The next "big thing"

[Garry2rs]

What if you could fish with braided line, and attach a leader of mono or Fluoro without a knot?
Would it look something like this?



Supposing that you tied a nail knot on top of the splice for safety's sake, could it still be smaller than any line to line knot?



Suppose that you could make a loop at the end of your line...without a knot



Now if you also made a knotless leader, that also had a loop on the rod end,
could you join them together loop-to-loop for quick changes out on the water?



What if under tension the connection almost disappeared?


What if after a break-off etc. your line could have a new section spliced on?
Now what if all of these these connections were at 100% line strength?

Is this just science-fiction or could it really be the next "Big Thing"

[screwballl]

A bit more work and money than simply tying a knot.

Although it does look decent, I think it will be cost prohibitive.

[BigBassin144]

Are you talking about Hollow Braid?

BB

[bamabassman]

Interesting for sure. Maybe comw up with some sort of glue to hold them together? Brain farting.............

[Cavs1123]

That looks neat!

[Bryan]

Great pics.

I know the Tuna guys out west love that Jerry Brown hollow braid. I can definitely see it becoming a big thing in bass fishing. Hopefully they start making it in smaller # tests.

[lilmule]

Well unless one is using heavy braid like gorilla most braids are smaller than what mono you would attach,like 20pd power pro or even 30, pd evolution,I do use a crig with 45 pd power pro and mono on the leader,lets me lose the leader and hook and keep all the rest,if hung up,as well as feel every pebble or mussel shell.

[WTL]

Yea it looks good on the internet, where the size of something isn't as readily apparent. I think that out of necessity, since it is hollow, it would have to have a larger diameter than other superlines. For bass applications, they really need to offer it in 30 lb test. Then I might be able to go for it.

[Garry2rs]

The weather has been unstable for the last week.
We have had high winds and even some rain.
Temperatures dropped from the hi-70's to the mid-60's
This week we are in the 80's, but again we have the wind...gusts to 30mph.
Yesterday morning it was calm...
I quickly headed out to "water test" my new knotless leaders and the 40# Power Pro Hollow Ace line.

These leaders were in two styles.
The first was a 15 pound test piece of fluorocarbon threaded straight into the space inside the hollow core braided line. Using a hollow needle, I pushed the fluorocarbon line 3 feet up inside the hollow braid.
The fluoro leader is held in place by the braid clamping down on it like a "Finger Trap."





To keep the raw end of the braid from unraveling, I tied a small nail knot and added a drop of glue to the joint.





The second style differed only in that instead of the leader being part of the line on the reel, the leader was attached to the running line with a loop.
This required that I create a loop at the end of my line and another at the end of my 12 foot leader.

The loops are formed in the middle of a section of line by pulling a loop of line inside of the running line, using a reverse-latch needle.
This is hard to imagine and harder for me to explain, without pictures. The photo essay will have to wait for another post, so just trust me for now.
The loops are smooth have 100% line strength and there are no knots.





This loop-to-loop attachment would allow for quick leader changes, and is the way I think I will wind up going in the end.





The joint where the two loops met would go through the guides smoothly in the backyard, but I needed to actually fish with it to know how it worked where it counted.





These changing weather conditions are effecting the start of the spawn. Some fish are moving into the shallows, but each time it cools down again they disappear.

There were several boats fishing the spawning flats at 8AM, when I got to the reservoir. I opted to do my testing along the deeper canals and in the pools where two canals meet.





We caught three small bass on crankbaits, all males.
Two on a Spro Little John in Rootbeer Chartreuse and one on a Strike King Sexy Chrome Red Eye Shad rattle bait.







I broke one leader trying to pull the rattle bait off of a snag. The line was over a root protruding from the bank.
During the retrieve, the lure came out of the water, part way over the roots, and snagged in the wood.
The line broke at the lure not at the joint and I was able to retrieve the lure.

Both styles of the new leaders were a complete success.
When they are wet they are even slicker than in the backyard.

The 40 pound Hollow Ace is a very smooth line. It's a 16 strand braid so I guess that's not a surprise. I was already using 40# on my casting rods so that weight line suited me fine.

The fluorocarbon that I am using isn't leader material. I will acquire a spool of actual leader type fluoro asap.
I suspect that the real leader material will be a little stiffer and have a harder outside finish.

What I have now works fine, but the real thing can't hurt especially when fishing around Zebra Mussels.
Garry2R's

[BigBassin144]

Garry, I've couple questions regarding the Hollow Ace braid.

