Is Braided Line Good For Pike?

Both braid and monofilament are great choices when it comes to picking your mainline for pike. Braid is the perfect choice when spin fishing or fishing with dead baits, while mono is your number one choice for live bait fishing and trolling.

What braid should I use for pike fishing?

I recommend using a braided main line of at least 30lb and preferably 50lb breaking strain for all of your deadbait pike fishing. Pike are not put off by the thickness of the line, unlike other fish like carp. Braid is also very thin compared to the equivalent diameter of monofilament line.

When should you not use braided fishing line?

One disadvantage is when snagged it sometime becomes very difficult to break. Braided line is generally more expensive than monofilament line. Braided line can put more stress on reel parts, rods and line guides causing premature wear and breakage. Braided line may not be the best choice when fishing clear water.

What is braided fishing line best for?

Braids are good when fishing heavy water vegetation like lily pads, hydrilla, water hyacinths, and cattails. The braid will cut through the stems of most of these plants, keeping the fish from tangling you up, so you will land fish that you would lose with other lines.

Is braided line more visible to fish?

While nothing is certain, there are some key truths for anglers looking for the best line for each fishing situation. Fluorocarbon is the line that is most invisible underwater, while the braided line is the strongest, yet most visible above water.

What pound line should I use for pike?

You’ll need a stiff rod, 14 to 17 pound test line, and 9 to 12 inch steel leaders. Every pike fisherman has caught his share of northern from 4 to 10 pounds. Most of these fish are caught in shallow water.

Do you need a steel leader for pike?

Wire leaders for pike are needed when fishing with baitfish, smaller lures, and softbaits, as these can be swallowed swiftly and easily by the pike. For larger lures and when trolling for pike, you can use a thick fluorocarbon leader instead, as it is unlikely that the pike will swallow the entire bait.

Does braided line cast farther?

Braid proved to be the better choice compared to traditional monofilament line in terms of casting distance for both experiments. The first test with a heavier weight showed a 7% advantage to the braid. And the updated test with wet lines that were both newly spooled showed a whopping 30% advantage for the braid.

Does color of braided fishing line matter?

And does the color of fishing line matter? The truth is, no single color of braided line has ever proved to cause fish to bite more readily, but that shouldn’t preclude fishermen from being mindful when selecting line.

Can I use braided line for all fishing?

​Any spinning reel or bait casting reel can be used with braid. The only difference between fishing with braid and other fishing lines, is to remember to loosen your drag. Since braid doesn’t stretch, you will need to loosen your drag in order to effectively hook and land fish.

Do you need a leader with braided line?

You need to connect a leader to your braided line if you are fishing rough grounds or super clear waters, or if you are targeting sharp-toothed fish like flounder, bluefish, or the sharks. Apart from that, it should be okay to use straight braid without expecting any problems.

What color is hardest for fish to see?

The science says a multi-colored line that blends into the background should be harder for fish to see and track. While red and green blend well in many situations, blue blends best in offshore waters.

What baits to throw on braid?

To counter this setback, it’s common for anglers to tie either a monofilament or fluorocarbon leader to the braid.
Best Lures with Braided Line.

Lures	Pound-Test
Swim Jigs	30 – 40 lbs
Vibrating Jigs	30 – 40 lbs
Shallow Crankbaits	40 – 50 lbs
Deep Diving Crankbaits	40 – 50 lbs

Is 20lb braid good for pike?

Nothing less than 20lb braid for pike. Running a high quality leader is a must have for toothy critters like pike.

What size reel is best for pike fishing?

The 4000 size reel is ideal for targeting species such as pike, salmon and even specimen sized trout. Not only does the larger size provide you with increased line capacity for accommodating higher breaking strains and higher diameter lines, but it also provides you with more cranking power.

Should I use braid or mono?

Mono holds knots better and costs less than braid. It also works better on smaller bait-casting reels because light braid can dig into itself. Florida sailfish and dolphin anglers still use a lot of mono on the troll, and some use it for kite lines because it runs through the clips better.

Can I use fluorocarbon line as a leader for pike?

For fishing techniques where the risk of bite-offs is lower, fashioning an 18-inch long leader from 50- to 80-pound a test fluorocarbon line is a good option. Fluorocarbon is flexible, holds knots well, and has enough abrasion resistance to turn back the teeth of pike and muskie in most situations.

Can northern pike bite through fluorocarbon line?

Fluorocarbon is more abrasion resistant than monofilament and braids, so it has a better chance in contact with razor pike teeth. Most scientific sources also consider it much less visible to fish than monofilament and, especially, braid under water.

Do steel leaders scare fish?

Do Wire Leaders Scare Fish? As many leaders are coated or come in dark, low visibility colors, they do not seem to scare the fish you target.

Is 10lb braid the same as 10lb mono?

If you read the directions on a braid package it recommends that you to match monofilament to braid by diameter up until you get to 50# and then you match lbs for lbs. Using 10 lbs. braid would be the equivalent of using 2 lb monofilament.

Is fluorocarbon better than braid?

Today’s anglers use braid for numerous applications — not only for its tensile strength, but because of the way it behaves on the spool, particularly with spinning reels. Braid combats line twist better than mono or fluoro, and if used in lighter pound tests, it will outcast them as well.