[Ray.S]

I've just come home in disgust :evil: HT was @ 9.00pm got there about 7.30 to find quite a swell on but no wind. Fished for 10 minutes with a 3" bighammer shad and wallop, had a good'un on...... for 30 secs and then...... my bloody line snapped :-o:evil::shock: I wasn't going to suffer that again so came home cursing, as you can imagine.

I recently changed down from 20lb braid to 10lb. I also recently decided to go back to 20lb because I've lost loads of lures recently with the 10lb line snapping when snagged, but a fish !


Ooooohhhhh I'm so sick

 

[Mick Ward]

What idiot told you to fish with lighter braid Ray?

 

[DECKY]

sorry my friend i think 10lb braid is just too light tried it for a season nearly had to remorgage i lost so much gear

 

[Ray.S]

sorry my friend i think 10lb braid is just too light tried it for a season nearly had to remorgage i lost so much gear

"Too light" Decky......! That's putting it mildly. ****.... don't ask ! I'm just so gutted. Losing a fish through your own fault or just because it didn't connect properly is one thing but to have your tackle let you down........ I was just beginning to think I was getting a good handle on my lure technique and then this ! Oh the school of hard knocks is a hard one to follow. I'm just so sick.

 

[Ray.S]

Guys, since we are on the subject, so what bs line do you use ?

 

[pete smith ireland]

Ray, 10lb braid IMO you were fishing to light . I prefer 20lb braid but am using 14lb at the mo. all I could get at my local store.

 

[DECKY]

Everyone i know uses between 20 and 25lb it takes more wear and tear.dont worry your not the only one to loose a fish like that, july session last year landed 4 fish between 3 and 6lb on tide minnow and 15lb braid then hooked a monster one flick of the tail and i was left blushing,my defence i should have retied my knots havent used less than 20lb since.(i still think it was his gill plate that did it grrrrr)

 

[Ray.S]

Yeah.... back to 20lb braid, no doubt. That ain't going to happen again, it's too painful !

 

[Ben Field]

What sort of fishing and lures have you been using Ray? I'm guessing the posts above about 20lb+ braid are actually bass lure related and not LRF? On a rod soft enough to handle it, even 10lb braid takes a lot of effort to break with a direct pull from a fish? Guessing it must have nicked itself on a rock before the fish took? Bit of a bummer losing it :-(

 

[wjmoree]

In general, I think it´s of little use talking about breaking strengths (line class) without taking into account the rod which it´s going to be used with: it’s all about the synergy between rod and line and eventually the stopping power you can develop before the drag has to come in.

 

[Ray.S]

For what it's worth, I'm using a Mike Ladle 10/10 Pro and Power Pro Braid - was 10lb BS - going back to 20. It will not have been a Bass as they are mighty scarce up here in Donegal Bay - more likely than not a Pollack, which are plentiful. Still smarting this morning.

Don't forget I had already decided to go back to 20 because of the number of breaks I've had with the 10lb when snagged - ordered it the other day.

 

[Keith White]

We are taking Bass to 8lb out on 8lb and 10lb braids.
If you are breaking 10lb braid, you are doing something wrong.

Virtually impossible to break 10lb braid even on a SuperMix with a good Bass on.
If you hit rocks, 20lb will slice off just as quick as 30lb or whatever too.

Get your tackle balanced.

 

[Ray.S]

If you are breaking 10lb braid, you are doing something wrong.

Like what, and what's wrong with my tackle, and why has it been breaking easily when snagged, that's not 'tackle'. Why should it be my 'tackle' and not clipping a rock that's to blame .. ? ?

 

[wjmoree]

What idiot told you to fish with lighter braid Ray?

This idiot... LOL.

You can put it all in a simple equasion: too weak braid = too powerful rod

It's just the same thing... the 2 sides of the same coin. A lot of people tend to blame the braid and upsize the braid accordingly, but by walking down this road a lot of people will end up and get stuck with heavy tackle. Try the other route and downsize, but this time on the rod, and you'll end up with lighter tackle and much more fun.

And with breaking strengths, I mean TRUE breaking strengths, not lines severely damaged or weakend by poor knots (some knots can/will reduce this with nearly 50%).

 

[Ben Field]

I think what Keith is saying Ray is that a rod like the 10/10 is quite a powerful rod. On paper, 10lb braid is probably just about below what would normally be recommended for a rod with such power. As you go finer and finer with lines and braids, the rod most suitable to fishing light braids becomes exponentially softer - to absorb any sudden jerks etc that may happen during a fight. Braid is useless strength wise when it comes to sudden jolts, so the rod needs to be able to cushion it. It's possible in this case that the rod may not quite have had the cushioning softness to absorb a short jerk or run. When stepping down line sizes, as has been said, the rod does need to follow. Hope that helps clear it up a bit? IRS very unlikely that you'll actually have done anything wrong, but more likely perhaps that, as good as the 10/10 might be, no one rod can do everything - so it might have been a touch overgunned.

