When I first started inshore fishing, I used PowerPro braid (primarily 10 pound for most of my light tackle needs). PowerPro is very functional and proved to be much stronger than mono and have all the typical advantages of braid over mono such as increased distance, sensitivity, and strength. A couple of years ago, I switched to Suffix 832 (10# as well), as it seemed much smoother and easier to gain a little more distance with our casts. I did gain some distance, and I thought it was stronger than the PowerPro….meaning that 10# PowerPro broke faster than 10# Suffix. I was reasonably pleased with it for a while until the wind knots started getting out of hand. I was having a terrible time with wind knots. I think some of the slicker braids are just too good for the average caster. The line flies off the spool too fast, and unless someone is using their palm to “brake” the line and manually turning the bail arm over with their hand (in other words, not using the reel handle to flip the bail over after completing the cast). This leaves a slack loop at the end of the cast which often goes unseen until the next cast is thrown. This is the most common cause of a windknot. The Suffix had became more of a pain in the neck than it was worth, so I started looking for something better. I briefly went back to PowerPro, but found the 10# to be too weak for alot of what I was doing on the Roanoke River, which was throwing 3/8-1/2 ounce jig heads hundreds of times per day.
I took a friend’s recommendation and recently bought a spool of 20# FINS Windtamer Braid in yellow (I like the high vis so everyone can see it and nobody gets their lines crossed……as much). I absolutely love it. Immediately, I was casting the 20# FINS braid farther than the 10# PowerPro. Not only have I gained much more strength, but I’ve also gained more distance, which is key in many of our fishing situations.
The moral of this story is to try to FINS Windtamer braid. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. They have lots of other “situational” braids for specific types of fishing. I recommend starting out with the Windtamer and branching out from there. I’m sold, and I think you will be, too.
Check it out here: https://www.finsfishing.com/wind.aspx
I just ordered a 4000 yard spool of 50 pound for big drum season.
