Ester or PE Braid?

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hungry_cow
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Ester or PE Braid?

Post by hungry_cow » Mon Jan 14, 2019 8:10 am

Looking to try something other than mono to increase casting distance and sensitivity for 1/32 to 1/16 jigs. Which would you suggest and why? Also which line of Ester or PE braid would you suggest?

I know ester sinks and is stiffer which would hurt casting but help slack line sensitivity and braid is more limp which helps casting and floats but at its tiny diameter shouldn't keep jig from sinking much. What in practice do you prefer? Thanks!

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Craigthor
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Re: Ester or PE Braid?

Post by Craigthor » Mon Jan 14, 2019 8:14 am

Never tried the Ester lines but a really big fan of the PE lines. With my Sunline Small Game PE .4 and a .8g spoon I can easily get 30-40’ casts. Just my experience otherwise I’ve only used JDM nylons on my UL setup.

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Re: Ester or PE Braid?

Post by Alphahawk » Mon Jan 14, 2019 9:19 am

hungry_cow wrote:Looking to try something other than mono to increase casting distance and sensitivity for 1/32 to 1/16 jigs. Which would you suggest and why? Also which line of Ester or PE braid would you suggest?

I know ester sinks and is stiffer which would hurt casting but help slack line sensitivity and braid is more limp which helps casting and floats but at its tiny diameter shouldn't keep jig from sinking much. What in practice do you prefer? Thanks!
I made a trip with my son to fish. I found KY bass in 23 feet of water on the bottom. Using ester line I caught a KY almost every cast...my son caught I think one fish. I felt bad for him. The only difference was the line...he was using mono and with the neutral line buoyancy he could not keep the micro jigs down to where the fish were. The line can be difficult to manage....you must put it on the reel correct or you will have a huge mess when you cast. Also you should not fill the spool as full as you would with nylon mono. I use an FC shock leader with the ester. After I found out about the nuances of the line all is well. I still have the first spool I used on a reel...that was 6 months ago. I have a total of 3 reels spooled up with the stuff......I love it. My son and a nephew are also using the line and they will tell you it gets them more fish. I have 7 spools on hand......I don't want to run out...LOL. I am a firm believer that those of us who fish JDM UL rods need a premium PE....an ester.....and a premium Japanese mono. Now the ester can be replaced with straight through fluorocarbon but I can’t see FC so I don’t use it straight through. But ester is more sensitive than FC also. As for casting....I have no problem casting ester with a 1 gram jig head. The ester I use https://www.digitaka.com/item.php?item=4513498092595 has a coating on it that makes it very slick. I was surprised at just how far it does cast. If you are finesse fishing.....in deeper water.....ester is the way to go...IMHO. I am always searching for newer...something better...all the time. I have my eye on some ester line that is supposed to be more manageable but it only comes in 1.75# test......I might try it but that’s just a bit small for me. One other thing.....there is a fine line on drag adjustment with ester and I guess even a true 2# test PE line. I did keep an extremely loose drag using it....now I set the drag at exactly 20 percent of breaking strength and it seems to be doing fine. Every brand of ester I have researched has a little asterisk warning you to keep a loose drag.

Regards

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Re: Ester or PE Braid?

Post by Wpeart7 » Mon Jan 14, 2019 10:12 am

I use the Varivas Super Trout Area Master Limited ester line in #0.5/2.3lb test and love it. Super sensitive, casts a mile and is bright orange so it's easy to see and sinks. I use 2-3lb fluoro leader.

For braid 3# Sufix Nanobraid is the heat. Or 5# Powerpro if you want a little more oomph.

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Re: Ester or PE Braid?

Post by southpaw619 » Mon Jan 14, 2019 12:13 pm

Do they make heavier test for bass fishing, say 6 lb.? Is there simply no market for ester currently outside of mackerel/trout fishing or is there a reason for no heavier test options and lack of use in bass fishing?

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Re: Ester or PE Braid?

Post by Alphahawk » Mon Jan 14, 2019 12:22 pm

southpaw619 wrote:Do they make heavier test for bass fishing, say 6 lb.? Is there simply no market for ester currently outside of mackerel/trout fishing or is there a reason for no heavier test options and lack of use in bass fishing?
The heaviest I have found is 3# test. I can only assume that due to the stiffness of the line that 6# test would not be manageable but I don’t really know. I am hoping to get out tomorrow and Wednesday to test out the 2018 Lunakia and 2018 Corto. I have them both spooled up with the ester as I want to test sensitivity and want all aspects to be equal. That ester line can take a dull rod and give it great sensitivity....it can make a high end rod have sensitivity off the charts.

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Re: Ester or PE Braid?

Post by ultralight » Mon Jan 14, 2019 11:25 pm

Popcorn in hand, waiting for the video of your trip tomorrow....

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Re: Ester or PE Braid?

Post by Spela » Tue Jan 15, 2019 6:52 am

Alphahawk wrote: you must put it on the reel correct or you will have a huge mess when you cast.
Regards
Hi everyone, I'm Ivan from Croatia, big ultralight enthusiast. I've been following this forum for a while. I apologize for my English in advance.

I ordered Varivas Ester line from Japan, just put it on my 1000 Stradic. My question is, what is the correct way to put in on a reel?