 

[Ray.S]

I think what Keith is saying Ray is that a rod like the 10/10 is quite a powerful rod. On paper, 10lb braid is probably just about below what would normally be recommended for a rod with such power. As you go finer and finer with lines and braids, the rod most suitable to fishing light braids becomes exponentially softer - to absorb any sudden jerks etc that may happen during a fight. Braid is useless strength wise when it comes to sudden jolts, so the rod needs to be able to cushion it. It's possible in this case that the rod may not quite have had the cushioning softness to absorb a short jerk or run. When stepping down line sizes, as has been said, the rod does need to follow. Hope that helps clear it up a bit? IRS very unlikely that you'll actually have done anything wrong, but more likely perhaps that, as good as the 10/10 might be, no one rod can do everything - so it might have been a touch overgunned.

That makes good sense Ben. In fact when it broke it was when the fish decided it had had enough and went ballistic. It was at that point the line went. I could tell it was a good size fish, probably the best I've 'had' since I started on the sea last year. I like my Rod and so I'll be sticking with the 20lb Braid. The Braid is so thin even at 20lb that you could hardly term it 'heavy tackle'. I rarely had any problem with the 20lb before and so should have just stuck with it. It's all good experience.

 

[Keith White]

Like what, and what's wrong with my tackle, and why has it been breaking easily when snagged, that's not 'tackle'. Why should it be my 'tackle' and not clipping a rock that's to blame .. ? ?

I never said anything was wrong with your tackle.

I said, you aren't using matched tackle.

Believe me, a constant pull against 20lb braid would break most beachcasters before the line breaks.
If you are breaking out of jigs (we are discussing HRF here) then so what, we all loose gear. It happens.

If we are talking plugging...
Different world.

Personally, there are two scenario's..

Choose gear to catch fish or choose gear around bending hooks out and accept the consequences.

If you aren't loosing gear you are generally fishing the wrong places anyway.

Get you m8 to tie off 10lb to your rod, drag set and ask him to walk away.
Nothing will break and you'll get fed up well before he does. Try applying even 6lb of drag.
Takes some holding on too.

 

[Pedro B]

10 pound test braid (0,15 mm +- diammeter) is more than enought for seabass fishing.

I've taking several + 10 kilogram fish on 10 pound power pro, no problem whatsoever.

Tune your drag, and use your rod to work the fish.

It's a fishing rod, and some people think it's a lifting stick ^^

 

[Ray.S]

I never said anything was wrong with your tackle.

I said, you aren't using matched tackle.

Believe me, a constant pull against 20lb braid would break most beachcasters before the line breaks.
If you are breaking out of jigs (we are discussing HRF here) then so what, we all loose gear. It happens.

If we are talking plugging...
Different world.

Personally, there are two scenario's..

Choose gear to catch fish or choose gear around bending hooks out and accept the consequences.

If you aren't loosing gear you are generally fishing the wrong places anyway.

Get you m8 to tie off 10lb to your rod, drag set and ask him to walk away.
Nothing will break and you'll get fed up well before he does. Try applying even 6lb of drag.
Takes some holding on too.

Thanks Keith, but that's not really telling me anything, and I'm trying no learn. This is simple. I have a Mike Ladle 10/10 pro rod I was using Power Pro 10lb Braid, a fish snapped me, so what do you think the reason is - as Ben eloquently described, or do you have another angle on it that I can learn from ?

 

[Keith White]

First of all, they are good rods, chances are, the line you have is also fine.

I can't remember the last time a fish actually 'broke' me off. Sliced off, yes. that happens with Bass if your leader isn't long enough or, even worse, you fish braid straight through.
The other thing is knots...

Thinner braids don't like the same knots we often take for granted with thicker diameters. I'd seriously recommend playing with some new knots. We are having to re-adjust to the newer super thin lines as they don't knot the same.

Drag. Check your drag. 4lb of drag on 10lb or even 20lb line is ample.

Check your guides. The slightest little nick in ceramic guides will weaken braid. It'll snap very easily.

Getting snagged. Don't Yank the rod..EVER !

All braids are crap at shock resistance.

Try a different braid. I had similar problems with the Varivas Avani Sea Bass. That's a mega bucks line that just didn't work for me.

Honestly, for HRF especially, having a thin line is imperative.

Take a serious look at some of the newer 8 carrier braids that are just as thin as 8lb braids were, but are now approaching 20lb.

YGK PE 1.5 is very thin but 22LB !

Don't use a newer braid until you have checked your rod guides with a VERY fine toothcomb. You will really need to check carefully.
They might not always show themselves.

What you are experiencing is very, very unusual m8. Fish just hardly break lines unless something is wrong. You'd have to be yanking on the line, rod pointed at the fish with no drag to bust 10lb braid on a 5 or 6lb Bass. You'd have to be very inexperienced to do that. Like I said, just check everything and seriously, try that pull test with a m8 and see if braid breaks again.

Good luck..