If I could only have one line type it would definitely be braid.  Sensitivity, handling, weed capability are the best out of all lines and over ride it's weaknesses.  That being said, conveniently I don't have to have only one line type so a few of my rods have mono / fc as well.

I used to hate braid, period. But it’s come a long way so it’s my preferred line for all spinning applications with an appropriate leader, frogs, large top waters and lastly, for swim jigs.  

I like some of the traits braid possesses. 
1) limpness

2) practically no memory

3) practically no stretch

4) practically will last forever if there is no abrasion

5) thinner diameter per line strength 

 

 

BUT and a huge BUT - I do love conjunctions, lol. 
 

Let me say that many times Bass are not line shy. I know this. 
 

However, in my environment and experience, I have to be honest with myself. For me, as a line, when compared to mono, fc, or copolymer lines, braid has caught me the fewest fish. Period.

 

In addition, as a shore angler, sometimes I have to break off my line and 30# braid can be very difficult to break. Worse yet — the thought of leaving that broken off braid in the water makes me feel bad for animals that could get tangled up in it and possibly die as a result. I have been tripped up when wading by unseen line and when a current is involved, it raises the danger potential for humans too. 
 

This is why I haven’t used it in probably over 10 years. Am I against it? No. 
 

Using it with a leader crosses my mind on occasion so I’m tempted, but braid is just a no go for me right now. Surprisingly and interestingly enough, even the steelhead and salmon anglers are taking advantage of the braid to leader concept. 

6 hours ago, islandbass said:

BUT and a huge BUT - I do love conjunctions, lol. 

 

I use it for manageability and casting ease reasons on spinning..for frogs I use it for horsepower.

I have braid on all my spinning rigs basically for one purpose. No line memory. 

11 hours ago, LonnieP said:

Me too

Same.  I do have some 832 that I haven't tried yet.  I love low memory line, but it was 'too much of a good thing' I guess.  Braid made me realize I'm a slack line fisherman....I usually have a bow in my line while wormin'/jigging which doesn't work for feeling bites on braid.

I’ve only used braid. I learned to use a baitcaster with braid, no problems. I love the sensitivity and the fact that it doesn’t stretch. But I’ve never tried flouro, it’s hard for me to justify the cost and I don’t know if cheap flouro is really a good representation of what flouro has to offer

3 hours ago, T-Billy said:

 

You’re a mind reader! That’s exactly what was playing in my head, lol! I am from that genre/time. ?

Tried braid back in the 1990's...still have a few bait-casters spooled with Fenwick Iron threadit's lasted THAT long. Rest have Power Pro spooled. 

 

Made the move to braid-to-leader on all my spinning rods last spring, after reading many posts here. Hated it at first...but now the spinning | braid-to-leader is my favorite way to fish. 

 

Casts like a dream. No line memory. Long-lasting. Super sensitive. No shells, and not many rocks in my area...so it's a good set up for me. 

14 hours ago, dodgeguy said:

Braid over rocks with no issues.

Depends on what type of rock.  Broken up basalt rock, that is very common in WA where Glen is from cuts braid like a knife.  Other smoother types of rock have little effect.

I use straight braid for punching, flipping in thick cover, and some top water.  I use braid to leader for some bottom contact, and moving lures, spinning gear, and most saltwater applications. 

     In general, I probably use braid about 1/3 of the time.  I can make it work for all situations, but most of the time I prefer another type of line. For the situations I do use braid, it is far superior than other types of line.  Example would be punching, for strength, and no line stretch, big game reels for reel capacity, and spinning reels for casting, and twist.  For other applications the advantages, are not so great, and I can take it or leave it.  Absolutely hate it for some situations, fishing soft plastics, when I want to have some slack in the line, and all of the time with crankbaits.  

Braid only for frogs, punching and some top waters. 
All others it’s all flouro all the time. 
 

 

 

 

Mike

Straight 832 on almost everything except for a few with Seaguar gold leader for several applications.

1 hour ago, king fisher said:

Depends on what type of rock.  Broken up basalt rock, that is very common in WA where Glen is from cuts braid like a knife.  Other smoother types of rock have little effect.

Ok that's possible. If I had that issue I'd use Sufix advance mono.

5 hours ago, king fisher said:

Depends on what type of rock.  Broken up basalt rock, that is very common in WA where Glen is from cuts braid like a knife.  Other smoother types of rock have little effect.

Good point. I can confirm 832 does very well in broken Shale, Sandstone, and Limestone.

21 minutes ago, T-Billy said:

Good point. I can confirm 832 does very well in broken Shale, Sandstone, and Limestone.

It doesn't hold up very well on rocks covered in zebra mussels.  Those things are sharp.

 

Suffix 832 is the primary braid I use too though.

2 hours ago, gimruis said:

It doesn't hold up very well on rocks covered in zebra mussels.  Those things are sharp.

 

Suffix 832 is the primary braid I use too though.

We have zebra mussels in all our lakes now, though not in real high concentrations here yet. I haven't had any issues so far, but that'll probably change over the years as their density increases.

Almost all the places I fish are nothing but rocks , braid below 30 breaks fairly easy on it. 

Everything I used is either straight braid or braid to leader. Except my deep crank rod. That's straight fc. 

    Braid solves so many problems. Distance, management, etc... Also, I've seen very little evidence that visibility of the line is an issue. I fish Bull Shoals Lake, the part that is always super crystal clear. My bite rate is about the same with or without a leader. 

       The bass react more to your presentation than the realism imo. Even here, in a highly pressured lake, they're still a base predator. Show em something they want, they'll take it. It's really that simple.

Lowest memory, precision, distance, with a loss in abrasion tolerance.

Frog rods and rods casting into junk.  Otherwise I prefer mono/co-polymer.

 

Braid may not have any memory, but it can twist just as bad as mono with certain lures.  Don't know if you can straighten it the same way you do mono.  I just threw it away and respooled with new braid.  Tried reversing it first, but it was twisted up too bad.

Braid to leader on all my spinning outfits for all the reasons mentioned above. The two complaints I have are that it bows too much and will lay on the surface which affects bite detection and sink rate of the lure. This is amplified when fishing from the back of the boat.

On 2/16/2022 at 1:48 PM, Mat_ski said:

Straight braid all day every day. 

Me too!

Straight braid or braid to leader for treble hook applications mostly is my preferred. A good quality braid is a must !  Only negative that bothers me is the line will twist around the rod tip sometimes.