kymbo56 Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 I'm looking for some feedback from the more Mature Raiders; you know who you are, the ones who now suffer sunburn on the dome, know what a zac is, etc. Yes, those with a bit of mileage on the clock. What I want to discuss is tying knots in this new fangled soft, thin, plyable line called braid. When I stared fishing a half century ago, knot tying was relatively easy, day or night. Mono was the only choice of line, it is nice and stiff, and with a little practice, knot tying was done more by feel than sight. Could tie a blood knot in my sleep! Now we have this wonderful new stuff; BRAID. Yes, I like it to fish with, great feel, low diameter, good casting, supple, etc.; but blimey, trying to tie knots in it is like trying to tie a single strand of hair. In good daylight with the reading specs on, OK; but anyother time, no chance. What I would like to know is any of your secrets to working with this stuff. Seriously, I find it a huge problem for me. Am I alone?? Cheers, Kymbo, Keep on fishin! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
user1829 Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 I'm looking for some feedback from the more Mature Raiders; you know who you are, the ones who now suffer sunburn on the dome, know what a zac is, etc. Yes, those with a bit of mileage on the clock. What I want to discuss is tying knots in this new fangled soft, thin, plyable line called braid. When I stared fishing a half century ago, knot tying was relatively easy, day or night. Mono was the only choice of line, it is nice and stiff, and with a little practice, knot tying was done more by feel than sight. Could tie a blood knot in my sleep! Now we have this wonderful new stuff; BRAID. Yes, I like it to fish with, great feel, low diameter, good casting, supple, etc.; but blimey, trying to tie knots in it is like trying to tie a single strand of hair. In good daylight with the reading specs on, OK; but anyother time, no chance. What I would like to know is any of your secrets to working with this stuff. Seriously, I find it a huge problem for me. Am I alone?? Cheers, Kymbo, Keep on fishin! i tie my best knots under a 150W halogen in the workshop... i was trying to show my mate how to do an albright in his living room and couldnt see a bloody thing under his fluoro lights... a solid back ground helps loads too... at night - LED head lamp is the go for getting these knots tied... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jordan.widz Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 I'm no fossil but can tie a good knot, just give yourself plenty of tag end use big loops for knots like uni's and the like. With enough practice with the braid you'll be tieing them in your sleep once again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunter Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 I'm in my early sixties and need to wear spectacles all the time. No problem with braid as such, indeed I find the pliability and softness easier than the springiness of mono or fluoro, but I have recently started to fish with Nanofil which even at 6lbs is awfully thin. Tying it to the fluoro leader at the water is very tricky, and the knot needs to be perfect for Nanofil not to slip it. So for the last few weeks, I've taken to loop-to-loop connections to the leader, which are much easier and so far have held extremely well. Glides quite nicely through the rod guides too although I often only use a leader of a meter or so. Must say I'm very happy with the Nanofil, casts small SPs very well and is much smoother than Fireline. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kymbo56 Posted August 21, 2012 Author Share Posted August 21, 2012 Gee guys, thanks for the fast feedback. I did not expect such instant response. I guess the answer is 'more practice'; I like the idea of tying under good light on ther bench also; but sometimes, well ya just need to do it on the job. Off to get some practice, Cheers, Kymbo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreyNurse Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 Hi Kymbo, Like you, I've only discovered braid reasonably recently (last 10 months). I love most of the time. However, in low light or windy conditions, it's a real chore to tie a confident knot. The damn stuff is as limp as my noodle (If that's not proof of age, I dunno what is) .I always tie my leader at home using a double uni knot. I was going to use fluorocarbon for my leaders, but I read an article where the author claimed that, compared to mono, fluoro was much more brittle. So I stick with mono as my choice of leader material. I also tie my hooks and lures to my terminal rig at home, also. Now I don't care what others say, but I'm paranoid about line twist (yes, it DOES happen with braid on spinning reels), so I always use the smallest bearing type swivel I can find to match the breaking strain / line diameter that I'm using. I simply leave the swivel attached to the leader and use a mono trace the same breaking strain as the leader, then I only have to tie a trace with the terminal gear pre-rigged using a four turn half blood knot. If my line is going to break, that's where it will happen, so tying a new trace while fishing is easy peasy. Cheers, Nursie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kymbo56 Posted August 31, 2012 Author Share Posted August 31, 2012 Hi GreyNurse, Thanks for the tips on how you set your self up when using Braid. I think your methods make a whole lot of sense, I like small swivels as well. Great feedback and sound advice, just what I was looking for. Thanks again, Kymbo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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