Author: Bullbuster Team
The Ultimate Guide To Braided Fishing Lines
Braided fishing line, also known to most as “braid†has been steadily gaining ground in the fishing world for the past decade. Braided lines have very little stretch and have extreme strength to diameter ratios when compared to monofilament or fluorocarbon lines. These features make braid an ideal line for long casts, reaching previously unheard of depths and feeling soft bites. Our braid has been designed to be an all around performance braid, with excellent casting, delightful handling, and pure toughness.
(If You Know The Basics Benefits Of Braid KEEP SCROLLING)
+ Why Is Braided Fishing Line Awesome?
(If You Know The Basics Benefits Of Braid KEEP SCROLLING)
+ It Is Extremely Thin
Our braid is a fraction of the diameter of monofilament or fluorocarbon which allows you to pack amazing quantities of heavy line on small reels. Because of this braid has revolutionized big game fishing with light tackle. Anglers are constantly landing bigger and bigger fish with lighter and lighter tackle, and reels are being designed JUST to handle braids tensile strength capacity.
Because braid is so thin, it easily cuts through the water and can help you reach great depths. Whereas deep dropping was traditionally done with heavy reels full of monel steel, one can now deep drop with braid with smaller setups that can reach new depths.
+ Braid Has Very Little Stretch
Our braid has virtually no stretch. This means it has the sensitivity you need when trying to feel elusive bites. This is great for the soft thump of a a snook, or the distant thrashings of a daytime swordfish.
+ It Lasts For A Long Time
(Check out our article on how buying braid in bulk can help you spend more time fishing)
Braid, especially when used for backing can last for a long time! When compared to mono or fluoro, braid has a lot less wear and tear. This is because it stretches less and is not subject to weathering from sunlight.
How Often Should You Change Your Braid?
(If You Are About To Spool Your Reel, You Won't Have To Worry About This For A While So KEEP SCROLLING)
We get asked this question all of the time. What's great about braid is that you really don't have to change it that often. It depends on a few factors.
1) Are you using your braid as backing?
If you are using your braid as backing expect to get up to a few years out of your braid if you have enough mono topshot to keep your braid from entering the water for the most part. In this case your braid is more like a back up booster for when you hook something more stoppable. Your mono will have most of the wear and tear (make sure you are changing this on a regular basis).
2) Are You Fishing Around Structure?
If you are fishing around structure, you may start to notice some wear and tear on your braid. When you see small fibers sticking off the end of your braid, it may be time to strip some braid off of your reel. This means the braid is starting to loose its structural integrity. Most of the time this should only affect a small area. However if you are one to fish around structure a lot, it may be time to add some mono topshot or a wind-on leader.
3) Do You Care How The Line Looks On Your Reel?
After several months of fishing with your braid, you may notice some color fading from it. For Bullbuster (we can't vouch for all braids), this does not mean that you are loosing the structural integrity of your braid, but if you are one of those guys who like your tackle looking on point, it may be time to re-spool. If you are not you should be fine.
Quick Tip: As a line company you would think that we wouldn't bring this up, but we will ( we are in the business of helping you spend more time fishing) . If your braid starts to fade in color, go ahead and use that braid as backing for another reel, that way you can re-use it since it has plenty of strength left over.
4) Are You Fishing From The Beach?
Braid can be great for the beach but after lots of time of the beach it will start to get some wear and tear. After a few months of non stop beach fishing take a look at your braid for any structural damage.
If this isn't enough information about how you check out the link below:
(Check out this discussion on the world's biggest fishing forum The Hull Truth, on how often to change your braid)
+ How Do People Use Our Braid?
(If You Know What You Will Use Your Braid For KEEP SCROLLING)
(We believe that the best way to test a braid is by actually using it, check out all of our braided fishing line reviews)
+ Braid For Jigging:
People who like to jig usually fill their whole reels with braid. Braids thin diameter helps your jig reach the bottom with lightning speed. It also allows you feel subtle bites on your way down.
Target Species When Jigging With Braid Include:
+ Braid For Deep Dropping
Whether you are fishing an electric reel or a big manual reel, you need braid for deep dropping. There is no other way to avoid big U’s in your line when dropping your baits deeper than 400 feet. Braid will help you get down there, and braid will help you .
Target Species When Using Braid For Deep Dropping:
- Vermillion Snapper
- Mystic Grouper
- Yellow Eye Snapper
- Queen Snapper
- Warsaw Grouper
- Snowy Grouper
- Golden Tilefish
- Blue Tilefish
- Etc...
+ Braid to Punch Grass For Bass:
Many bass fishermen exclusively use braid for punching grass. Braids thin diameter and extreme strength can be very useful and punching your lure through the grass. If your lure gets stuck, give it a good yank and get back to fishing! The bass fishermen we talked to usually use between 50 and 80Lb braid to tear big bass out of thick grass.
+ Braid For Daytime Swordfishing
We have a lot of ambassadors that are amazing at daytime swordfishing. You need braid for daytime swordfishing. The first reason you need braid for daytime swordfishing is that you need to cut through the water easily without a giant "U" in your line. When you are dropping for daytime swordfish you will often need to get your bait down to over 1500 feet. The second reason is that braid has very little stretch and therefor have great sensitivity. Without a big "U" and with very little stretch you will see your bites and hook more fish.
