I see a lot of talk around the traps of 130lb braid being used for GT fishing. What is the reason for this?
I see that most people are fishing 10-15kg of drag so fail to see why people aren't just using 80lb and getting better casts?
Is it because the extra thickness of the line gives a bit more security around rough terrain?
Hi Bashir,
The main property of using such high breaking strain lines is mainly to do with the overall load and shockload tolerances.
Thicker diameter/higher load tolerance generally makes for a line with better shockload properties (can vary between manufacturer, but generally a line with a higher breaking strain will tolerate a given shockload better than that of a lower breaking strain). Driving off a fish with 15kg+ of drag can easily 'ping' or shock a line into busting - this can be done very easily with 80lb lines.
In times of close combat fish fighting, there are times (albeit short) that drag/pressure can exceed that of 25kgs. Mix surging fish, radical boat operation and fish fighting strategies that can sometimes invovle aggressive thrusting and levering to turn fish, then hopefully you can understand the importance of the line being able to cope with shockload.
One other point is that, braided lines generally suffer a reduction in breaking strain after the formation of knots due to heat build-up. We can generally avoid the problem by using a higher breaking strain line.
You will also see some other advantages such as being able to splice some braided lines. For example, you can splice Tuf Line XP, but it really isn't spliceable until your get to 130lb. The reason for this is that it removes one more knot from the leader setup providing for an almost seamless leadersetup.
So in summary, yes, there can be a reduction in casting distance - but this is also dictated by the rod you are using and your ability as a caster. There are also cutting-edge Japanese line manufacturers that are regularly reducing the diameter to breaking strain ratio - for example, GT SMP PE8 made by Varivas has a line rating of 120lb. To provide some perspective, the PE8 of yesteryear could be considered to break on average around 80lb. Technology is improving so much so quickly that manufacturers are producing extremely advanced lines - it will be only a matter of time before we see a PE8 that has a rating of over 150lb!!!! I would recommend that you refer to a PE diameter line chart to get some perspective on Japanese lines equivalent to the same diameter of your favourite USA/European made braided lines - you'll find that all if not most Japanese braided lines will spike way above an 80lb breaking strain. For example, you might find someone casting a 120lb/PE8 braided japanese line just as far as a 70/80lb common USA braided line (a generalisation but I can already think of one brand where that is the case).
PS: our last GT expedition saw us using a PE12 that has a rating of 170lb
