The Benefits of Using Braided Line in Saltwater Fishing

There are some people that love it and those that hate it, but spooling reels for saltwater fishing is an emerging trend that's emerging on the saltwater fishing scene.

Braided line is very hardy and has more strength packed into the smaller diameter, contrary to its stretch cohort, monofilament line. Braided line holds up especially well in the bay systems that are usually full of shell obstructions and submerged rocks. In these areas, monofilament often comes up short.

Greg Bagby, an experienced plugger in the Matagorda Bay system, switched to braided line for saltwater fishing several years ago. "I used to use braided line exclusively for fishing in freshwater for bass," says Bagby. "It's really hard to beat braid when your fishing for bass and have to horse them through thick weeds." "It's a lot easier to work a topwater, which is the main reason I use it, especially in high winds and at the end of casts".

Greg Bagby, along with a number of other anglers, has taken a liking to the 8 diameter-30 pound test. "I rig my line with no leader, usually using a small connector or clip which works really well for changing out lures quickly". Using loop knots are another good choice for connection.

First-time users will quickly learn how easily they can lose a fish when the drag is set incorrectly. "Remember to loosen the drag lighter that you would with monofilament," says Bagby. He states that the lips of speckled trout are soft and a no stretch line with a tight drag will likely result in lost fish.

The line offers durability and strength, but he has found the line to bury and knot in the spool on occasions. "Backlashes may be less often, but those that occur will have you trudging back to the boat." However for Greg Bagby, the pros of braid outweigh the cons.

"There is no need to change my line often and the sensitivity is great. The slack in my line has decreased drastically since I have been spooling braid rather than mono," states Captain Bubba Simons, a guide that works both offshore and the middle coast bay. He says he is favoring the use of braid more and more each day during his redfish and trout charters. "I'll be spooling all my offshore reels with braided line very soon."

If you've already checked the fishing reports and are ready to go, remember that braid works very well when using live bait and spinning reels. While it's critical to keep the slack from the line, Simons says that braided line will be less likely to create slack.

When rigging his 10 diameter-40 pound test braid, he likes a fluorocarbon leader at the end of his line. "I can attest to seeing the fluorocarbon bring more strikes," proclaims Simons. "When the surf got very clear during the past summer, I fished alongside an angler that was using the same lure but did not have a fluorocarbon leader. The fish were drastically biting my lure more often than his.