Anybody every try tippets of microbraid casting line, stuff like Powerpro? With our snowpack, it’s going to be junk bugs in the bushes through most of July on the Yellowstone, and I’m trying to get an edge to get the fish out of the bushes and flies back from them. Those microbraids are super strong. the 20lb test is probably 2x or so in diameter. 2008 was similar to this year in terms of water level, and while I had some clients catch some nice fish early, a lot were also lost because the river was just moving too hard and the fish were too tight to cover. Thoughts?
Heck,why not?I don’t know anything about microbraids,but if it means 20lb. test with a 2x diameter,what’s the downside?
Long For Cutts,
One of the reasons we use tippet or tapered leaders that go down to a tippet size is that we want to save our lines and our rods from being broken or excessivly stressed. If you snag something like brush on a fast moving river you only have seconds to try to get the fly free, otherwise you have to straight line the rod and let the tippet break. A 20 pound tippet isn’t going to break anytime soon, your line will be screaming to get out of the reel, you can burn up your drag trying to stop it. A 20 pound tippet belongs on a really heavy fly rod with a huge reel. Nothing that you would use for trout.
Just accept the fact that you will loose a number of flies and have some ready to tie on when that happens. That’s fishing, you loose some you hook some.
Just my thought.
Larry —sagefisher—
If it will turn over decently I don’t see why it wouldn’t work for big streamers which is what I imagine you’re fishing with 2x tippet. There is chance of breaking the fly line though. I think I’ve read that fly lines are about twenty-five pound test. You might want to test the actual breaking strength of that braided line first. Whooops, I think Larry and I were typing at the same time.
“Burn up the drag”???
You can’t be serious,lol?Even “if” that were to be a legit concern,how does the drag even come into play here at all?if I’m pulling a straight line to free a snag,I’m not pulling from the reel,I’m either pulling with my stripping hand or simply pinching the fly line against the cork,there’s no strain whatsoever on the reel or drag.
I’ve never tried it for tippet, but I have used a 8’-10’ length of ‘super braid’ as a simple leader with a bit of flourocarbon as tippet for fishing nymphs and it seems to help me detect strikes better.
one issue with braid is it floats so if you need it to get down then you may not want it. as for tippet strenght being too high, the braid has lower lb strenghths, a 10 lb line has a dia. of .006 or 5x. the biggest issue is what knot to use. for leader to tippet, some say uni to uni or even surgeons knot,but i use an albright because of the large diamiter difference. for hook to tippet the palomar is best, but this uses alot of line. the berkley knot can also be used to ie braid to hook.
You really do want the tippet to be the ‘weak link’ in your rigging.
Very few fly rods will break 20 pound line…and if the leader above the tippet breaks at less than the tippet, then you really haven’t gained anything…
They do make a sinking braid, Berkely ‘FluoroBraid’, for those that need the strike detection of the braid but want it to sink.
If you decide to try this, look at the Seaguar Knot for attaching braid to mono…simple and very strong for this difficult connection.
I do use braid as tippet, actually as the whole leader, for bass fishing on the surface in heavy grass. The braid cuts through the grass really well and the lack of stretch makes for solid hook sets at distance. Plus the floating characteristics of the line are an advantage under these conditions. But you have to be cognizant of the pressure on the rod and not overstress the rod to the breaking point. I’d be concerend about this in a moving boat, especially with ‘clients’ that may not be expert.
Good luck.
Buddy
Thanks for all the replies. The fact that the 10lb is equivalent in diameter to 5x is disturbing, because line of that diameter won’t turn over the sorts of bugs I need it to and I doubt the 15lb is all that much thicker. I’ll probably have people fishing 10lb Maxima at the beginning of the float season, both for strength and for turning over things like heavily weighted #2 stonefly nymphs. Early season on the Yellowstone is going to mean car batteries cast into the bushes, and hopefully lots of 2-4lb browns pulled out of the bushes.
Not sure why you ask, but there is RIO Extreme. Its a thin black micro brade, 6x 10#test. I’ve used it and like it for warm water fishing, trout in dirty water or trout in fast water. I have no complaints about it and it is one of the tippet types I might use.