 400s calcutta for a pitching and flipping ordeal. I wished I'd watched this 1st, but thanks for the tips. I like a 4 strand for catfishing but an 8 strand for casting. I never knew they made a better casting line than 8x. What's your pick for casting and abrasion resistance?

[@MattStefanFishing]

I like the Berkley X5

[@kevinskovenski]

Matt with the X9 do you find the line breaks easily? Not necessarily at the knot but else where on the line? I’ve seem quite a few reviews with customers talking about it. Thanks.

[@MattStefanFishing]

Not at all i love it

[@CAN43715]

I have had problems with other braids unraveling over time. With Power Pro, (spectra line) I do not

[@MattStefanFishing]

They were probably not fused

[@CAN43715]

@@MattStefanFishing good point

[@rwingeier]

Great shirt! Where can I get one? Thanks for another informative video.

[@MattStefanFishing]

Bass talk live had them made as a fundraiser last year

[@Tom3013]

How do you prevent wind knots with braid? And how does it actually occur?

[@MattStefanFishing]

The braid kinda floats allowing it to tie a knot

[@irench]

Informative yet makes the choice just that much more complex. The days of all the rods spooled up with Stren maybe two or three weights seem to be long since forgotten. I'm still not sure that is such a good thing either. In my experience so far with braid of which I'm disappointed to date but seem to keep coming back regardless. Guess I figure there must be something to this. Has been that the line pulls so tight on the spool during the fight or hook set that it buries into the other wraps and then doesn't want to cast making me look the fool on the next cast which I don't see you or others having the issue and yeah I see you use braid n leaders. There is something not being discussed or disseminated to the general fishing guy here.

[@MattStefanFishing]

That happens to everybody on the next cast of it’s a heavy braid

[@irench]

@@MattStefanFishing okay, so will a fused braid help? Johnny of fish the was talking that the fluro or mono back will help to stop that. I don't see how? Any opinion there? I'm thinking I go n buy the fused n try it.

[@comfortablynumb9342]

Dude I'm glad to see you in my feed again. Your videos quit showing up. And this is important to me even though I fish in the saltwater because I do it with braid. One thing about braided line that has to be considered is the lack of stretch and how it's a double edged sword. It's more sensitive but it will straighten out weak hooks more than mono. I've still never tried a reel full of fluorocarbon, trying it for leader turned me off of it. I just learned that I need round braid. Jigs and soft plastics on or close to the bottom are almost all I use. I've noticed that my old braid looks rough from dragging across rocks and pilings but it's still crazy strong. I don't believe "10 lb test" will break with a 10 lb weight. It might lift 20. I out a lot of pressure on old 10 lb braid a couple weeks ago for 20 minutes with a stingray about 40 lbs. No problem. Braid is incredibly sensitive and great for what I do. But it's a problem if it's cut loose in the water. It ruins lower unit gear oil seals and causes other problems. So we should make sure it gets to the trash when we finish using it.

[@MattStefanFishing]

Glad I’m back in the feed

[@comfortablynumb9342]

@@MattStefanFishing me too! I don't have a TV so I watch lots of KZbin and I forget about channels if they don't show up. Now I'm curious what's the latest from Core Tackle.

[@heinrichkellogg7563]

🍺Thanks🤠.

[@MattStefanFishing]

You bet

[@wolverinex4243]

The bottom line to me is why and when to use braid. Almost all of the bass applications don't even require it. The main things to know are the flaws for your task and braid in general. Here are my main issues 1. They fray or discolor after one or two use no matter what brand, except maybe Vicious 2. That guide train noise and slowdown. 3. They snap. 4. They aren't good for drifting applications. 5. They're hard to break on hungups. 6. Birdnesting suck 7. No stretch. I've only found two applications where you need braid. 1. Big lures for giant fish over 40 inches 2. Certain lures won't get hung up as much.

[@MattStefanFishing]

Thanks for sharing

[@timmorrison9822]

I have had the coating wear off of braid. Do you know of any companies make a braided line conditioner to restore smoothness, etc?

[@MattStefanFishing]

Nope

[@chuechang7668]

Anyone know of a sinking braid that also does not absorb a lot of water? I am looking for a braid that has a moderate sink rate and that will also not absorb a lot of water and give me backlashes.

[@MattStefanFishing]

I don’t off hand

[@williamknight5142]

👍👍👍👍👍

[@MattStefanFishing]

Thanks for watching

[@markwarren3535]

What it comes down to really, is many won't even bother to open their damn cell phone and investigate. They just ask so.e guy at Bass Pro " Hey, what's a good braid ? ". So, Mr Bass Pro who fishes from a boat and doesn't worry about casting distance will advise a product that doesn't work for Mr Bank Angler. Lazy.

[@MattStefanFishing]

Probably

[@walterwest7457]

I wish all braided line was just braided line.

[@MattStefanFishing]

Haha

[@johndrx165]

It's all money. Good info though.

[@MattStefanFishing]

Thanks

[@brianwilson4184]

You got some interesting comments again 🤔 Did Randy B launch a cyber attack against your channel ?

[@MattStefanFishing]

Haha

[@undergroundbee]

Why would you say that. What are you referring to and Randy sure as hell doesn't have anything against his fellow team members