by Joe Cermele

In the comment section of a recent blog, the subject of braid/superline deterioration came up. Considering the cost of braid and superlines these days, it's no surprise that anglers get upset when these products don't seem to perform up to task. I hear countless stories about how "brand X" is the best braid ever and "brand Y" is garbage. I have a few reels spooled with braid that I have not changed in at least 2 seasons, and the line continues to perform well. And I too have watched fresh superline snap for seemingly no reason. I got in touch with Joe Meyer, Product Development Manager for Superlines at Pure Fishing (which owns Berkley, Stren, and Spiderwire) to get a crash course on why braids and superlines fail, and how to stop it from happening. What I learned was fascinating, and can definitely help you extend the life of these pricey lines.

Understanding why these lines last or fail begins with understanding how they're created. According to Meyer, all braids and superlines, regardless of brand, are made of gel-spun polyethylene. To explain just how tough the stuff is, Meyer noted that in chemical labs, most beakers and test tubes are polyethylene, because the material is not harmed or changed by any chemical and can withstand pretty extreme temperatures. The same goes for braid and superline. Unlike monofilament, fairly high heat, chemicals, and UV rays will not degrade braids and superlines.

Meyer says all of these lines eventually lose their color because you can only put color on polyethylene, not in polyethylene. Nothing likes to stick to the material, but loss of color does not mean a loss of strength. So if these lines are so tough, why do they break or degrade? Here are Meyer's top 4 reasons.

Bad Guides: "When someone comes to me and says 'I just put this line on and it keeps breaking,' the first thing I do is look at their rod. Most of the time I find a crack in the ceramic, chip, or rough spot in their guides. Braid and superlines are made of polyethylene fibers all woven together, so naturally if you start fraying those fibers, the line gets weaker."

Re-Tie Refusal: "I've heard guys say, 'Well, it's a superline. It's so strong I don't need to retie.' That's wrong. Your first 3 or 4 feet of line, whether you're catching fish or not, will weaken the fastest. Polyethylene doesn't like to bend, so just from hanging at a 90-degree angle off the rod tip, fibers can slowly fray over time. The line starts to look 'hairy' as anglers often say. Abrasion is the worst enemy of these lines. You have to check for it often."

Mismatched Gear: "It's very important that when using braid or superline, you match it with the right rod and reel. Because braid has no stretch, it doesn't handle shock very well. So if you have a rod that feels like a cue stick matched with light braid and you set the hook hard, you're not going to be happy. It's going to snap. I see it with muskie guys. They backlash on the cast and that heavy, expensive lure just keeps on going."

Hook Hangers: "I see a lot of anglers hook their crankbaits and other lures onto their reels when traveling between fishing spots. All it takes is one point touching the line or digging into the spool and it'll start to fray."

It's important to note that just because all braids and superlines are made with polyethylene doesn't mean they're all created equally. If you are a firm believer that a certain brand is better than another brand you used to fish, check the fiber/strand count. The fewer the fibers, the faster fraying on a microscopic level is going to weaken the braid. However, in theory, a length of 30-pound braid with a lower fiber count should be as strong as one with a higher count provided that line is in perfect, unfrayed condition.

So what does all this info from Meyer mean? Ultimately, your superline will take as good care of you as you do of it. If your braid keeps breaking, check the rod guides and line roller on the reel before you blame the brand. When you put the rod away at day's end, is the line or spool leaning on something that might cause it to abrade? These small details can help you get mulitple seasons out of your braid and superline.

Comments (18)

from RockySquirrel wrote 14 weeks 1 day ago

THANKS JOE!!! You are a man of for word. This is the great information I read F&S for. I guess my theory that the trolling motor battery (the invisible acid fumes), killing the line is just bunk. I am going to check those guides tonight.

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from chuckles wrote 14 weeks 1 day ago

Good info, many thanks!

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from dleurquin wrote 14 weeks 1 day ago

Very helpful. Thanks.

