About 18 months ago I had a letter from FISHINGmagic member and contributor Jeff Woodhouse. Jeff said he had a problem in that a club he was a member of had banned braid, including hooklengths. Since the carp angling members wanted to use it he wrote to me for my thoughts on the subject.
The following lengthy reply not only helped to get the ban lifted, but also answers some of the concerns that many anglers still have today about braid……
Letter to Jeff Woodhouse
My company, Kryston, produces the worlds largest range of specialist braided hooklengths. Over the past 13 years we have built up a tremendous reputation of supplying to anglers both at home and abroad braided hooklengths made specifically for carp fishing. Each braid has different levels of behaviour i.e. slowly sinking, neutral buoyancy, anti-tangle coatings, etc, in fact over 30 different types. The reason my giving you that particular piece of information is to convey to you that I do know what I am talking about unlike many in the tackle industry that don’t know a hook from a swivel.
Every single braided line we produce for the public has been designed by myself right down to the last detail. The contents of material, the construction, the tension, the degree of extension, the picks per inch and many more technical configurations for the perfect braid, and in every single case the primary objective has been one of SAFETY to the fish! As a manufacturer we have a responsibility to produce products which are totally safe and if there was any doubt about the suitability of any braid we had designed, it simply would never have seen the light of day.
Braided lines are nothing new, many anglers are totally unaware that Richard Walker caught his famous record carp back in 1952 on a braided line! Yes, that long ago. Braided lines when constructed correctly will always be much kinder to fish than any mono ever will be. That is proven fact, not fiction.
The reason is very clear, a braided line is not a solid, hard line like mono, a braided line is produced from extremely soft materials which are woven together in varying degrees of tension. When a correctly constructed braided hooklength is passed over an object such as a fish’s mouth the braid has the ability to flatten by following the contours of the mouth. This is why many anglers prefer braids for the superb presentation they offer; as a fish mouths the bait the braid is less conspicuous if it is soft and can flatten as opposed to a piece of stiff, solid nylon. The degree of softness and flattening varies with different constructions and combinations.
As the braid flattens it spreads, slightly increasing its surface area of contact. This increase in surface area only takes place where the braid enters the carp’s mouth and makes contact then flexes over the lips. This means that pressure being applied by the angler and fish during the fight is absorbed by the braid spreading the load over its increased surface area. Many braids are actually thicker than their mono counterparts and consequently have a surface area greater than mono.
As with all lines, braids and monos alike, all the pressure ends up on a tiny piece of the carp’s flesh. The thinner the line being used the greater the pressure becomes. The thicker the line used, the lesser the pressure that occurs. Think of the difference of the load being spread between a cheesewire and a tape measure.
As an example try holding a piece of our multi-strand over your finger, even with the slightest bit of pressure you cannot fail to notice how the multi-strand filaments flatten, spreading themselves out to conform to the shape of the finger. So as far as mouth damage is concerned, well-designed braided hooklengths and multi-strands will cause less damage than mono which cannot spread and flatten itself.
ABRASION RESISTANCE
There appears to be a great deal of confusion concerning the words ‘abrasion resistance’. All of our braided hooklengths are made using abrasion resistant materials but they certainly are not abrasive! Some people cannot get it into their heads that you can have an abrasion resistant line that is not abrasive.
One angler worried about braids asked me if you saw a braid back and forth would it create damage to the fish? I inquired how the hell was he playing his fish? When a hook has been driven home it usually remains in a fixed position, the hooklength cannot move back and forward in a carp’s mouth, such as the sawing action described. The only possible movement that can take place is when the hooklength, whilst playing the fish, can move to either side of the mouth.
In open water the hooklength occasionally passes across the mouth area when the fish has turned, swimming away from you, which is the time you get that heart wrenching twang as the line crosses the fishes back, but in the main the hooklength will stay put. When playing fish in the margins the carp will often twist and turn, but movement of line across the back is restricted due to the angle to the rod, the angler being almost on top of the fish. It is these very circumstances that show the true worth of braided lines, they are kinder to fish than any mono.
Kryston braided hooklengths are also substantially softer than nylon mono. HOLD ON! Softness is only part of the story. What is required is a hooklength that, in points of importance is as follows:- totally safe, non-injurious, strong enough, reliable, and simple to use.
It is a well known fact that Snake-bite is the biggest selling carp hooklength on sale throughout Europe. It is also fact that because of its coating it is also the kindest of all hooklengths on sale. We really do care about our sport, its not all about money. Our now famous Snake-skin, which was the forerunner to Snake-bite, is not a braid (braids are woven), but a multi-filament hooklength with an added plastic coating. Following its launch it was hailed by many leading writers as the safest hooklength on sale. All of our coated lines, including our new Super Mantis are totally safe because of the cushioning effect of the plastic coating.
“BRAIDED MAINLINES NOT RECOMMENDED!”