I didn't fill it up too much (I think) but it seems it springs off the spool when I open the bail. Maybe I did it the wrong way? I've put the line spool on an pencil held by a vice and just reeled it on my reel, I applied a bit of tension with my hand (pressing the line against the rod while turning the reel handle).

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Re: Ester or PE Braid?

Post by Alphahawk » Tue Jan 15, 2019 7:22 am

Spela wrote:
Alphahawk wrote: you must put it on the reel correct or you will have a huge mess when you cast.
Regards
Hi everyone, I'm Ivan from Croatia, big ultralight enthusiast. I've been following this forum for a while. I apologize for my English in advance.

I ordered Varivas Ester line from Japan, just put it on my 1000 Stradic. My question is, what is the correct way to put in on a reel?

I didn't fill it up too much (I think) but it seems it springs off the spool when I open the bail. Maybe I did it the wrong way? I've put the line spool on an pencil held by a vice and just reeled it on my reel, I applied a bit of tension with my hand (pressing the line against the rod while turning the reel handle).

Your English seems fine to me. I don’t want to confuse you about how to put line on a spool...many have different ways of doing it. There are a lot of videos on YouTube that will show you how to do it correctly. But the line coming off the spool should come off counterclockwise as all spinning reels I know of rotate the line clockwise as you put it onto ther reel. What you need to do now is take the line...without any lure....hook.....anything attached and walk it off the reel. Then go back and just reel it back on to the reel. This will take out any line twist. If the line is not twisted and is jumping off the reel then you have it too full. It is very important with this line to not fill the reel as full as you would with normal line.

Regards

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Re: Ester or PE Braid?

Post by ultralight » Tue Jan 15, 2019 9:47 am

Spela, I do something similar to you. Think you spooled it correctly. My take is that the line is stiff so it is like a wire and will spring up. I've not used mine yet....

Alphahawk, does the line behave better after break in? (Less jumping off the spool - softer, less like a wire?)

Thanks

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Re: Ester or PE Braid?

Post by Alphahawk » Tue Jan 15, 2019 10:28 am

ultralight wrote:Spela, I do something similar to you. Think you spooled it correctly. My take is that the line is stiff so it is like a wire and will spring up. I've not used mine yet....

Alphahawk, does the line behave better after break in? (Less jumping off the spool - softer, less like a wire?)

Thanks
The key to using this line....and I said this I think in one of my videos. It must be put on correct......do not fill up to the same place on spool as you would using regular mono. This line casts very well using a 1 gram even though you leave quite a bit of space on the spool. I think the coating on the line is some kind of fluoride....I know it is very slick and casts great.

Regards

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Re: Ester or PE Braid?

Post by Spela » Tue Jan 15, 2019 11:35 pm

Alphahawk wrote:What you need to do now is take the line...without any lure....hook.....anything attached and walk it off the reel. Then go back and just reel it back on to the reel. This will take out any line twist. If the line is not twisted and is jumping off the reel then you have it too full. It is very important with this line to not fill the reel as full as you would with normal line.

Regards
Thanks, I'll try that. I'll even take off some backing line altough I think it is not too full, just to be safe.

What knot do you use to connect FC leader to ester line? I've tried FG and Alberto, both seem to go a bit hard trough few top guides on my rod, maybe because they are really tiny (Tict Ice Cube Rockin Finesse). I use 2,1 lb ester and 2 lb Sunline sniper FC leader.

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Re: Ester or PE Braid?

Post by Alphahawk » Wed Jan 16, 2019 3:49 am

Spela wrote:
Alphahawk wrote:What you need to do now is take the line...without any lure....hook.....anything attached and walk it off the reel. Then go back and just reel it back on to the reel. This will take out any line twist. If the line is not twisted and is jumping off the reel then you have it too full. It is very important with this line to not fill the reel as full as you would with normal line.

Regards
Thanks, I'll try that. I'll even take off some backing line altough I think it is not too full, just to be safe.

What knot do you use to connect FC leader to ester line? I've tried FG and Alberto, both seem to go a bit hard trough few top guides on my rod, maybe because they are really tiny (Tict Ice Cube Rockin Finesse). I use 2,1 lb ester and 2 lb Sunline sniper FC leader.

Yeah those guides on the Rockin’ Finesse are tiny. I use a 5 turn surgeons knot and it works out ok for me.


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Re: Ester or PE Braid?

Post by CM_Stewart » Wed Jan 16, 2019 8:48 am

Alphahawk wrote: I can’t see FC so I don’t use it straight through.

Regards
http://www.seaguar.ne.jp/lineup/r18_trout/trout_3.html

Hi-vis fluorocarbon ranging from 2.5 to 4 lb. It is NOT as visible as nylon or ester, and the thinner the line the harder it is to see, but it is as close as you will come to seeing fluorocarbon in the line weights you use.
Chris Stewart
(affiliations: TenkaraBum.com, Finesse-Fishing.com)

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Re: Ester or PE Braid?

Post by Alphahawk » Wed Jan 16, 2019 5:30 pm

CM_Stewart wrote:
Alphahawk wrote: I can’t see FC so I don’t use it straight through.

Regards
http://www.seaguar.ne.jp/lineup/r18_trout/trout_3.html

Hi-vis fluorocarbon ranging from 2.5 to 4 lb. It is NOT as visible as nylon or ester, and the thinner the line the harder it is to see, but it is as close as you will come to seeing fluorocarbon in the line weights you use.
Good to know....I may try some of that.

Regards

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