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from Chinook627 wrote 14 weeks 1 day ago

Great info with some interesting points. I also like how he mentions checking your line for abrasions. If the line feels frayed, I like to strip off a few feet and re-tie my leader. Since I've been doing this I've lost little to no lures. One thing that wasn't mentioned that I feel is also crucial in getting peak performance out your line is to always spool up tightly. Start with a mono backing then spool the braid on tightly with a glove or let a professional at your local tackle shop do it for you. If it sits loose on the spool it will dig when you hook up causing you to lose a fish from breaking off. Loose braid sitting on the spool can also create nasty wind knots that will cause you to lose majority of the fresh line you just spooled on which is no good when the bite is on. I also personally always fish braided lines with a swivel connected to my leader because I believe this also helps with reducing wind knots, but I also know guys that tie direct. Figure out what works best for you.

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from nuclear_fisher wrote 14 weeks 1 day ago

I have to admit I'm one of those "brand Y" guys. I must have had a bad batch of some spiderwire once, broke off soooo easily with that and I don't think it was a result of the options listed above b/c I replaced it with the same line of a different brand and it worked as expected. But, from that one bad experience I doubt I'll ever get spiderwire braid again.

And like the guys above, muchas gracias for the info. I had not thought that some bad line could be indicative of some bad guides. Will keep that nugget in mind.

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from Brian Phipps wrote 14 weeks 1 day ago

good article. even though i checked them mid season last year i am going to check my guides when i get home

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from Sayfu wrote 14 weeks 18 hours ago

Are these expensive lines "hard", and tend to wear out, or groove guides much faster than mono?

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from Koldkut wrote 14 weeks 18 hours ago

Sayfu, most ceramic guides will break from other forces before line grooves them, and it's not really the line, it's the silt in the water that gets in the line that does the abrasive work, not the line itself.

+3 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from chidjm wrote 14 weeks 9 hours ago

Joe- I would love to see a decent explanation on the proper usage and purpose of braided lines. Let me explain: I was always under the impression that braided lines allow for one to store more line on a reel, allowing for running fish or not requiring replacement of line as often, as well as cutting through vegetation while frogging or jigging. However, I've been explained that the purpose of braided line allows one to use strong line for the diameter. Both are solid points, but how is it that a rod or reel with a set drag or bend can only handle 12-20 lbs mono can also be designed to handle 50-75 lbs braided line? I would think something should break somewhere. I would think a 12-20 lbs rod is a rod made for all lines of 12-20 lbs line. Any explanation? It may be a topic for another post...

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from Big Country wrote 13 weeks 6 days ago

I'm with chidjm on that one, I would like to here more on the purpose and aplication of braided and superlines.
And thanks Joe for this post I learned alot from this one.

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from tunadave wrote 13 weeks 6 days ago

I use braid on some of my downrigger rods here in Michigan. It's thinner, so you get a little more depth out of it when running Dipsy Divers. Never had a problem with it other than hooks ripping out of a fish from lack of line stretch, but you can get snubbers to mitigate that. I also use Spectra with a top shot of fluorocarbon when I'm fishing out in the Pacific on long range boats. The only problem I can think of is heat. If you get a strong-running fish like a wahoo or a big salmon, you generate a lot of heat as the line passes through the guides. The more expensive rods use a thinner, smoother ring material in their guides to keep them from getting nicked easily and more quickly dissipate the heat from the line ripping through the guides. To protect myself, when I build a rod, I never use anything less than Alconite rings, and prefer silicon carbide if I can afford it or the customer wants it.

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from crowman wrote 13 weeks 5 days ago

I have some 20 pound power pro brand line on a couple of reels that are about 10 years old with no problems. I have a mono 8 to 10 foot leader that I tie on it and change daily after a long day on the water that takes most of the abuse. I've cut maybe 20 feet off over the years when it got a little fuzzy but the stuff is remarkable.

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from RockySquirrel wrote 13 weeks 5 days ago

Crowman I really really got to replace those guides. I am lucky of I make it 1/2 a year before re-spooling. I lose more $$ in muskie lures that fly away then the darn braid is worth.

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from Woods Walker wrote 13 weeks 4 days ago

Wow - thanks for the tutorial - can really use this info!