+ Braid For Site Casting:
Our braid is perfect for sight casting because it gets less wind knots then almost any comparable braid. Who wants to see a school of daisy chaining tarpon, or tailing bonefish and loose out your shot to a damn wind knot? We don’t! Braid is excellent for site casting because it slices through the air and is easy to aim. Most flats fishermen nowadays pack their spinners with braid to get that extra 20 yards on their cast.
+ Braid For General Fishing:
If you are like us and you have some rods that you use for pretty much anything that comes your way. Braid is probably the way to go. Yea it is more expensive than mono but you really can’t beat it when it comes to castability, durability, your ability to pack tons of yards on a tiny reel.
+ What & How Much Braid Do You Need?
(If You Know How Much Braid Your Reel Holds KEEP SCROLLING)
Register your reels with us so that we can help recommend you lines, or try our braided backing and mono topshot calculators to do it yourself. Also you can check out the braided line capacity of your reel using our handy tool. We are ready to help you spend more time on the water with our brand direct braided fishing lines delivered directly to your doorstep.
Below are some resources to figure out the braided line capacity of your reel:
We have put together the largest line capacity database in the world so that you can figure out exactly how much braid you need for your reel. We hope that this becomes a great resource for you and your fishing friends. Spread the word, and if you see a reel that we do not have the braided line capacity for, let us know.
Braided Line Capacities By Brand
Shimano has more reels than we can count on one hand, thats for sure. Some popular models that are suitable for braid are :
- Tiagras
- Talicas
- Stellas
- Trinidads
- Etc.
Above are just a few of the reels that do well with braid, click the image to find out the braided line capacity for any Shimano reel.
Braid makes for great backing for these Italian coventional reels. You can't go wrong with an everol reel. Click the link above to find out how much braid you can fit on your Everol.
Braided Line Capacity Of Penn Reels - Find out how much braid you can put on your Penn There is no question that Penn reels are classics. They have been around for way longer than we can remember. Check out the braided line capacities of any Penn Reel by clicking the link above.
We have to admit that we are kinda loving the re-design of Daiwa's logo. Not only have they gotten a new look recently but they revamped their reels. Check out all of the line capacities for Daiwa reels by clicking the link above.
Braided Line Capacity Of Truth Reels
What Is The Difference Between 4 Strand Braid A 8 Strand Braid & A 16 Strand Braid?
(If You Know The Difference Between Braid Strands KEEP SCROLLING)
Braided line is made from tiny fibers that are fused into strands and then braided into a solid (or as you will find out about below, hollow core) braids. The names are pretty self explanatory, the 4 strand braid has 4 strands which are woven together to make a single line, the 8 strand braid has 8 strands that are woven together to make a single line, and the 16 strand has 16 strands that are woven together to make a single line. The basic difference between these three different types of braid are castability and abrasion resistance.
A Basic Rule Of Thumb For Braid Strands:
With more strands you improve your castability and with less you increase you increase your abrasion resistance.
So how many strands of brand does Bullbuster Braid Have?
We follow the basic rule of thumb above to come up with the best formulation for our braid.
Most Important Factor For Thin Diameter Braid = Abrasion Resistance
Our lighter braid (40Lb and below) we make a four strand braid. The reason we make our lighter braids a 4 strand braid is because our lighter lines have thinner diameter so the most important factor for them is abrasion resistance. Our lighter line has no problem casting, as a matter of fact, you may need to even slow it down with your fingers when you cast towards structure (you will be surprised how nicely it casts).
Most Important Factor For Thicker Diameter Braid = Performance
We want our thicker diameter lines to perform well, performance means handling and castability. Our braid between 50 & 200Lb is 8 strand braid. This thicker diameter braid does not have a problem with abrasion resistance because the material that makes up each strand is much thicker than our lighter braids. We do however want it to cast well and feel nice in your hands so thats why we make sure this lighter braid is 8 strand braid.
Does Bullbuster make 16 - Strand Braid?
Yes we do make 16 strand braid, we will talk a little more about it in the nest section (SCROLL DOWN). Having 16 strands allows us to give our braid some special qualities.
Did You Know That There Are Two Types Of Braided Fishing Lines?
(If You Know That There Are Two Types Of Braid KEEP SCROLLING)
There actually two types of braided fishing lines. One type is solid core braid and the other one is hollow core braid. These braids are made from the same material, they just have different braiding patterns. The solid core braid has a more tightly woven braid, it has no hole in the middle. The hollow core braid has a whole in the middle and allows you connect monofilament fishing lines with a knotless connection. For most applications solid core is the braid that you will need. If you are an advanced fisherman and want to make your own knotless topshots or wind-on leaders, hollow core may be the way to go.
(Find Out If Hollow Core Braid Is For You Here)
+ When Is Braid Not Your Best Bet?
(If You When Braid Is Not Your Best Bet KEEP SCROLLING)
Even though braid is pretty awesome, there are a number of times when it is just not your best bet. Below you can find two examples when braid is not the best thing to use.
+ Are You Fishing Around Jagged Structure?
If you are fishing around jagged structure braid is not your best bet unless you are using a significant mono topshot. While braid is insaneley sharp, its thin diameter does not play well together with sharp stuff.
+ Do You Need Invisible Line?
Always use a leader when using braid, its pretty apparent when you see it in the water that braid is not translucent. Try using fluorocarbon fishing line.
Looking for a different kind of fishing line?
Check our article on everything you need to know about monofilament fishing lines or our article on everything you need to know about fluorocarbon fishing lines).
