I had read a couple of good reviews on Unitika Bream Super PE JR Braid, so I purchased a spool of PE0.6 - 8lb to load on a yet unused Stradic 1000 Ci4. It is a very thin line and the reel took the entire 150m which surprised me considering other 1000 size reels I own were flat out holding much more than 100m of 6lb in other brands such as Fins, PowerPro and Berkley Fireline. I was beginning to think that maybe being so thin it would give me problems with wind knots, so yesterday being a breezy day I ventured up to a local dam to put it to the test with various weight lures between 1g to 5g using a Daiwa Laguna 1-2kg ultra light spin rod. The verdict? My early impression is that it would be the best light braid I have ever used, easy casting and not one wind knot after more than 50 casts. It definitely gets a thumbs up, but the proof will be when it is loaded with the weight of a fish hanging off it. Jeff
You do realise you will now have to fish with a vanilla pumpkin cafe latte in your hand? Also, you will need to grow a man bun! From what I know, Unitika is a good brand. I have both braid and mono to go onto reels. The one you have, is it 4 or 8 strand? Cheers Team Bender Snubs his nose at any braid less than 40 strand!
As I sit here sipping my vanilla pumpkin cafe latte and growing my man bun, I am getting brain damage trying to figure out what part of the label tells me the strand count. Methinks I may have to climb into my ninja suit to work it out.
I threw away a couple of spools, it kept breaking when I set the hook, or tried to get a lure out of a tree.It was super pe but not the Bream.
Howard, you are not talking about this line by chance? This was notorious for failure in the lower breaking strains. Made by Sunline. However, Unitika does have a braid of the same name. Cheers Team Bender Worried now!
As I sit at my keyboard sipping nescafe instant and a devon patch on the back of my head, I will keep using my Kariki SX braid cant remember what count. Diesel that braid will only be good for catching bream as indicated on the packaging actually if they have any jewfish braid I will get some! On the spray on silicone experiment the baitcaster line isn't sticky for the first few casts, a lot less water sprays up off the spool at the start of casts, haven't noticed if it casts further. Oddly it seems that the line on the spool gets a bit sticky and plays up a bit that is exposed at the end of the cast so I might go down the oval cast out then give it another spray. On the spinning reel it seems to cast better.
Thanks for that. Did you have problems from the start? I have some to use...guess I will find out. Cheers Jim
Howard, what weight line was it? I will only be using it for flats fishing with Sugapens chasing whiting etc. There is a YouTube channel called Sand Flats Fishing that I subscribe to and he swears by the Unitika Super PE Bream braid as the 'ducks nuts' for top water lures, but then he may be sponsored by the distributor. Jeff
Im not talking about the Bream. Mine was the Super PE. I was a few years ago. Cant remember but I think 6 lb ? Sand Flats do a lot of fishing up my way. I enjoy them, along with Timmy Turtle !!
Blair, I soaked some braid in silicone, also some in hydrocarbon (petrol), sealed both lots in separate jars for a couple of weeks - nothing happened. No loss of colour, no deterioration from what I can see and no reduction in strength. My theory that hydrocarbon would have a detrimental effect has been flushed down the gurgler. The only concern now for me in spraying braid with silicone would be that it spreads a chemical taste/smell in the water, but that theory might be baseless also considering that silicone actually repels water. Back to the lab....... Jeff
I am thinking the hydrocarbon may have a detrimental affect over a long period, I guess it would mostly gas off over time as well leaving the silicone behind. Will try it some more it, does make the line cast out better on first few casts and must cast further because it is carrying less water and the silicone would reduce line friction on guides. Good to know your experiment didn't do any damage. I spray silicone on the bottom of my sponsons so my boat slips off and on the trailer easily new winch is working great makes the day more enjoyable feels like I have forgotten to do something on way home from ramp. Will have to go and do some more casting might have to get another Curado K as well the old curado has to be internally cleaned every time it is used in salt water should be a fresh water only reel not the usuall shimano standard. GOAT: experiment field tester.
Okay I went to the oval for a cast: using 20lb shimano kariki sx braid that had a surface layer of silicone sprayed on it then 1 fresh water spin session and 1 saltwater spin session then saltwater hosed off the spool/line and dried out. Reel Curado K. 30 gram micro jig 5 casts reached average 60 paces, sprayed top layer cast , sprayed remaining line on spool wound hallway back in and sprayed that layer. Next 5 casts a more consistent 65 paces. There was some variable wind involved. I used a stick stuck in ground at first cast landing point and left my bag at cast point to guage off then paced it out whith my shortarse legs. Findings: first cast no problems off dry line/spool haven't cast it hard on 1st cast though but will be ok on about 70% cast power this is after 1 fresh water session and no additional silicone spray. Light lures need more braking than usuall, almost 8% distance increase on dry line not sure about when casting into water should be about same I think line will absorb less water. I would guess most of the silicone comes off while fishing. Cons: may damage braid , if braid parts while fighting 1.5 meter barra and leaning on it to keep it out of sticks you can blame diesel cause it was his idea
Only just read this post. Sometimes, not often, I wish I could run off all these brand model, colour details of which you guys speak. I have never gotten myself into that sort of hi-tech detail. To me, if I tried it and it worked for me, that was all I needed to know. Maybe it's been a big mistake all my life. I cannot get involved in these sort of discussions as I wouldn't know what I was talking about. Noel Probably a bit envious in fact