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from dtbc333 wrote 13 weeks 3 days ago

nuclear_fisher-- I had the same problem with a spool of spiderwire I bought. It was a 300 yard spool so I spooled 2 of my set-ups with it. One medium-heavy action baitcasting set-up and one medium action spinning set up. Both set-ups were continuously breaking off fish with what seemed like very little force. I admit I didn't check the guides, but after changing the line on both set-ups to a different brand, same line weight, I have had no problems with breaking fish off. This would seem to point to the line and not my rods/reels as the cause of the problem. While it's probably pretty likely that I just got a fluke bad spool I still can't bring myself to try spiderwire again.

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from RockySquirrel wrote 13 weeks 3 days ago

dtbc333; I was real happy with spider wire also, but about 3 or 4 years ago, I started losing lures on a cast and when the line just snaps I put it down to my trolling battery charging (I leave the rods in the boat when I plug in the battery) This article corrected me. Now I have to ask, what brand did you switch to? In case I have another year with snapping line and lost lures.

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from tunadave wrote 13 weeks 1 day ago

To provide a little more detail from my earlier post, it's the heat generated by the friction of line running through the guides that weakens it (rough and chipped guide rings; well that speaks for itself). On a long range ocean boat, if your spectra gets over a neighboring angler's line, especially if it's fluorocarbon or mono and one or both of you have a fish on, it'll cut through the mono in seconds, due to the heat from friction. Anyway, my personal choice is PowerPro for freshwater and Izorline for salt.

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from dtbc333 wrote 12 weeks 1 day ago

RockySquirrel...I switched most of my set-ups to Berkley Pro Braid, and have been experimenting with different Fluorocarbons on the others.

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from Koldkut wrote 14 weeks 18 hours ago

Sayfu, most ceramic guides will break from other forces before line grooves them, and it's not really the line, it's the silt in the water that gets in the line that does the abrasive work, not the line itself.

+3 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from Brian Phipps wrote 14 weeks 1 day ago

good article. even though i checked them mid season last year i am going to check my guides when i get home

+2 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from Sayfu wrote 14 weeks 18 hours ago

Are these expensive lines "hard", and tend to wear out, or groove guides much faster than mono?

+2 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from chidjm wrote 14 weeks 9 hours ago

Joe- I would love to see a decent explanation on the proper usage and purpose of braided lines. Let me explain: I was always under the impression that braided lines allow for one to store more line on a reel, allowing for running fish or not requiring replacement of line as often, as well as cutting through vegetation while frogging or jigging. However, I've been explained that the purpose of braided line allows one to use strong line for the diameter. Both are solid points, but how is it that a rod or reel with a set drag or bend can only handle 12-20 lbs mono can also be designed to handle 50-75 lbs braided line? I would think something should break somewhere. I would think a 12-20 lbs rod is a rod made for all lines of 12-20 lbs line. Any explanation? It may be a topic for another post...

+2 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from RockySquirrel wrote 14 weeks 1 day ago

THANKS JOE!!! You are a man of for word. This is the great information I read F&S for. I guess my theory that the trolling motor battery (the invisible acid fumes), killing the line is just bunk. I am going to check those guides tonight.

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from Chinook627 wrote 14 weeks 1 day ago

Great info with some interesting points. I also like how he mentions checking your line for abrasions. If the line feels frayed, I like to strip off a few feet and re-tie my leader. Since I've been doing this I've lost little to no lures. One thing that wasn't mentioned that I feel is also crucial in getting peak performance out your line is to always spool up tightly. Start with a mono backing then spool the braid on tightly with a glove or let a professional at your local tackle shop do it for you. If it sits loose on the spool it will dig when you hook up causing you to lose a fish from breaking off. Loose braid sitting on the spool can also create nasty wind knots that will cause you to lose majority of the fresh line you just spooled on which is no good when the bite is on. I also personally always fish braided lines with a swivel connected to my leader because I believe this also helps with reducing wind knots, but I also know guys that tie direct. Figure out what works best for you.

