The Skinny On Line

Braids

The old braids--Innovative Textiles Power Pro, Berkley FireLine, Cortland Spectrum--still deliver. The new braids--SpiderWire Stealth, Triple Fish Bully Braid--are being made with thinner, tougher base materials. If this keeps up we won't be able to tie knots because we'll need microscopes to see this stuff.

Braids are thinner, provide less water resistance, and therefore take cranks and suspending baits deeper. If the object is to keep the lure high, such as night fishing over the tops of weedbeds, I stick with a 10- to 12-pound monofilament. For most other hard-bait operations, though, braided lines are the way to go.

The newest improvement to the basic building block of braided line is Triple Fish Bully Braid. "Bully Braid is the latest version of Dyneema," says Dave Burkhardt, owner of Triple Fish International. "Gel-spun polyethylene is similar to plastic in the sense that it keeps evolving, and SK-65 is now the world's toughest fiber. It's 16- to 20-percent smaller than other versions of Dyneema and Spectra. With this significantly smaller diameter, smaller reels hold more line, crankbaits get deeper, and casts go farther."

New methods of fusing braids are going to help you cast farther this year, too. New Spider Wire Stealth "has the tightest weave on the market," according to Pure Fishing. "The tight weave gives rise to improved abrasion resistance and better castability. It fishes more like monofilament," according to Brian Thomas of Pure Fishing. "It won't dig into the reel spool or cut into line guides."

Stealth is advertised to be "pressure treated" with Teflon in the effort to produce smoother, longer casts. It has a rounder cross-section, like monofilament and, unlike wax-coated braids, the Teflon in Stealth won't wear off. According to Thomas, this line won't "whipknot" or backlash like other braids. The 10-pound version has the diameter of 2-pound mono.

Since braids don't stretch much, they set hooks better at those longer distances than mono does close to the boat. The same reasons make braids the odds-on choice for trolling with crankbaits. Braids like Innovative Textiles Power Pro and FINS are great choices for bottom bouncing, too. Spool it onto a casting reel with a flippin' switch (for better one-handed operation) and tie directly to the bouncer.

If you like to troll or cast with crankbaits, or toss jigs and plastics along weedlines, braids are the ticket. Mono breaks down, while braids can outlast your rod and reel. Want to cut down on the time you spend respooling every year? Invest in some braided line and use it for more than a week or two before bailing out. Familiarity breeds respect.

Leaders

I seldom tie braids directly to jigs or crankbaits. Braids are thinner than mono, but they're opaque, creating a dark silhouette. I use monofilament or fluorocarbon leaders. One of my new favorites is Yo-Zuri Hardcore X-Tex Cobra, the newest blend of nylon and fluorocarbon. It's softer and has lower memory than its predecessors, yet retains the high abrasion resistance of a good fluorocarbon. Yo-Zuri calls it a "camouflage blend" of green shades with the same coefficient of reflection as water. Fill the spool with this line and use it to jig in clear water, too.

G. Pucci P-Line Fluorocarbon, a new addition to the P-Line family, Silver Thread Fluorocarbon and Seaguar Grand Max, are good choices for leader material in clear water. Fluorocarbon won't break down, like mono, so you don't have to worry about leaving a leader spool in your tackle box in hot weather. It's dense and sinks, which helps crankbaits and jigs get deeper faster. But that same added density means added problems when tying knots, as friction and heat builds much quicker. Always lubricate before cinching knots, and do it slowly. "I was astounded at the ease of tying knots with Cortland Climax," adds Walleye In-Sider Editor Dave Csanda. "Every knot works every time, regardless of cold weather." Another good idea is to go up a few pounds in test. If the situation calls for a 10-pound mono leader, go with a 12-pound fluorocarbon. It's still more difficult for fish to see than 10-pound mono.