13 replies to this topic

[Pinck]

Hey Guys,

So I'm in my first season of fishing, and managing to get my line wet for about 45 minutes every morning before the kids get up, then about another hour later in the day with the kids. I've been doing this for about a month now and in the last 2 weeks my line has started breaking far too often and far too easily. I'm currently using Suffix 832 10lb, and I'm wondering if with my frequent use if the line might just be weakening from repeated wet/dry cycles. Anyone with more experience than me see this happen before with braid?

I'm also starting to really take my time with tying knots to see if I've gotten sloppy or something which might be causing a break at my knot (polimar, for the most part). It's hard to tell where the break happens when you get a bite, set the hook, then it goes weightless and you reel in a broken line.

Any other suggestions or questions appreciated!

John

[staffman]

Braid shouldn't break as often as you are describing,in fact it rarely ever breaks. I think that it is likely that your knot is slipping which means that your tying the polymar knot incorrectly, because it should never slip. Another possibility could be that you have a cut in one of your guides. Take a cue tip and run it around the inside of each guide, if there is a cut or break in the guide you should see part of the cue tip get stuck in the guide. If the guides are good then it must be your knot.There are other knots that you can use like the trilene knot or the San Diego Jam Knot.

[efka]

proper palomar should never break off, color some braid with black marker a foot above knot and see if its the knot that breaks.
i would check the guides first.

[Float_On]

What are you fishing for? Is it possible you have a pile grabbing your bait and cutting your line every now and then?
Is it breaking when you are snagged?
It sounds like a knot issue...
Breaking braid is difficult, even 10lb.

[Float_On]

***pike

[Pinck]

Just did a quick visual check on my guides and didn't see anything. I'll check against a Q-tip tonight to be sure.

Good call on marking the line above the knot to check where the break is occurring. I'll give that a shot as well.

There are certainly pike in the waters here, and I've had my bait stolen by them before, but I'm getting breaks when I know I've got a bass on the line (once had a clear visual) and go to set the hook. I've also snapped twice when I've just gotten snagged on a rock, and give the line a little pop to get off of it.

I'll let you guys know how it goes. I know for the next little bit I'll just be fishing cheap jigs and grubs to try to minimize how much money I'm throwing into the lake and never seeing back.

Cheers,

John

[NADO]

I fish for bass at the mouth of the maitland alot and ive found bass have no problem breaking braid off of the rocks. I bought a 10lb spool of powerpro once and after one outing took the entire spool off tossed it in the garbage and went back to the 20lb. Even with 20lb I need to cut off a 4 or 5 ft section after every decent fish I catch there as the line gets frayed on the rocks while bringing the fish in. In my experience 10lb braid is very fragile in comparison to the 20lb and the 20lb isnt even very thick in diameter so I just stick to the 20lb.

[Pinck]

Yeah, I had a bit of an impulse buy moment when the 832 went on sale at crappy tire on payday. I picked up another spool of 10lb, a spool of 20lb and a spool of 50lb for shoots and giggles. After my line started snapping repeatedly I got frustrated and threw the 50lb on to the spare spool that came with my reel and started throwing that. Not sure how anyone casts 50lb any kind of distance though, darn near killed my shoulder just trying to get it out a few feet from shore.

I think if I can't narrow it down to being my knot or a barb in my guides, I'm probably going to spool my secondary $20 combo (currently just has the stock 8lb mono) with the braid that keeps breaking on my main rod, and reel up my main rod with the 20lb.

[getin]

Braid is known to break rather easily if it is given a sudden stretch. Like when you cast a heavy lure and your line does not go loose (backlash tangled), it is very likely to break. I have had line breaks several times when casting spinerabit and the line got tangled when casting (on a baitcaster).

[NADO]

Braid is known to break rather easily if it is given a sudden stretch. Like when you cast a heavy lure and your line does not go loose (backlash tangled), it is very likely to break. I have had line breaks several times when casting spinerabit and the line got tangled when casting (on a baitcaster).

Really? I have never had this happen, the only time my braid has ever broken is when the tension of my rod and the fish rubs against a sharp rock and the line is pretty much cut. 9/10 times when I get a really bad snag with 20 lb braid I am able to bend the hook back before the line breaks.

[PainInTheBass]

These are all very good possibilities. Braid hs poor abrasion resistance. If fishing rocky areas or areas with zebra mussels, and the fish run and rub the line against any of these, the fraying will eventually lead to breakage. Also, braid, while it has great tensile strength, is not very good with shock absorption. If it is rated at 10 lb, then sudden shock forces of greater than 10lb are easily applied, and may be the culprit. As others have already stated, check your knots. While the palomar is a great knot, braid has a tendency to slip, and if you are cutting your tag end too close to the knot, you could be the victim of knot slippage. And, although you have seen a bass on the line prior to breakage on at least one event, bass and pike often attack the same types of lures; so, a pike biting you off should not be overlooked as a possibility. Considering using a leader may help to reduce this.

On a personal note; I have had 30 lb braid snap when the ine tangled on a cast (twice if i recall correctly). So, it can happen.

[Garfield the Cat]

One suggestion Get some small wire leader from walmart. The thinest ones are $5 for three but well worth it.

[getin]

dollor store has those wire leaders as well. 3 for 1$

[Spinninreel]

I would trim off about 15 feet of line and see if that makes a difference.