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from nuclear_fisher wrote 14 weeks 1 day ago

I have to admit I'm one of those "brand Y" guys. I must have had a bad batch of some spiderwire once, broke off soooo easily with that and I don't think it was a result of the options listed above b/c I replaced it with the same line of a different brand and it worked as expected. But, from that one bad experience I doubt I'll ever get spiderwire braid again.

And like the guys above, muchas gracias for the info. I had not thought that some bad line could be indicative of some bad guides. Will keep that nugget in mind.

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from Big Country wrote 13 weeks 6 days ago

I'm with chidjm on that one, I would like to here more on the purpose and aplication of braided and superlines.
And thanks Joe for this post I learned alot from this one.

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from tunadave wrote 13 weeks 6 days ago

I use braid on some of my downrigger rods here in Michigan. It's thinner, so you get a little more depth out of it when running Dipsy Divers. Never had a problem with it other than hooks ripping out of a fish from lack of line stretch, but you can get snubbers to mitigate that. I also use Spectra with a top shot of fluorocarbon when I'm fishing out in the Pacific on long range boats. The only problem I can think of is heat. If you get a strong-running fish like a wahoo or a big salmon, you generate a lot of heat as the line passes through the guides. The more expensive rods use a thinner, smoother ring material in their guides to keep them from getting nicked easily and more quickly dissipate the heat from the line ripping through the guides. To protect myself, when I build a rod, I never use anything less than Alconite rings, and prefer silicon carbide if I can afford it or the customer wants it.

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from crowman wrote 13 weeks 5 days ago

I have some 20 pound power pro brand line on a couple of reels that are about 10 years old with no problems. I have a mono 8 to 10 foot leader that I tie on it and change daily after a long day on the water that takes most of the abuse. I've cut maybe 20 feet off over the years when it got a little fuzzy but the stuff is remarkable.

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from chuckles wrote 14 weeks 1 day ago

Good info, many thanks!

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from dleurquin wrote 14 weeks 1 day ago

Very helpful. Thanks.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from RockySquirrel wrote 13 weeks 5 days ago

Crowman I really really got to replace those guides. I am lucky of I make it 1/2 a year before re-spooling. I lose more $$ in muskie lures that fly away then the darn braid is worth.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from Woods Walker wrote 13 weeks 4 days ago

Wow - thanks for the tutorial - can really use this info!

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from dtbc333 wrote 13 weeks 3 days ago

nuclear_fisher-- I had the same problem with a spool of spiderwire I bought. It was a 300 yard spool so I spooled 2 of my set-ups with it. One medium-heavy action baitcasting set-up and one medium action spinning set up. Both set-ups were continuously breaking off fish with what seemed like very little force. I admit I didn't check the guides, but after changing the line on both set-ups to a different brand, same line weight, I have had no problems with breaking fish off. This would seem to point to the line and not my rods/reels as the cause of the problem. While it's probably pretty likely that I just got a fluke bad spool I still can't bring myself to try spiderwire again.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from RockySquirrel wrote 13 weeks 3 days ago

dtbc333; I was real happy with spider wire also, but about 3 or 4 years ago, I started losing lures on a cast and when the line just snaps I put it down to my trolling battery charging (I leave the rods in the boat when I plug in the battery) This article corrected me. Now I have to ask, what brand did you switch to? In case I have another year with snapping line and lost lures.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from tunadave wrote 13 weeks 1 day ago

To provide a little more detail from my earlier post, it's the heat generated by the friction of line running through the guides that weakens it (rough and chipped guide rings; well that speaks for itself). On a long range ocean boat, if your spectra gets over a neighboring angler's line, especially if it's fluorocarbon or mono and one or both of you have a fish on, it'll cut through the mono in seconds, due to the heat from friction. Anyway, my personal choice is PowerPro for freshwater and Izorline for salt.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from dtbc333 wrote 12 weeks 1 day ago

RockySquirrel...I switched most of my set-ups to Berkley Pro Braid, and have been experimenting with different Fluorocarbons on the others.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

Post a Comment

 

All submitted comments are subject to the rules set forth in our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.