Braid

[Loughers]

I've recently changed to braid and found it a lot less forgiving than mono - pulled the hook out a couple of times recently. Am I doing it wrong?

[bpmurray]

The thing about braid is that there's no give - you get the message immediately when you get a bite and if you have a stiff rod with a feisty fish, you have to be careful or it'll snap. I only use braid now (with the exception of mono on very light gear on fresh water) but I also tend to use light rods too. This means that I fight even big powerful Norwegian coalfish or halibut, or blue shark with the rod as much as the line, so there are no sudden slams on the line. If you're going after something like tuna which hit the line like a train, you simply have to use mono to absorb the sudden impact.

The other aspect is pulling a hook. If you don't allow some cushioning using the rod and an appropriate drag setting, there's a danger that the fish will simply pull the hook out. Is your drag very tight? Is your rod very stiff? And, importantly, what species are you losing?

[Loughers]

I've been keeping the drag tight as I'm after wrasse and where I fish once they get their head down it's goodnight Vienna!

Still not convinced as to the benefits of braid but I'll persevere

[JimC]

If the hooks are pulling you are:

Fish was not hooked well to begin with
Drag set too tight
Using a broom handle of a rod!

Are you using a mono/fluro leader/tippet?

[Dave F]

Loosen the drag. You'll still have way less run out than mono and can turn the fish more deliberately and directly. Loosening the drag just gives you more information on what's happening as you can see the line come out to compensate for the strike and lunges rather than trying to figure out what sort of stretch and tension your mono is under for the same information.

[Loughers]

Loosen the drag. You'll still have way less run out than mono and can turn the fish more deliberately and directly. Loosening the drag just gives you more information on what's happening as you can see the line come out to compensate for the strike and lunges rather than trying to figure out what sort of stretch and tension your mono is under for the same information.

Good thinking - thanks