Braided line for panfish

Tried many brands of braided line it seems you cannot find a thin enough diameter that will hang straight. I would like to use for panfish and then tie a 2# mono leader? Will the leaders break a lot resulting in lost fish and retying in unfavorable conditions? Is there a real benefit for braid. Fishing for sunfish. I use 1000 sized reels with 4# mono backing wouldn’t think that much braided line would be needed. What size poundage recommended for this application?

I use Suffix 832 10# and 4# leader.I like the 832 because it’s not as stiff as some and easier to work with.

I’ve played around with the braid thing for ice fishing panfish and always end up back at mono. I mostly fish outside and hole hop. It just doesn’t seem to work for my style of fishing. The braid just holds so much water and that does not mix with cold temps

Clam’s Frost braid is a very thin and relaxed line. I use it on a couple long rods while dock fishing in the late fall, early winter.

I just use 3lb mono, no need for Braid line for panfish.

I use 4# nanobraid for pitching light jigs for panfish . The problem I had with other brands was the jigs are so light , the line doesn’t respool tight enough when retrieving, and eventually you’ll end up with a birds nest when you cast . Haven’t had that problem with nanobraid . For bobber fishing I just use mono

Braid is great if you are drifting or trolling and have a bunch of line out-casting near or into pads, where snags happen, by overhanging trees, submerged brush, etc.
Ice time I love coplymer, flexible and sheds water like flouro. Late season Tullie time I go to braid, deep water the bite can be light and freeze up is not a big issue.

Did’nt realize were talking ice.
I’m with Crappie on this,3lb mono for me.

Ya sorry , I missed the ice part also

Berkley NanoFil in 4 or 6 lb white, no leader, tie direct. Works for me.

i switched all but one of my panfish rods to braid with a fluoro leader. got tired of the memory in the line. i think i spooled em with 832 8lb braid to a 4lb leader and it works great. i don’t fish outside much so freeze up isn’t a big deal. had the fireline on before that and thought it did a better job of not absorbing moisture compared to the 832

bigcrappie wrote:

I just use 3lb mono, no need for Braid line for panfish.

I’m on this page. Has worked for me for 25 years

Nice and thin, no leader needed.

Say what you want about Clam, but their ice line braid, fluoro, or mono is legit. It’s made by Sunline which is fantastic open water line. I use 3# braid for panfish and 6# for walleye.

You want one that hangs straight: Diawa J-Braid Grand x8 . The Grand version is a softer fibers than the standard J-Braid x8.

You want one that tricks you into thinking it’s mono: YGK Upgrade X8.

You want one that won’t wrap around your tip guide: YGK SS112 Sinking braid

I would look at the listed line diameter. Somewhere between 0.100mm to 0.150mm. Those would be listed anywhere from 4-10# braid strength. And it’s comparable to 1-3# in mono diameter.

So for ice fishing the problem with braid is it holds water and the water freezes or it collects water and sheds it in your guides and that freezes-better to just use a coplymer if you are not too deep and fishing outside.

The problem with freezing temps is that water turns to ice. The problem with metal line guides is that water tend to stick and freeze onto that very easy. The problem with reeling up your line fast is that now you get all that water up into your guides and spool. With freezing air temps, it’s gonna ice up really quickly.

The joys of ice fishing and what ice fishermen will put up with.

Spend more time in the warmed up shelter. Problem solved.
Choose ceramic guides over metal line guides. Problem solved.
Pinch your line between your finger and thumb and you won’t get a frozen spool. Problem solved.

The issue with braid is that it holds less water. Yes that’s right it holds less water than your mono line. Take one string of braid and one string of mono and dip it into your cup at home and pull it out and put the tip onto a piece of towel or paper. You will see which one holds a drop of more water. There’s a bigger drop of water from the mono line.

With less water, it freezes up faster with smaller ice crystals forming faster. Braid lines are lousy for hole hopping with freezing air temps. Metal line guides are lousy for hole hopping too. Put the two worst combination together and you get the worst results for ice plugging your line guides.

Try this test at home. Bucket of water and identical fishing set up with braid vs mono. Strip off like 50 feet of line into the bucket of water and make sure all your line is submerged or soaked up well. Have your rod tip about three feet above the bucket and reel up line at a moderate pace. You will see which line draws up more water above the surface of the water from the bucket and which tip guide is shedding more drops of water. There’s more water dripping off from the mono line.

I have a couple noodle rods that i love. They have bigger fly rod guides on them and my freezing issues have decreased dramatically. I run mono.

Try the test with Co-polymer.
Stay in the heated shelter? My favorite heated shelter is my house!
Larger guides is a great idea.
I think what is happening with braid is the water is able to get into the line and then freeze, this would be because the filament is not solid but woven. I love braid, have tried it over and over on the ice but always have freeze up problems on the ice.