First, where did you get it, and how much does it run? Next, what is the diameter of the 40lb braid? Finally, does it stay round on your reel or does it flatten out like a fire hose?

Oh, one more, how do you think it handles compared to standard braided line?

Thanks,

BB

[Bassboss]

Very very interesting! Good to see you've caught some fish with it, this could be next big thing!

[Jrob78]

Originally Posted by BigBassin144

Garry, I've couple questions regarding the Hollow Ace braid.

First, where did you get it, and how much does it run? Next, what is the diameter of the 40lb braid? Finally, does it stay round on your reel or does it flatten out like a fire hose?

Oh, one more, how do you think it handles compared to standard braided line?

Thanks,



BB

I was wondering the exact same thing about the flattening out, fire hose is a good analogy. It seems like if it was stiff enough to not flatten out it wouldn't be supple enough to fish well. Being hollow does it have the density to cast well?

[Garry2rs]

Before we get into diameter etc. please remember there are no knots to stick-up on your reel or to bump there way through the guides during a cast. That means that the leader can be as long as you want. Salt water guys use 20 and 50 foot leaders!!!

The guy who has been helping me get started is Brett Honza from Northwest Topshots (541-935-8108). He sells the tools, and also sells ready made leaders.

He was the one who suggested that I try 40# Hollow Ace. He said he had received some samples and had been able to insert leaders as small as 12 pound test into it. He also said that general distribution was behind schedule and he hadn't received his order yet. Please note that he was sending me elsewhere for the most expensive part of the transaction...I think this speaks volumes about his integrity. He truly wanted to help me.

I phoned Shimano, to see what I could find out. The person I spoke to said that they were shipping limit quantities and asked where I was located. I'm in Yuma AZ so the closest dealers were in San Diego, California I mentioned some names of dealers and they confirmed a couple. I phoned Charkbait but they didn't have any 40# test yet, but I found it at Angler's Choice.

I paid $99.99 for 500 yards of yellow. I would have preferred white because the glue is supposed to work better on undyed white. The price divides out to $20.00 per 100 yards, which is a little more than most of us are used to paying for the old four strand Power Pro. On the other hand the folks at Blackwater Lines, who put out the video that many of you have seen, only offers line weights down to 50 pound test and they want $88.00 for 100 yards! Their stuff must be made from the hair of some sort of rare virgin Spectras!

As to the diameter. It is not marked on the Hollow Ace spool or the box. Visually, it appears to be between my 15# and 20# Fluorocarbons in diameter. That would make it about .018 I think. I have some other 40 # braid and it appears to be the same size. As far as I can tell it is perfectly round. This is a 16 strand braid and in theory that makes a perfectly round braid.

When the leader is inserted, the braid sort of accordions back, opening up to allow the needle and leader to pass.
I was practicing on 60# hollow core of a different brand before my line arrived. I don't know if it's the way it's made, or the wax Power Pro uses as a base for their colour or just because the Hollow Ace is brand new and my 60 has been riding around in the boat for a year, but the Power Pro is much easier to thread.

About 3 feet inside the braided line the needle is brought out through the weave, snipped off, and the tag end of the leader allowed to disappear back into the braid as the line is smoothed out. I smooth the line down over the leader material first, to put as much leader inside the line as possible. Then I smooth back toward the spool removing any remaining slack. At this point the line has closed down and locked over the leader.

The line is expanded slightly in the area with leader inside and it looks slightly like one snake eating another.

The last step is to tighten the line and leader as much as possible and tie a small nail knot or make a whip finish, like on a line guide, then add a drop of glue to the junction. This knot and glue are only to keep the raw end of the braid from unraveling, in my opinion. I don't think the leader could be pulled out of the finger trap.

I think I told you that I broke a leader on a snag last Thursday. The line broke at the lure. That indicated to me that the finger trap's grip was stronger than the leader material.

Now what I have told you is true whether you want a single line from lure to reel, or you want to join the lines loop-to-loop.

These experiments are my first. I have been using mostly a single line and it works great! However, I can see that being able to change leaders in the boat is a worthwhile feature so loop-to-loop is the way I'm leaning.

So far the only loop-to-loop leader I have is a 60 to 30 pound one made by Northwest Topshots. I will be making up some 40# versions and testing them soon.

Everything is very slick right now. The new line casts as well or even better than any braid I have tried before. It flows out the guides without a bump, but it's all brand new. I want to see what it's like after 100 hours of fishing in dirty water...grin.
Garry2R's