New to Braided line

I have never used braided line but am going to give it a try. I have Sufix 832 40lb. Is a leader always used with braid and if so what should I use?

Leader used with Carolina rigs and jigs but you can tie that braid straight to frogs. Not sure on T-Rigs etc. Someone will opine.

Lots of people go straight braid, but I think its technique dependent. What kinda rod you gonna put it on and what do you plan to throw with that rod. Im a HUGE fan of sunline assassin because I think its got some of the best abrasion resistance in rocks. Sunline is all good stuff....but ive been reading more and more good things about YoZuri top knot. maybe try that before jumping all in on line.

I've been using braid since 1998. I use 30lb PowerPro with a 20lb flouro leader. The flouro does two things, its almost invisible and on bad hangups it will break before braid and will save your braid. If there is any doubt about the strength of this combo check out the photo. That is a 45-50 pound flathead

I mainly fish T-rig soft plastics.

A rod with a "little give" will make your hook up percentage better with braid, IMO...

I use 30# test braid on everything with no leader. Straight braid.

Thanks for the info. all.

I've been using braid a long time, including the Suffix 832. 40lb was a good choice as I have had issues with the lighter Suffix braids getting wind knots pretty easy. What's a wind knot??? You make just a normal cast and a wad of line comes off the spool in a knot. I have found that the Berkley 5 braid is the smoothest casting braid that I have ever used. I tie directly to frogs, jigs, C-Rig swiivel. I use Seagaur Invivix 10lb flouro for leader on drop shot. I have used 12lb on shakey head and have also tied directly with braid and gotten bit. I use an Alberto knot to connect the braid to the leader, works really well.
I really like the feel of braid on bottom fishing rigs. You will have to learn what it feels like all over again on the bottom. Since there is no stretch with braid.. you have to realize that when you move the rod a foot.. the bait has moved a foot too. That one to one relationship get some getting used to.
Good Luck
BD

Im big on braid to leader for this purpose...but its partly due to my waters. Go with a longer leader if you do....at least 2 rod lengths imo....but you can get silly with it like I do to and go yards of it

I use Suffix 832 in 65 pound test for fishing frogs and punching grass. I use 30 pound Suffix 832 on my spinning reels when I use them in deep water on a drop shot. I use a leader of 12# line on my drop shot. Other than that I don't use braid for any other technique. On a Tx. rig I use either 15# Invizx fluorocarbon line or P-Line CXX. Everything else I throw is either on CXX or CX premium.

I use 30-50lb braid to 12-20lb leader.
I'm a fan of Pline CX Premium or CXX. YoZuri TopKnot or Hybrid are good too.
I like using one rod length leader. Too long and the knot goes into the spool and that bugs me. I don't like feeling the knot on my thumb.
I tired straight braid but that's a nightmare when you get hung up.

I just got back in to fishing after 30 years. Back when i was a kid, the only line available to me was mono. The only choice was the test and brand (Trilene or Berkley). Now, after trying straight braid, straight fluoro, straight mono, and braid+fluoro leader, my choice is emphatically straight braid. I really don't understand why anyone would use anything else (with 1 caveat)

Pros
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sensitivity
strength
castability
line memory

Cons
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visibility
floats

The only possible downside I've come up with for straight braid is when I throw a weightless soft plastic. I don't like how the bait floats so much. In the single case, I could see using braid+fluoro leader; otherwise, it's straight braid for me. Just my $.02

I would answer the question this way - if you fish lots of clear water use flouro leader, if you fish a mudhole don't bother. In between clarity I just color the line with a black sharpie for 4-6 ft.

Couple things:

Don't tie it straight to the spool on your reel. Leave some old mono or fluoro on the reel and tie to that. Reel the braid over the top of it and I don't worry about a special knot for this. 50 yards is a long cast so 150 yards of 40# will fill three reels if you do it right.

Doug's recommendation of dropping down one power on your rod is also good for me too. I use a MH rod for most applications when I use braid. You just don't need a broomstick to get a good hookset with braid on a soft plastic bait. Most lakes I fish are pretty stained so I don't even use a leader for T-rigging. I tie braid straight to the hook. If you want to use a leader of fluoro or mono use an Alberto knot or try the Lefty Kreh knot to join the two together.

Another thing, make sure the hooks you use either have a welded shut eyelet or that the eyelet is closed very well or 40# braid can slip out of the tiny gap where the eye closes on the hook. Most hook makers now make hooks especially for braid or "Superline". Ask me how I know!

I keep about 8 rods with braid on them. 65lb power pro and no leader. I just cant wrap my head around why someone would use braid and tie a leader on it

I've had my butt kicked while I was using straight 20# Fluorocarbon while my partner was using old bleached out greenish-greyish-white looking 65 braid tied straight to his hook. Both of us were at CB fishing Texas rigged Brush Hogs.

Same tungsten weight, same bait, me running the TM.

I think some people over think it and make it to complicated. I've caught plenty of fish on straight 65 lb braid from mudholes to Squaw to Amistad

Easy answer is sometimes it matters and sometimes it doesn’t.

I think a lot of it depends on water color, time of the year, and how much pressure the fish are getting and how much cover. Alot of line size for me is the lure and what it weights. Line effects action of bait.