I've been having a really hard time using braid lately, I switched over to that for one of my topwater set ups and I'm having trouble getting a good long cast, with a buzzbait it's almost pointless to throw it because I can barely get it off the boat it seems. I'm using 30lb Spiderwire Ultracast.. If I upsize back to 50lb will that help my casting distance out some? Does the brand of braid have anything to do with it??

Tackletour did a test some time ago..they compared the casting distance of mono vs braid...guess what. braid doesn't cast any further than mono does. Although with new technology, that may be untrue today.

I found the spiderwire ultracast does not cast as well as the Diawa Samuri braid, the samuri is allot limper than the spiderwire, and it cost's more..might give it a try..

Diawa Samuri braid is the only braid I fish. it cost but its awesome stuff, IMHO it wont really out cast mono but it will out cast ANY other braid. it is more then likely the reel causing poor casting distance then the line tho.

I've found I can't cast a buzzbait very far anyways because the blades spin in the air (and I can hear it) and the catch the wind and wont allow then to fly far

Any bait that is bulky, or catches the wind won't go all that far if your casting into the wind..Try thowing a Mattlures hardgill into a 15mph headwind... ;D

One thing you might try is to use a low cast, i.e. a sidearm cast, so the wind doesn't get ahold of the bait the way it would if you casted it higher.

Diawa Samuri braid is the only braid I fish. it cost but its awesome stuff, IMHO it wont really out cast mono but it will out cast ANY other braid. it is more then likely the reel causing poor casting distance then the line tho.

x2 on the Daiwa, its the best out there

Diawa Samuri braid is the only braid I fish. it cost but its awesome stuff, IMHO it wont really out cast mono but it will out cast ANY other braid. it is more then likely the reel causing poor casting distance then the line tho.

x2 on the Daiwa, its the best out there

Oh...just wait for the power pro guys to show up... ;D

i get longer casts with braid than mono , it has to do with braid flying straighter thru rhe guides than mono that has some memory causing loops which cause more friction going thru the guides . so by my experience , braid will cast farther , don't care who did any tests !!! by the way , i use mostly 30 lb. and 50 lb. braid for my baitcasters and 10 lb. for my spinning reel . 

Power pro guy here. It works great for me. 30lb and 50lb I can cast way further then mono. Keep messing with your reel till you get it dialed in correctly.

I picked up some 40 lb. Sufix Performance braid after reading TackleTour's limited test comparison of braids. Haven't noticed a difference in my yard, but 1) I have limited distance to throw, and 2) I use lead weights for practice.

Purchased the braid for bass fishing with a relative in Florida. Not much of a need for it where I normally fish. However, I want to try it for....(Oh the horror!)....catfish in my local river.

I will have to do a bit of testing at the lake now that you have brought up the subject. I stopped at a friend's house last night to see if he wanted to go fishing with me. He is unfamiliar with baitcasting equipment. I made one cast in the street with the rod that has the Sufix on it. He was impressed with the distance of the cast. It is on an STX reel.

I hope you can get it all sorted out. I've never fished with braid before, but can see where it could be very handy in some situations. Best of luck to you.

EDIT:  I have used PowerPro the last couple years on spinning rods when visiting Florida.  Seems to cast pretty good to me.  I've also used 14 lb. Trilene while there.  Didn't notice a difference in casting distances between the two.

I'm using the XPS 30lb braid and no problem there for me. I never tried casting a buzz bait though. But from 4"-5" Senko's, Ragetail's frogs, Spros/ Madd Maxx's I cast a good distance but I do think I need to replace the line soon so I might try this Diawa braid everyone speak of!

Buzzbaits are always hard to throw consistantly.  They are bulky and sometimes they tumble in the air.  Braid isn't your best bet for buzzbaits anyway.  A line with some stretch will hook more fish with moving baits.

Braid shouldn't be shortening your casts if your reel is dialed in correctly.

Upsizing to 50/12 braid might give you a little more distance because the line wraps better on the spool than it does with 30/8 braid.

Brand has little to do with casting distance.  I use Power Pro, Fireline Braid, and Daiwa Samurai, and they all fly about the same.  The abrasion resistance, knot strength, and noise thru the rods guides are different, but casting distance is similar.

I've been having a really hard time using braid lately, I switched over to that for one of my topwater set ups and I'm having trouble getting a good long cast, with a buzzbait it's almost pointless to throw it because I can barely get it off the boat it seems. I'm using 30lb Spiderwire Ultracast.. If I upsize back to 50lb will that help my casting distance out some? Does the brand of braid have anything to do with it??

