The Traditional Fisherman's Forum

Does anyone use braid for lure fishing and does it have any effect on lined rings?

I often use 30lb braid (Spider Wire) on heavier spinning and baitcasting rods for bass and muskie, using Ambassadeur reels. My rods typically have lined lower ring only of agate, the rest of the rings are Perfection chrome (US), the tips are always Hopkins & Holloway chrome. I continually cast all day with some quite large lures. The reason for using braid, the hooks can nick the line (nylon) on casting even with a wire trace, and the zero stretch aids in hooking/ playing large fish.

I have yet to see any grooving or damage from the braid to the rings. One of the rods is a heavy muskie rod that I made in 2003 and I just inspected the rings to find no grooving at all.

Yes, I use it as it gives much better bite detection and hook-up rate and I've never really noticed any ring problems but, should you do a lot of heavy work then it may cost you a ring or two.

I think its worth it for the amount of fish you catch.