Braid: hollow or solid?

[Chris Rowbottom]

What are most people using, hollow or solid?
I have only used solid in the past for other species.

Thoughts?
Thank you!
C

[Mark Gonsalves]

Hollow for big stuff.  Solid for small stuff.  Plugging---hollow.

[Trevor Skinner]

The only real advantage in hollow braid is that you can splice loops or even whole leaders into the main line rather than tying knots. That also means that you can top-up a spool without knots or having to replace the whole line.


Regards,



Trev

[Mark Harris]

Like Trevor, I have never been able to see any advantage in using hollow unless you intend to splice.

Solid definitely casts a bit better.

[Saltywater Tackle]

Hi Chris,

If you are targeting big fish in shallow water and you intend to use heavy drag, hollow is your ticket.
I've been using hollow line for GT fishing for the past 4 years and i am very happy with the results, there is a lot of advantages that goes to the usage of hollow and it is proven through time,
Hollow is stronger and take the initial strike better than braid, in case of a breakage you don't need to change your line, you can just splice it as Trevor mentioned, I use heavy drag in general and i barely ever broke a hollow, if i recall correctly it happen once or twice at the most in the past couple of years.
I would only use it targeting big fish on topwater, for jigging i would use solid braided line.

  Tight lines
   Sami

[Luke Wyrsta]

Ditto, ability to handle shock and strike impact a lot better. I have now changed to hollow for all lines PE6 class and above.

[Chris Rowbottom]

I was thinking of 65# on a medium setup so....
Sounds like hollow is the way to go.  Can I tie knots in it too, or strictly make loops?
Thanks for the super valuable insight.

[Luke Wyrsta]

Yes, you can tie knots it in no problem. Just practice 

[Saltywater Tackle]

Hi Chris,

The breaking strength of a 60lb Jerry Brown hollow is at 92lb, thin in diameter and strong many captains use the 60lb in Cape Cod targeting Bluefin tuna for up to 300lb, trust me save your money and go hollow you will not regret it.

  Tight lines
     Sami

[Mark Harris]

Very interesting comments about the shock load.  That makes switching to hollow an attractive possibility for high drag fishing.

Has anyone ever seen hollow Dyneema?  The main American braid companies all seem to offer hollow Spectra but not sure I have ever seen any hollow Dyneema?

[Luke Wyrsta]

Very interesting comments about the shock load.  That makes switching to hollow an attractive possibility for high drag fishing.

Has anyone ever seen hollow Dyneema?  The main American braid companies all seem to offer hollow Spectra but not sure I have ever seen any hollow Dyneema?

Mark,

Last time I delved into this topic detail - Dyneema and Spectra are simply "marketing" for essentially the same material. I do admit I haven't quite updated my knowledge on this. The more important variables being how it is braided (assembled) and additional coatings etc.

Luke

[Mark Harris]

Hi Luke

My understanding was that Spectra is made by Honeywell Corp and Dyneema by DSM, and that these are the only two types of Ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene fibre.

Dyneema: http://www.dsm.com/corporate/about/business-entities/dsm-dyneema.html
Spectra: http://www.honeywell-advancedfibersandcomposites.com/products/fibers/

They do tend to feel noticeably different but as you say that might be because of coating or other processing.

[Wayne Brown]

Mark I have not seen any dyneema hollow core except for a brand called "thunder hollow" (well heard off not actually seen) and suspect its because the us guys tend to use a lot of hollow I. Their game fishing and hence they have volume. I have used jb hollow in the 60 and 100lb for some years now and find it very capable.

[Mark Harris]

Many thanks Wayne  .

Yep the JB Hollow seems to be the market hollow braid favourite for sure.

[Luke Wyrsta]

Hi Luke

My understanding was that Spectra is made by Honeywell Corp and Dyneema by DSM, and that these are the only two types of Ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene fibre.

Dyneema: http://www.dsm.com/corporate/about/business-entities/dsm-dyneema.html
Spectra: http://www.honeywell-advancedfibersandcomposites.com/products/fibers/

They do tend to feel noticeably different but as you say that might be because of coating or other processing.

Your understanding is correct, however, as stated - it's the same material - Poly-Ethylene (PE). The names are trademarked and branded for obvious reasons.

The differences come down to construction/braiding with that original fiber, coatings etc.

 Back to your question, on recollection perhaps Tuf Line XP is made from "Dyneema". The line was fantastic although felt somewhat "delicate". I've also used Jerry Brown and Power Pro Hollow. I continue to use JB as it is reliable, good value and easily obtainable.

Hope that helps.