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Superlines: braid vs fused experiment Written by yakman    Thursday, 25 December 2008 04:15           | Print |      E-mail   Stren microfuse superlineI thought I'd finished my quest to discover the ultimate braided line for kayak fishing when I stumbled upon Diawa Team Sensor braid, which not only passed my visibility requisite (bright orange) it's also a very smooth, thin diameter line and casts superbly. I did find, however, that I was getting more tangles at the rod tip than I had hoped. This was occurring partly because the line was so thin (4lb). Not long ago I had a conversation with Rob Paxervanous about the pros and cons of various types of superlines and he suggested I try Rapala Titanium, which he believed would result in less tangles. He was right - the same weight line in the Rapala Titanium definitely reduced rod-tip wrapping, and I think this is partly due to the fact that the 4lb Titanium is a fused type of superline and not a classic braid. Unfortunately, I found it didn't cast quite as well as the Diawa Sensor line, nor was it as visible in most conditions. So the jury is still out for me on braid vs fused style superlines. Growing tired of indecision, I've decided to conduct an experiment to figure out which type of line I think best suits my needs as a kayak fisho. As previously ranted about in times past, I'm a huge fan of high-vis line (partly because it makes it easier to see bites from a descending lure on a slack line, but more so because its much easier for other yakkers and boaters to see) so that's one attribute I look for. Lines that are less inclined to tangle is becoming an issue for me as well because the more I untangle fishing line from the confines of a kayak, the less I want to.  So I've spooled up two reels - both of which are intended for species such as flathead, tailor, snapper, jewfish - with 2 superlines of the same weight class from the same manufacturor. One is a classic braid (Stren Super Braid) and the other is a fused style (Stren Microfuse). I'll be fishing with both reels heavily over the next month, primarily from St Georges Basin. The plan is to give them both equal use and note the difference is casting ability and how often either of them get tangled at the reel or rod tip. I've actually been using the Microfuse stuff for a while now and am growing more and more fond of it, so it'll be interesting to see how the Super braid version works. Speaking of fishing line, I've been using 4lb line in St Georges Basin for a while now and have concluded that it's just too light for the task. Many would disagree I'm sure and yes, it's usually strong enough to pull in most of the fish that can be found there, but I tend to fish close to the banks most of the time and find snags often. I've lost a few good lures recently and a few is more than enough. Besides... more and more I'm liking my chances of catching a jew, and 4lb line most definitely wouldn't cut the mustard. So I've stepped up to 10lb, which is probably pushing the friendship with species like bream and whiting. If I succeed in catching that big old jew, it'll prove to be a small and perfectly acceptable sacrifice. Last Updated on Thursday, 25 December 2008 04:16   Copyright © 2010 Kayak Fishing. All Rights Reserved. Joomla! is Free Software released under the GNU/GPL License.