braids

[dot compost]

Some days it is'nt much of a problem. On other days the lost fish will have me tearing my hair out. Is it the braids? I lose fish trolling with mono too, but it's beginning to look like most are lost on the braids. Any observations and/or solutions? Is a mono leader vital? If so, how long?

[Wish Fish]

Braids will work fine if you keep the tension set a lot looser than you do with Mono. Most fish hook themselves when trolling. You will lose them trying to retrieve them if the drag is to tight on braided lines. With long 100 to 200 foot mono you have a lot of stretch that will not give you a good hookup and you will loose them bringing them in. Retrieve your braided line with a steady retrieve. Do not pump while bringing the fish in. Using this method I seldom lose a fish.

[T man]

I agree with "Wish Fish's" comments. Works good for me. I also use about a 6 ft. leader of 15 lb. test Seaguar Carbon Pro (14 lb. test Fireline).
T man

[bladerunner_48134]

I switched from mono to braid for the very reason that your having... got tired of broken line. Could it be that your braid isn't breaking- but becoming untied? if you don't already; try tying a uniknot (hangmans knot) you can find a picture of this knot on this website. This knot is very versatile & extremely resilient. I started using "spiderwire" fusion model in mossy green, the test I use is 24lb. test but this line has 12lb. diameter! Almost zero stretch as well as SUPER strong. I've casted this line, hit trees, & peeled the bark off (accidentally of course).

[Kolby]

If your losing fish because of line, I would be very surprised. I'd venture to guess that a different presentation, or different hook size in your trolling applications is needed for the days you lose fish.

With braids, larger hooks, both in diameter and gap will benefit you. If fish are striking your lures half heartedly, then change colors, styles, speed up, or slow down until you find something they consistently inhale. Just some thoughts.


Kolby

[dot compost]

I appreciate the advice. The line does'nt break and my knots hold except on the snags. I think Kolby hit the nail on the head. It seems that the tough days are when I lose the most fish. I probably just notice it more when the bites are scarce. The bites been real tough for the last few weeks. Naturally as soon as I start whinin' about the braids I go out, like this afternoon, and land six fish for six bites- all on the braids.

[Terroreyes]

I lose quite a few fish trolling. Don't think it's the line. I just need to start using a net! They usually pop off just as they break the surface next to the boat. Never happens when I'm stationary or drifting.
[br][div align="center"][br][center][br][font color="#3300CC";font face="Roman"; size="+3"][br]When I take to the water [br]there's terror in the [br] [font color="red"; size="+5"; font face="webdings"] N N

[Burr ND]

I will say this kind of tongue in cheek. After several years trolling with my 8'6" IMX Graphite rods, with good success, I found myself on the lake wanting to troll and all I had was my 8'6" Cabela's Depthmaster DOWNRIGGER rod. We are talking a comparison of $250.00 rods at home and at $30.00 rod in my boat. I wasn't too optimistic. I always troll superline.

Well, I kind of noticed that day that every fish I caught was hooked really solid, which was really different. I mean almost all the fish were hooked both upper and lower jaw on the same treble. They aren't coming off - at least not the little ones I catch. So, I just took note, and tried it again - and again - and again - same result. Now I'm beginning to think that when trolling super lines, I will use my floppy downrigger rod long before the IMX's. I have read and heard this to be true before, but didn't think it was that big of a deal. It seems to be for me.

But at the same time, I'm not dumping my IMX's just yet. They just feel so nice when pulling a crank, every little tick tick is there. But, if I really felt I had to hook up on every bite, I would try a floppy rod. I don't use any mono leader. Take it for what it's worth, it may be something to try.

[SUPERTROLLER]

Long limber rods and loose drags will keep more fish hooked up. The other suggestion to not pump the rods was a good one. Just keep pressure on and then reel in steady. There is no reason to set the hook when using Superlines, even with boards. The fish will set the hook all by itself. I use 7 and 8 ft. Ugly Stiks because they are so forgiving. This gives the fish less leverage to tear the hook hole larger. I lose very few fish once hooked while trolling. Most I've lost in the last couple years have been from use of Fireline and stiffer jigging rods. (and yes, even then I keep the drags as loose as I can get away with)

[marcbodi]

Hi,
I use 20lb power pro off boards and use lite down rigger rods 8'6" and i use a 7' mono leader not just for the Walleyes but the Steelhead
seem to like it better.I like to use 17' mono off the downriggers.30lb test spider wire on the Dipsys with a 6'-25lb leader.

May I be fishing somewhere Tomorrow

[REW]

The posters have it right.
Go with long limber downrigger rods, and your lost fish will be a thing of the past.

With a fishing system, you need give.
The lines don't give, the hooks don't give, so you need to put "give" into the form of the system - in the form of long soft rods.

Give some 9 foot downrigger rods a try for trolling with braids, and you won't go back.

Take care
REW

[ebijack]

besides the other good posts, ( i agree the rods really make a difference) a couple other things to try... on some days i force feed the fish. if i see a board "wiggle" and i'm missing bites, i'll free spool the board back about 6ft or strip off about 6 ft of line which puts the lure/bait in the fishes face/mouth. some days i find you have to wait for the fish to take the board back/load up before even touching the rod or you'll lose em. i've also lost less fish by keeping the rod low and to the side of the boat with the steady reel. this seems to keep the fish lower to help stop the "sking" on top of the water where you will lose fish.
hope that helps

[Lund AnglerMJ]

I like to use a long rod,with my braid-lines.My 7' rod,with a light drag.....and reel 'em in,slow.Ultra slow.Go Steelers!!!!!!