Braid and dipsy divers

[fish-on]

Anyone use braid instead of wire, and do the fleas stick to braid??

[bandrus1]

you can use braid early... fleas will stick to it like white on rice

[Sk8man]

Yes and Yes   The wire runs better with them in my estimation but when the fleas are bad they will stick to just about anything including downrigger cables

 

[Iceman]

FO:

I run braid until the fleas show up, then I break out my wire diver rods. The nice thing about braid is it wont cut off a fish on mono, so I don't reel them in when a King goes crazy on the rigger rods. Agree with Bandrus1!

John

[Gill-T]

1).  Fireline fused has a black waxy coating on it that tastes terrible and the fleas don't like it.  A braid rod with Fireline fished side-by-side to a wire rod will have LESS fleas on it.  However, they are harder to remove.  With wire you can remove most of the fleas by reeling in the line and having your roller tip "cut" them off.  With braid you have to whip/slap the line against the surface tension of the water as you are bringing in the last 50' of line in to knock the fleas off.

 

2).  When tying braid make sure you pass the line thru the eye of the dipsy swivel twice before tying an Improved Cinch knot so it doesn't slip.  Make an overhand knot in the tag end of the knot and burn the line up to the knot to keep it from fraying.

 

3).  Make sure you put the braid onto your reel TIGHT under pressure to keep it from digging into itself.  As maintenance, periodically send your dipsy 800' back and reel the line in under tension to keep it from digging into itself.

[fish-on]

Thought maybe there was a braid line that had coating on it. I've got wire rods but wanted to try braid.

[TyeeTanic]

If you already have wire, what's the advantage of switching to braid??

[jennings]

We switched to power-pro #30 about five years ago instead of wire and it works great for us. Just use a polymer not to the swivel and make sure the braid is spooled tight on the reel.

[fish-on]

Wanted to try braid on one rod, I lost 2 good fish last year in the fall LOC on wire.

[Gill-T]

Wanted to try braid on one rod, I lost 2 good fish last year in the fall LOC on wire.

 

It takes skill and a little luck landing a major on wire.  Having zero stretch, you have zero room for a mistake.  If the drag is set too tight.....if the fish is horsed in......if the fight goes too long......if the amount of tissue being held by the hook is too small.....all reasons for a lost fish.  Try loosening the drag a little, slowing down the boat near the end of the fight.  Sorry if you already do these things.....just suggestions to consider.  There is no stretch in braid either.

[fish-on]

Your right, I lost the whole deal both times, Dipsy and all. Never had this problem till I switched over to blood run. None with torpedo or marlin. Figured I'd try braid on one.

[Chas0218]

I run 50lbs. PowerPro on 2 out of my 4 dipsy rods.  I haven't had a huge problem with fleas on my braid maybe the last 6' or 8' gets boogered up but that's it.  There really isn't any benefit of braid other than it being a little more forgiving for the novice dipsy user. There is a little of a learning curve with wire dipsys but nothing you won't figure out quick. 

 

I fish the East end and have also been told that the East end has less fleas than the West but I'm still out on the limb about that.

[Gill-T]

The East end has more fleas.  With fresh mostly flea-free water coming down the Niagara we don't really have an issue off Niagara County.

[Bosun Cowboy]

I run 65lb power pro on my dipseys. So far only minor flea issues.

[Has Been]

Been running 65# power pro for about 7 years now also . See no reason to switch to wire. Gets down to 100 ft. no flea issues.

[Sk8man]

Just a little side note on the flea issue - A lot of stock is being placed on line DIAMETER or even texture/material but when the fleas are really bad in an area of the lake not just east/west etc. but at certain depths in the water column they will adhere to nearly anything regardless of diameter especially things vertical in the water. The 150 or 200 lb downrigger cable in my previous post above is a good example of this. Most folks get only intermittent variations of concentrations for a variety of reasons.  What I'm saying is don't be fooled into thinking that just because something is a given diameter or texture and may work when the fleas are at some level doesn't mean that it will always work that way. I do believe though that they are easier to remove from wire than braid in thick concentrations after experiencing them in both situations.

[TyeeTanic]

I still don't see the advantage. Braid doesn't stretch as well. Don't know if you will really see any improvement going to braid. Wire is the choice of line for dipsies for a few reasons.

[bigblue]

Some days one works better than the other . I think the braid and wire have different signatures in the water. I wouldn't give up either one just like my lead cores , coppers , riggers they all have their day.

Edited March 7, 2015 by bigblue

[Has Been]

No kinks or curls w/ braid . No twilly. Lasts forever. Cheaper.

 

 Get a 100  or 300 yard spool 65# power pro, Get empty  reel of similar size, Reel on braid, then mono backing, 20# till full. Then reel back on LINECOUNTER reel you want to use, Palomar knot a big snap. A dipsey rod or a med - heavy rigger rod & you are in the game. As little as $ 15.

[Tim Bromund]

All I know is, running side by side, my wire divers get bit  3:1 over my braid divers.

 

Tim

[bigblue]

All I know is, running side by side, my wire divers get bit  3:1 over my braid divers.

 

Tim

I somewhat agree Tim but a lot depends on the time of year the early spring the braids tend to get bit better the summer and fall the wire seems to work better for me anyways.

[on the lam]

No kinks or curls w/ braid . No twilly. Lasts forever. Cheaper.

Get a 100 or 300 yard spool 65# power pro, Get empty reel of similar size, Reel on braid, then mono backing, 20# till full. Then reel back on LINECOUNTER reel you want to use, Palomar knot a big snap. A dipsey rod or a med - heavy rigger rod & you are in the game. As little as $ 15.

where do u fish normally? Edited March 9, 2015 by on the lam

[hooknup]

I like running both.   30lb wire on a Shimano Tekota 700lc, Talora TLA70MLRG

                       

                                50 lb Powerpro on loaded on a Tekota 600lc, TLA100MH2

 

If the fish are 70 fow or deeper I will run the 30lb wire, Shallower I like running the power pro. 

Sometimes we run a 2 per side, (one wire, oner power pro) on the right day if fish are scattered.   

 

You need both!  However, if you could only have one I would go with Powerpro.  You can fish slide divers with the power pro.  If you really wanted to get the Powerpro deep I'm sure mag divers with a ring would get it way down there.  Although, with this wicked winter, I don't think we are going to be fishing way down deep, unless things turn around.

Edited March 10, 2015 by hooknup

[TyeeTanic]

Exactly what Tim said. It maybe easier to use (a little, a braid bird nest is impossible to fix), but who cares if it can't catch fish.

Edited March 10, 2015 by TyeeTanic

[fishdawg]

time and place for all line types...

braid and mono shines for divers early and late when in skinny water...

braid also is great for hos and bows mid summer pulling a fast spread out in the blue...

of course nothing beats wire most of the season pulling flies and and meat