Lesson Learnt
I have recently moved house and my proximity to the beach now means that I can sneak down for fish once young kids go to bed.
I have only recently gotten into fishing (from my limited exposure at Rotto and and cottesloe Groin as a kid) so I went down and bought a new little flick rod and was talked into getting some braid (15lb). I thought "Damn that braid was expensive" until I started using it for tailor fishing. It does make a difference!!
I then thought I will pull out the old beach rod and buy some 40lb braid and throw it out while I am fishing with my flick rod. Being a tight arse I went to the internet to find some cheap braid. 500 meters of 40lb braid for $35....what a bargain (so I thought).
On saturday night I was down at floreat drain and my beach rod took of. I had set the drag with little resistance and line was peeling of for about 15 seconds. Then the line snaps. I bring it in and the braid has abrassion marks on about a 1.5 meter length before the break. Admittedly my mono leader was only about 1 meter long but I thought it was all sand out there.
I am working on the assumption (apart from being a shit fisherman) that I got what I paid for when I only spent $35 on the line. So its off to buy some better braid this week.
If I am way off line with my way of thinking then please correct me.
Cheers
Pembo
Swan River Fisher
Posts: 877
Date Joined: 03/05/11
no your probably right...
no your probably right... haha
Wazza79
Posts: 315
Date Joined: 23/05/11
Not all cheap braid is crap.
Just gotta try a few mate. Have been using one in particular $18 bucks for 300m, and can't fault it yet, but I'm sure there is some nasty stuff out there.
Gaffatron
Posts: 355
Date Joined: 07/07/11
yeah you are probably right,
yeah you are probably right, although i did get some cheap 30lb braid off the net gor 300m for $13! and it has been pretty good, and you would think for it to have abrassion marks it would had to have been rubbing on somethin, but better braid would have better abrassion resistance
Andy_b
Posts: 633
Date Joined: 19/10/11
think u have covered
think u have covered everythink there, now u will land that fish happy days
Ben Derecki
Posts: 1926
Date Joined: 10/10/07
Depends what brand of braid
Depends what brand of braid it is. Braid like Tuff Line you can get pretty cheap on eBay and I wouldn't classify that as being below average line.
The abrasion could have been from the back end of a noah, tail of a ray, a section of reef (is there any at Floreat? not sure). As you know braid isn't the world's most resistant material, which is why you had a leader.
I wouldn't go and spend a packet on new braid based on one break-off.
Troy Summers
Posts: 408
Date Joined: 14/08/11
I love the cheap eBay braid
I love the cheap eBay braid and go for the 1000m spools... got 10lb on all my kiddies combos for about 30 bucks.... 90lb(yeh I know.. overkill) on my and my neighbours reels for the deep stuff, and that got me my first Dhu!! only break off(snagged) I had that day was the 60lb Instinct leader... I figure until it starts making me lose fish then maybe Ill start buying better...
On a similar note... Ive already learnt my lesson with hooks... I dont buy the cheap bulkies from Big W(since a massive run and then a straight hook)... I buy Owner and Instinct only, they seem to work well
Troy
Terry
Posts: 458
Date Joined: 04/12/05
abrasion
I reckon that you had a shark on the line. Hence the abraded line above the leader.
Dont be too quick to blame it on your cheap buy of braid. I have had this same thing happen with my expensive Jigman Braid.
pembo6
Posts: 175
Date Joined: 21/08/11
Hi Pembo (wow, thats
Hi Pembo (wow, thats confusing...... I tried to get that name months ago but it was not available??). Oh well.
I have previously bought cheap braid from ebay and found it to be OK. But I always use a long leader (not coz of cheap braid, I just prefer long leader).
Judging by your profile info, you are using fibreglass surf rod. If you think braid makes a difference, you should try a graphite rod. About 12months ago I replaced all my rods with graphite rods & all my mono to braid. MAN, the difference is amazing. Feel every little bite & bump. Just gotta watch you dont rip the hooks out of smaller fish's mouth!!
Even after finding decent cheap braid ont he web, I have gone back to using Berkley fireline. Very well priced and great stuff imo for metro area landbased. I would think 40lb would be overkill for metro beaches, but each to their own. Kind of defeats the purpose of having braid if you use too heavy line.
Good luck with your next braid purchase. Hope you catch a big one.
Pembo
hlokk
Posts: 4290
Date Joined: 04/04/08
All braids can break from
All braids can break from abrasion, but the good ones wont break due to inferior quality. Some cheapies will still be strong enough but you're running a lot more risk. Braid failing can look like abrasion in cheaper braids as the fibers start popping out, but still quite likely a shark rubbed its tail against it too.
You can test your line if you're so inclined. About the only way to know if its up to spec. (though if you can snap it with your hands, dont bother wasting your time, haha). What you do is wrap some duct tape around a hook strung from a pergola or similar, then tie a simple uni knot with a length of braid, then loop it tight around the hook a few dozen times. Do the same at the other end and suspend a bucket (or similar) and start filling it with bricks then weigh it on a bathroom scale. If its under 50lb, some manual or digital scales can work well.
Pembo
Posts: 67
Date Joined: 16/12/11
Cheers
Hi Guys
Thanks for the advice...I think I overlooked one thing...I am blaming my equipment whilst I am a shit fisherman and should just stick to herring, gardies, skippy and tailor.
Righteo
Posts: 404
Date Joined: 23/12/11
hlokk you should write a book
hlokk you should write a book on anolgies, as for crappy braid i bought a couple spools of suffix (1200m) in 6lb and 40lb and wouldnt suggest anyone does the same, its crap.
p.s. anyone want to buy some 6lb or 40lb braid?
thinking shark mate maybe run a longer leader and as for being an average fisherman, join the club, i spend stupid amounts of money on fishing gear and think maybe it will elevate me to another level but sadly im just accumulating gear i may never use, looks cool in the rod rack and tackle box though.
Here we go again.
carnarvonite
Posts: 8667
Date Joined: 24/07/07
Cheap braid
Bought heaps of cheap braid off the net and have dumped the lot after trying to set the hooks in what felt to be a good fish more than once and have it break half way down to the bottom. The old saying "what you pay is what you get, "if its cheap then the quality will be as well.
Colt_Striker
Posts: 624
Date Joined: 26/07/09
Also check the guides on your
Also check the guides on your rod & roller around bail arm, as you mentioned OLD beach rod, if they have been damaged they may have caused the abrasion once you tightened the drag. So even if buying better quality braid could still have the same issue.