Braid for casting stickbaits

[Gerhard Delport]

Braid for stickbait...
I am thinking of Verivas GT Max + Orange PE6 on my Stella 14K for stickbaits.
The Stella will be matched with my Black Hole 8,6N

Currently have 100lb JB Hollow loaded on the Stella.

Pro & Cons for casting 130-175g stickbaits with the PE6?

[Trevor Skinner]

Gerhard,

Pros: The thinner the braid the easier it is to cast.

Cons: As a generalization, the thinner the braid the lower the breaking strain

Regards,


Trev   

[Amr Kehila]

Just in case you are going this road instead; FYI:

JB #80 Solid is indeed thinner than JB Solid #100. For JB Hollow, the reverse is true as #80 uses more strands.

[Gerhard Delport]

Amr,

Thanks,

I do know about the difference between the 80 and 100lb JB Hollow.

Trevor,

The PE 6 is rated to 80lb so should be more than enough to handle GT's and pelagics on stickbait

[Felix Lux]

Assuming you want to fish from the rocks with your 14k, I think pe6 is a good choice.
More distance, more capacity + heavy drag can get dangerous from slippery uneven rocks. But you know this yourself!

Can't comment much on GT fishing from boats due to lack of experience.

If you can't decide, just get a spare spool to have both options. In the long run it's cheaper investing into a spare spool, rather then regularly throwing away expensive line when switching around.

[Gerhard Delport]

Assuming you want to fish from the rocks with your 14k, I think pe6 is a good choice.
More distance, more capacity + heavy drag can get dangerous from slippery uneven rocks. But you know this yourself!

Can't comment much on GT fishing from boats due to lack of experience.

If you can't decide, just get a spare spool to have both options. In the long run it's cheaper investing into a spare spool, rather then regularly throwing away expensive line when switching around.

Felix,

This is for GT and pelagics from the boat with stickbaits.

I am already looking at a spare spool for the 14K

For fishing from the rocks in Saudi my setups are all in place ...

[Trevor Skinner]

Gerhard,

Depends on the size of the GTs and where you're fishing.

PE 8-10 is more usual. I've seen big GTs caught on PE6 but by anglers who knew exactly what they're doing or by those who got lucky.


Regards,


Trev

[Gerhard Delport]

Gerhard,

Depends on the size of the GTs and where you're fishing.

PE 8-10 is more usual. I've seen big GTs caught on PE6 but by anglers who knew exactly what they're doing or who got lucky.


Regards,


Trev

Thanks Trev,

I have ordered the PE6 from JDM and will order a 16K spool from Jigstar Africa later in the year.

I will fish with the PE6 exclusively as stickbait braid and have the 100lb JB Hollow on the 14K spool as backup should the PE6 not perform as expected.

[Craig Maree]

What are your reasons for wanting to fish PE6 exclusively for GT's when using stickbaits?

[Gerhard Delport]

What are your reasons for wanting to fish PE6 exclusively for GT's when using stickbaits?

Craig,

The Varivas braid is rated to 85lb.

This should be more that enough to handle the average size GT and the odd bus fish.

If the fish is going to reef you then 100lb will not make a difference as what happened with me when a grouper decided he wanted the GT Mania popper and cut me off in 7m water before I could stop him.

[Craig Maree]

Like Trevor mentioned I have only seen really expereinced fisherman use PE6 for GT's and with that I understand that they using relatively light drags.

JB80 and JB100 has been tested to break around 115/120lbs.

Sure PE6 will handle you average GT but what about that trophy fish that we are all after? I think you want as much on your side when targeting GT's as they are one son of fish to land whether small, average or trophy.

Still just wanting to understand what advantages do you think using PE6 has over using PE8 or 10, is it thinner diameter, line capacity, casting distance........?



 

[Gerhard Delport]

Like Trevor mentioned I have only seen really expereinced fisherman use PE6 for GT's and with that I understand that they using relatively light drags.

JB80 and JB100 has been tested to break around 115/120lbs.

Sure PE6 will handle you average GT but what about that trophy fish that we are all after? I think you want as much on your side when targeting GT's as they are one son of fish to land whether small, average or trophy.

Still just wanting to understand what advantages do you think using PE6 has over using PE8 or 10, is it thinner diameter, line capacity, casting distance........?



 

Line capacity and casting distance at 85lb.

True they are tuff fighting fish even a trophy fish.

But when a fish reef you it does not matter what braid you have on the reel it will be cut.

85lb will be more than enough for YFT and other pelagics.

[Craig Maree]

Agree for pelagics will be fine, as they do not head for the reef but rather for the horizon. You could even get away with going lighter.

For GT's your object is to try and stop the fish from reefing you, thats why you need heavy braid, thick leader, heavy drag and strong rod all adding to the pulling power.

So if you go for lighter braid means less pulling power and more chance of the fish getting to the reef.

Heavy braid will have some extra abrasion resistance although when any braid hits the reefs it's over pretty quickly.

[Gerhard Delport]

Thanks Craig,

I agree,

Will be testing the Varivas in October at Mafia and see how it measure up against the 100lb JB Hollow

[Craig Maree]

Hope all goes well and you land some bus GT's and DT.