It's a buzz bait for heavens sake , you are not going to get the distance with it that you do on other baits.

I tried several braid lines, P-Line, PP, Diawa Samuri.

P-Line = OK but noisy through the guides problems casting

PP = Very Good, fairly quite and casts good

Diawa Samuri = BEST, very quite, casts almost as smooth as fluoro/mono.

I use the 30# on my spinning reel and the 55# & 70# on casting setups.

The Diawa Samuri braid is worth every penny.

I've been having a really hard time using braid lately, I switched over to that for one of my topwater set ups and I'm having trouble getting a good long cast, with a buzzbait it's almost pointless to throw it because I can barely get it off the boat it seems. I'm using 30lb Spiderwire Ultracast.. If I upsize back to 50lb will that help my casting distance out some? Does the brand of braid have anything to do with it??

It's a buzz bait for heavens sake , you are not going to get the distance with it that you do on other baits.

Yeah, but the OP said "I can barely get it off the boat it seems."  This suggests a possible problem.  I would think that even a buzz bait should fly better than that.

I can throw a 5/16 ounce frog a long ways and I use 50 pound power pro spooled on a BPS pro qualifier. Braid throws at least as well as mono of the same diameter.

I've been having a really hard time using braid lately, I switched over to that for one of my topwater set ups and I'm having trouble getting a good long cast, with a buzzbait it's almost pointless to throw it because I can barely get it off the boat it seems. I'm using 30lb Spiderwire Ultracast.. If I upsize back to 50lb will that help my casting distance out some? Does the brand of braid have anything to do with it??

It's a buzz bait for heavens sake , you are not going to get the distance with it that you do on other baits.

I'm stating that my distance is alot shorter than with other set-ups, I can throw my other set-up with 17lb mono alot farther than I can the set-up with 30lb braid, any bait. I'm not referring to buzzbaits only, I also have alot shorter distance throwing my spooks on that rod too. I'm just saying its so bad that it's basically pointless to throw a buzzbait because it will only be worked for about 10-20 feet.

I dunno if braid casts farther than mono of an equal diameter but you can definitely cast it farther than mono of equivalent breaking strength.

Thinner diameter=longer casts

However, when I first learned how to use a baitcaster I had light braid on my reel and I couldn't cast very far at all. I upgraded to 65lb braid and it solved my problem. I have no idea what was going on. Maybe the line was slipping or had been digging into itself or maybe the bait I was using was too light. All I know is that my baitcaster seemed to handle a larger diameter braid more easily.

Braid may cast a bit farther than mono but no question that lighter braid casts farther than heavier braid, I see a difference between 10 & 20#, I don't use anything heavier.  The rod plays a big part as well.  I don't get worked up over distance anyway, distance is over rated.

I'd have to disagree re: distance. At certain lakes, bass will go to deeper water, this water is almost within casting distance from shore, depending on you, the rig and the wind. For us shorebound guys, sometimes distance is needed.

From a boat..not so much.

Braid may cast a bit farther than mono but no question that lighter braid casts farther than heavier braid, I see a difference between 10 & 20#, I don't use anything heavier. The rod plays a big part as well. I don't get worked up over distance anyway, distance is over rated.

I'm casting nearly twice the distance with braid. I have found that one factor is likely to blame. When I first put Mono on my reel I used a 300 yard spool. I had no idea where the midpoint of the spool, or 150 yards was of line that I wanted to put on. I then switched to braid (40#) and bought a 150 yard spool. Put the whole thing on and the reel is full. I have no doubt that the full reel unwinds far better than a 2/3rd or 3/4 spool and therefore my casting distance is better.

I have problems, believing that you get Twice the distance, If your using the same lure, and No wind at your back..

I have problems, believing that you get Twice the distance, If your using the same lure, and No wind at your back..

X2.

Perhaps I didn't put it in so many words the first time but my mono didn't fill the entire reel. it was rated for 150 yards of #10 or something and I was putting #8 and I was just guessing as to the amount on the reel. As I later tied it off and walked out the line I found that I only had between 75 and 100 yards on the reel. I noticed that with the spool full of braid that the cast is much smoother and further.

I feel like I cast farther with braid (Fireline or P-Line) as compared to flouro or mono.