Field Testing Report Diagram

Comment

Comment by Russ Kroeker on May 5, 2015 at 9:45am

So very cool.  Even without that bait, it's good stuff!

Comment by AaronW on April 30, 2015 at 10:19am

Tag, this is awesome stuff. So much useful information it's gonna make my head explode.

Comment by Ryan Higgins on April 30, 2015 at 9:25am

Very cool, thanks for sharing!

Comment by Joel Alinen on April 30, 2015 at 7:45am

Someone put the Smack Down on em!

Comment by Chris Blandi on April 29, 2015 at 7:29pm

Thanks for the break down Tag.  I had never heard of hollow braid until I saw your pic that Brock shared.  Heck of a day I might add.

Comment by Clark Hess on April 29, 2015 at 3:50pm

Sounds like a great way to get the flouro or mono to braid connection, I haven't heard anything about it before. Thanks for the info, I may have to give it a try! 

Comment by Tag Watson on April 29, 2015 at 3:36pm

Thanks, Clark!  I am really liking the TUF-Line Guides Choice hollow braid so far.  Only a couple trips in as my outings are few and far between.  I am using a DaHo splicing needle rated for 20#-30# test for inserting the 25# and 30# fluorocarbon inside the 60# braid.  This works like a Chinese finger trap.  I am running the fluorocarbon into the hollow braid about 6-7 feet and then using 20# TUF-Line XP to serve/whip the point where the fluorocarbon inserts into the braid with a 10 wrap extremely low-profile uni-knot and tightening firmly.  A dab of Pro Soft Bait glue massaged into the braid to lock the finishing knot and the process is complete.

 

While the hollow braid splice takes a bit longer longer than tying a quick braid/fluoro union knot, it has some very nice advantages.  The connection is guaranteed 100%, and because there is no knot coming in and out of the guides, I don't feel the need to retie or replace my leader every trip.  I'm going to experiment, but I believe this connection should last several or more trips, provided I am still pleased with the length (after retying my lure many times), shape and integrity of my leader.  Lastly, this setup is a joy to cast, even with leader lengths in excess of 30 feet, without having a knot coming through the guides, potentially effecting casting distance, damaging ceramics or tearing up your thumb on a powerful cast.

 

By construction, the hollow braid is more flat than the standard 6 or 8 strand construction most of us are used to, which is more round.  It handles a little differently, but I got used to this immediately and I am quite pleased thus far with the performance. 

 

I'll keep you posted as I get more hours of use under my belt.  Just my early impressions.  Thanks again for the inquiry!  

Comment by Clark Hess on April 29, 2015 at 1:07pm

On another note, how do you like the hollow braid?

Comment by Clark Hess on April 29, 2015 at 12:56pm

Interesting, thanks for sharing the diagram and congrats on a killer day! 

Comment by Tag Watson on April 29, 2015 at 6:48am

Thank you, Snake! If you were there, it would have been much more fun and humorous....

Clark, I could probably recall the sequence, but it took me all day to get these bites. I would leave and come back to this key area and fish it thoroughly at what I considered to be optimum angles when the wind was right. Threw the glide in several other "high-percentage looking" areas of the lake that day with only a single follow and missed bite to show for it. Not sure what made this area so much more productive, as there were a few other areas I would have thought had excellent potential, but not on this day for whatever reason.

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• Next ›
• Page