I must admit braided line is quite amazing, when it is used correctly for the application. One of the biggest misconceptions is that people often look at braid like it is regular monofilament line, this is not the case. Some things to know:
1) braided line has virtually ZERO stretch, and it will be able to damage your gear if not spooled on correctly. Make sure to spool on some same diameter mono line, around 20 to 30ft, what this will do is allow for some stretch at the base of the reel so when you set the hook really hard you don’t break your gears.
2) ALWAYS get a larger pound test braid, 30 to 40 pound test for casting and even heavier for flipping/pitching applications. Putting 8 to 10 pound braid on a heavy casting rod/reel will only result in your line torquing and snapping almost every other cast. It’s great for tearing through the weeds and pulling fish out of trees, stumps and thick cover of any kind. The diameter of braided line is much thinner then mono, 30 to 40 pound braid is like a 6 to 8 pound mono diameter.
3) do some research on what braid you are considering, I have found that many manufacturers jumped on the waggon when it came to getting a braided line on the market quickly. Some of the hollow braided lines are not the greatest, they seem to snap more often. I have found that the power pro braided line is pretty damn good, strong as hell and does not fray as much as other braids.
4) you can use your braid twice, yup you heard me two times ! Most people miss the fact that the line at the top of the spool only sees water, there is about another 100 yards or so of brand new line below ! When your line frays and looks old, depending on how often you fish(usually once a year during heavy fishing), un-spool it and then spool it on with the line that was originally on the bottom being the line on top now.
The AMFisH guy…