Evaluation of Cortland Master Braid

[HarveysMinnow]

A while back, there was some discussion on this brand of braided line, so I decided to try some and provide limited feedback on its overall merits. I say “limited feedback” because I’m neither an expert on fishing lines nor do I have the equipment to fully test lines, in terms of breaking strength, stretch, etc. I just thought the information I did come up with might be worth sharing.

Being somewhat familiar with Cortland as a fly line provider, I felt it was likely that their experience with braiding technology and coatings would allow them to produce a quality braid for spinners and bait casters. I opted for the Cortland Master Braid 30# version. I have to admit that I still don’t understand the logic of using such strong line and then tying on leaders of only half or less of the braid’s breaking strength. The need for a clear low-visibility leader is obvious, but it seems to negate any advantage of a stronger main line. Maybe some of you readers can explain that aspect to me. Logic aside, I spooled the braid onto a Quantum Escalade spinning reel and a Cabela’s Prodigy bait caster. I then added about 6ft of 10# fluorocarbon leader to the braid on both these reels.

The knot strength of the braid-to-fluoro interface seemed adequate under these conditions. Although this braid cut very cleanly, I did find that the free end of the braid had a tendency to become frayed after several casts. Further investigation taught me that perhaps a better way to ‘cut’ this brand of braid is to just touch it to a cigarette lighter flame. This not only separates the line quickly, but it leaves a tiny fused bead on the free ends. This prevented any further fraying, and this technique is applicable to the free ends of braid in knots, so long as appropriate care is used with the flame.

I found that this line casts very well on both the reels I was using. (Again, I have limited exposure to braids in general, so I’m not qualified to make a direct comparison between Cortland braid and other brands.) There was no tendency for this line to twist or kink on the spinning reel and on the bait caster I was able to make long smooth casts without backlashing. Whenever I did get small loops at the end of a cast, they pulled out easily, probably because of the slick coating on this braid.

Bottom line: I was fully satisfied with this Cortland Master Braid and I would (and probably will) buy more of it. I believe those of you who have trouble with kinks and excessive coiling of lines on spinning reels could benefit from the limpness and ease of handling this line offers.

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[bassinbob]

Good read harvey. Might just try some.

[Bassboss]

Sweet! thanks a lot, sounds really nice. A question though; was the line really really limp, or did it have some body to it like Ppro or sufix does?

[nofearengineer]

Harvey, the real appeal of braid is its almost-zero-stretch qualities, and its consequent ability to slice through vegetation.

There are plenty of anglers who use 10 lb braid on light spinning tackle, but again, that is for its low-stretch, high-sensitivity.

On baitcasters, it tends to "dig in" unless you use a high lb test, which obviously has a larger diameter. In many cases 20 or 30 lb braid would do the trick, but 65 lb turns out to be more manageable.

[HarveysMinnow]

Originally Posted by Bassboss

Sweet! thanks a lot, sounds really nice. A question though; was the line really really limp, or did it have some body to it like Ppro or sufix does?

BB,
It is not really really limp, and the term 'body' is a good descriptor. Thanks for thinking of body as a property of braids. If you hold this Cortland braid between thumb and finger, you can extend it about 3 to 3.5 inches horizontally before it starts to sag. I don't have any of the two brands you mentioned, but you can probably make your own comparisons, if you have comparable diameters of braid.

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[HarveysMinnow]

Originally Posted by nofearengineer

Harvey, the real appeal of braid is its almost-zero-stretch qualities, and its consequent ability to slice through vegetation.

There are plenty of anglers who use 10 lb braid on light spinning tackle, but again, that is for its low-stretch, high-sensitivity.

On baitcasters, it tends to "dig in" unless you use a high lb test, which obviously has a larger diameter. In many cases 20 or 30 lb braid would do the trick, but 65 lb turns out to be more manageable.

Bryce, thank you. The appeal of braid makes a little more sense now. I guess I don't fish lily pads or heavy grass enough to fully appreciate its slicing ability.

I did notice that this braid tended to dig in slightly when I was pulling against the drag, but it seemed to come right out again...maybe because of its somewhat slick coating.

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[islandbass]

Bryce summed it up very well. There is also another line of reasoning for having the leader weaker in strength, that this is to make breakoffs easier when necessary. For example, if you got about 30 yards of say 30# braid out and you get caught up on something, good luck trying to break that off. However, if your leader is of say 10# test, you will be able to break that off and preserve your mainline. Better to lose a 1-2' leader that your main line.