In regards to 8 strand braids, are some companies really that much thinner compared to breaking strength or are some companies understating poundage like they do for mono/floruo?

 

Smackdown for instance for their 15 pound is roughly .16 mm while other 8 strands are more along the lines of .19 or larger.

 

Recent fishing with 1/8th ounce 3 inch swimbaits made me realize how much my 20 pound line was causing my lure to ride higher in water and was thinking of a thinner diameter line to improve fall rates for my finesse lures.

Flouro leader would be another option. 

I use flouro leader.  The bow in the line causes swimbait to rise especially on long casts

i use a long flouro leader , usually as long as the depth i want to fish . most of my leaders are 10 - 15 ft. , that way my bait will get down to depth and not have that bow in the line making for better sensitivity . on a moving bait you might want to go with flouro as your main line .

Im sticking with braid to flouro so i can have better casting, and sensitivity/hooksets when i dropshot/wacky rig

1 hour ago, Montanaro said:

In regards to 8 strand braids, are some companies really that much thinner compared to breaking strength or are some companies understating poundage like they do for mono/floruo?

Smackdown for instance for their 15 pound is roughly .16 mm while other 8 strands are more along the lines of .19 or larger.

Like all other line types, there is no standard with braided line ratings, as such, labeled ratings are somewhat subjective. You need to keep in mind that braid is rated differently than other lines. Most superlines are very strong, actually testing 2X to 3X their labeled strength. So why the lower rating? It is because they typically lose 50% (+/- 10%) of their strength when a knot is tied in them. As such, they label the test rating of braid based on the approximate breaking strength of a knot in their line, and not the line itself. And, since they have no clue which knot an angler will tie, or how well they will tie it, they have to make an educated/arbitrary guess as to what pound test rating to put on their packages. That leads to much of the variability you see (and pointed out).

-T9

18 minutes ago, Montanaro said:

Im sticking with braid to flouro so i can have better casting, and sensitivity/hooksets when i dropshot/wacky rig

try a long leader , you'll get better action on your baits plus you retain all the benefits of better casting , line managablity and sensitivity . increasing your leader from 2 -3 ft. to 10 -15 ft. you will notice a big difference because of the flouro sinking , causing your line to be straighter , increasing sensitivity and hooksets !

it's confusing. for example, i use both power pro and sufix 832 in 50-pound test. the powerpro has rated diameter of .36 millimeters while the sufix has a rated diameter of .34 millimeters. yet, the sufix looks and feels notably thicker.

Some 8 carrier braids are going with coatings now which significantly increase diameter whicj complicates matters.  They say the coatings cause the braid to sink better...

12 hours ago, Montanaro said:

In rehgards to 8 strand braids, are some companies really that much thinner compared to breaking strengt or are some companies understating poundage like they do for mono/floruo?

 

Smackdown for instance for their 15 pound is roughly .16 mm while other 8 strands are more along the lines of .19 or larger.

 

Recent fishing with 1/8th ounce 3 inch swimbaits made me realize how much my 20 pound line was causing my lure to ride higher in water and was thinking of a thinner diameter line to improve fall rates for my finesse lures.

Smackdown isnt any stronger dia vs dia to other braids. 30 pound smackdown holds to about the strength of 20 pound super8slick they both are .009 dia. S8S still a bit stronger though. Holds true in my findings with 40#(.011)smackdown vs 30# s8s (.011). Smackdown is a bit noisier and more  $$$ as well, not really sure what a person gets for the premium price, get it while its on sale.