The tough surf environment makes 
bite detection difficult because of 
the constant waves and current 
interfering with the fisher’s ability to 
detect if a fish is interested in their 
bait. This can be one of the most 
frustrating aspects of surf fishing 
because sometimes you can’t tell if 
your bait is disappearing because of 
fish or crabs or sometimes sea lice.
Another key factor is the braid is 
so much thinner than mono that 
you get less drag on the line from 
the waves, which will push your 
line along the beach when using 
mono which has a thicker diameter.  
The lack of drag when using braid 
helps keep your line straight out 
where you cast into deeper water.
Braid technology has come a long 
way over the years and not only 
is the thinner diameter better for 
casting, the new coating and tighter 
weave also adds extra distance 
when casting. Surfcasters appreciate 
this as do stick bait fishers trying 
to cover more area when searching 
for kingfish. The new Black Magic 
Hyperglide stands out in this regard 
for performance at a decent price.
As I mentioned previously it can 
be harder to detect damage to 
braid, but if you look closely, you 
can sometimes see small fibres 
sticking up however how much 
this is minor wear vs considerable 
damage can be a little difficult to 
determine. My suggestion, if you 
have any doubts, would be to do a 
simple stress test by pulling on the 
braid (with lighter 2-10kg line) to 
see if it has weakened to the point 
of premature failure. Using a cloth 
on the hands or gloves is a better 
plan if trying to test heavier braid.
Braid can be more difficult to 
tie strong knots however a bit of 
practice one evening will quickly fix 
that. Probably the easiest braid to 
mono knot is the Albright. The next 
easiest (and strongest) knot is the 
FG knot. This can be made easier 
by tying a loop in the braid while 
your rod and reel are assembled 
and attached to the reel handle. 
You can adjust the tension with the 
drag as you need enough tension 
to form the wraps but not so much 
tension that you can’t pull a little 
extra line off to wrap enough of the 
mono leader. Google on YouTube 
to find plenty of helpful videos 
to make this an easier mission.
Surfcasters need every metre of distance 
to reach deeper water, and this is 
where braid is better than mono.
Feature
30  FISHING IN GODZONE MAGAZINE

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