You will be aware that I have written at length about properly designed braided lines manufactured for hooklengths. There are now braided lines on the market made for use as reel line or mainline. These lines are of an extremely low diameter and should never be used as hooklengths! Some are braided very tight with an extremely high pick count to reduce the diameter and are constructed too tight to flatten. Some are lines made from filaments which have been fused together using modern-day resins. All braided reel lines should be used on the reel and not the hook due to their cheese-cutting abilities. There are many braided reel or casting lines available, Fireline, Fusion, Spiderwire, Suffix, plus many, many more. Once again I would recommend only purpose designed braided lines for use as hooklengths.
Extremely tight super-low-diameter braided reel lines should be avoided and if braided reel lines are used at all they should always be used with a buffer. In other words at least 18 feet of mono tied to the end of the braid. Anglers using braided reel lines tied straight to the swivel on the rig are only waiting for an accident to happen. Should any fish reach a snag, the angler would be forced to pull for a break with the braid snapping anywhere along its length.
I have to say that Kryston advanced hooklengths are used by the most respected anglers in the country. The list reads like the ‘Who’s Who’ of carp fishing. Jim Gibbinson, Tim Paisley, Andy Little, Matt Hayes, Julian Cundiff, Terry Hearn, Chris Ball, Lee Jackson, Martin Locke, Kevin Maddocks, the list goes on and on. None of the anglers are sponsored by Kryston; they choose to use our hooklengths because they do not damage fish. We take great pride knowing that anglers of such great integrity choose to use our products, they and thousands of others would not use them if they damaged fish.
USING THE CORRECT STRENGTH
Due to the fact that today virtually all mono’s are labelled with their strengths vastly underrated the angler should take into account the following. The rod bends during the fight and helps to absorb pressure. Monofilament line stretches, again absorbing pressure. The braided hooklength has no stretch and so all the pressure from the rod, mono, and fish ends up on the hooklength!
It is no great secret that many popular monos are underrated in strength. Berkley Big Game 12lb is nothing of the sort. It’s actually around 17lb knotted. Gardner GR60 is the same as are many modern monofilaments. The reason for this crazy state of affairs is the marketing men, “Good stuff this 12lb mono, you cannot break it, you will be impressed.” Of course you can’t break it, its bloody 17lb and as thick as any other 17lb mono! Which brings us on to balanced tackle, if you really knew that you were fishing with a 17lb mono reel line would you use a 10lb hooklength? Would you hell!
Should you be concerned that a stronger hooklength may force the weaker reel line to break anywhere along its length resulting in the fish trailing yards of mono, do not be. Mono will always break at its weakest point which is the knot tied to the rig. The end result will be the fish swimming away with nothing more than a short hooklength which loosens its grip in as little as a few hours, certainly within a couple of days, and the hook coming free. As long as rigs are safe with nothing to keep the lead captive, 25lb hooklengths can be used with all modern rigs. Once again I will stress that all wider diameter lines are much kinder to fish.
In these modern times more carp are being successfully landed than ever before. Ten to fifteen years ago more carp were lost. This change occurred because tackle became more efficient. Stronger hooklengths which cope better against abrasion are one of the main reasons why fewer carp are lost today.
Fine line and tiny hooks really have no place in carp fishing. The main cause for concern is when a fish breaks the line, leaving tiny hooks in the fish’s mouth, since a carp will never dislodge a tiny hook, even barbless, easily. The very fine wire of a small hook will penetrate the flesh all the way down to the bend of the hook making it extremely difficult for the fish to dislodge whereas the much thicker wire used for larger hooks will be far easier and quicker to loosen in the fish’s mouth. It’s well known that on many mixed day-ticket waters many fish caught by anglers using sensible tackle have tiny hooks attached to fragile line firmly embedded in their flesh.
Another fallacy that wants blowing wide open is the thinking behind hooks, barbed or barbless, it makes little difference when ridiculously tiny hooks are being used for larger species! Until we get rid of the mentality that we will catch more and bigger fish by using finer line than stronger, thicker line the sooner the better for all concerned. Any angler using baits intended for larger species should only be allowed to use them if his tackle is substantial enough for the job in hand. Carp are a valuable commodity worth many hundreds or thousands of pounds. No club or organization wants to see their investment rotting in the margins due to some misguided fool using totally unsuitable tackle. After all, its only common sense.
As a rough guide I recommend the following mono to hooklength combinations.
8lb reel line 10lb or 12lb braided hooklength
10lb reel line 12lb or 15lb braided hooklength
12lb reel line 15lb or 25lb braided hooklength
15lb reel line 25lb or above braided hooklength
Some may cringe at the thought of using a 25 lb hooklength, but it is not just the strength, it’s the texture of the braid which is important for the job in hand. Even though the line is stronger the angler cannot apply more pressure than the test curve of the rod he is using. No matter how much pressure the angler applies they usually cannot apply more than 3lbs pressure due to the rod bending – for those who doubt me try it using a set of scales, the proof is there.
Some anglers voice concern that modern day braids can be dangerous as they do not break down in water and could be a hazard to tethered fish. Should a fish become tethered to 15lb mono the fish would be dead long before the mono broke down, at least 2 years and more, so it would be foolish to blame braids alone as mono is no better!
