If you’re a regular reader of USAngler, you may know that I’ve been tough on braid.
But don’t get me wrong: my go-to fishing line is typically braid, specifically Sufix 832.
Today, I want to give you an insight into why I run this particular braided line, and I’ll dig into the details that matter to you.
Sufix 832
Weights: 6, 8, 13, 18, 20, 26, 30, 39, 50, 63, 79, 86, 99
Colors: Camo, Coastal Camo, Ghost, Low-Vis Green, Neon Lime, High-Vis Yellow, and
Multi-Color
Strands: 8
Material: HMPE plus a GORE fiber
Composition
Sufix 832 draws its name from its composition.
This braided line uses 8 fibers in its weave, 7 High-Modulus Polyethylene (HMPE) fibers and 1 GORE Performance fiber. These individual strands are woven toegther in a pattern that packs 32 woven “pics” per inch.
HMPE is pretty remarkable stuff. It’s 10 times stronger than steel, extremely light, and doesn’t readily absorb water. It’s also bouyant, being less dense than water, and in this respect is more similar to standard monofilament than you might imagine.
The GORE Performance fiber is added to the mix to decrease line vibration and improve casting performance, as well as increase the line’s abrasion resistance, a well-documented weakness of braid.
State-of-the-art manufacturing methods result in a very round, very slick, beautifully casting braided line.
Real-world performance
I pay as little attention to paid promotions and advertising copy as you do: exactly none.
I buy my line with my own money, and no one has paid me to say anything – nice or not – about any product I review.
My experience with Sufix 832 on the water – usually but not always in 20-pound test – is simply awesome.
Diameter
20-pound Sufix 832 has a line diameter of .23 mm.
10-pound Trilene XL Smooth Casting measures .27 mm.
On the water, that means that you can pack twice as much 20-pound Sufix 832 on your reel, giving you more line to cut and retie as well as less chance to find that you’ve been spooled on your ultralight or surf-casting set up.
Doubling the capacity of your favorite reel is no small thing, and the first time you spool on braid, you’ll notice a huge difference!
Memory
One of the best aspects of Sufix 832 is its extremely low memory and ideal limpness.
Off the spool, this braided line stays straight and limp. It doesn’t remember the shape of my reels at all, and even the smaller sizes don’t result in crazy corkscrews.
That’s not a staged picture: that’s just how 20-pound Sufix 832 comes off my reel after weeks on the spool.
Contrast that with 20-pound Stren, and you’ll see a huge difference.
That’s not a staged picture, either.
On the water, that translates directly into longer, smoother, more accurate casts.
Why?
The loops formed when line remembers the shape of the spool grab the guides as you cast, increasing friction – decreasing casting distance – and apply all kinds of wonky forces – decreasing accuracy. By contrast, limp lines like Sufix 832 glide through the guides with minimal contact, increasing casting distance and accuracy.
If you don’t believe me, try it yourself!
I get greater distance (approximately 10% to 15% more) and much better accuracy than I do with mono.
Sensitivity
One of the advantages of braid is that its construction and materials result in vastly lower stretch than mono or fluorocarbon. As I’ve discussed before, braided lines stretch as little as 1% to 8%, in contrast to mono, which can stretch as much as 25%.
When you’re working a Ned rig or other finesse techniques, bass may not hit them like the aggressive heavyweights they are. That low stretch translates directly into increased sensitivity, and from the details of the bottom that you’ll learn to read like braille, to the softest suck of a strike, you’ll know what’s happening on the end of your line.
Hookset power
Avid bass anglers know that single-hooked applications like Texas- and Carolina-rigs, wacky rigs, spinnerbaits, swim jigs, etc. demand hard, immediate hooksets to drive those sharp points home.
And as much as I love mono, it’s shock-absorbing stress means that the power you apply to the handle gets absorbed by the rod as well as yard after yard of stetchy line.
But braid is more like chain than towing straps, and when you give it a tug to set your hook, that power is far more directly transferred to the hook, resulting in better hooksets for single-hooked applications.
Shock absorption
Sufix 832 stretches very little, a fact you’ll notice through hard hooksets, even when you’ve got a lot of line between you and your hook.
But that low stretch has drawbacks, too.
It’s not the best line to choose for treble-hooked lures like in-line spinners, most top-water lures, crankbaits, or jerkbaits. That’s because a bit of give helps to prevent those sharp, small trebles from ripping clear through a bass’s mouth.
As I’ve discussed in a deep-dive on crankbaits, cushion is the name of the game. Tournment winners throw crankbaits from dedicated fiberglass rods, loosen their drags a touch, and run mono or fluorocarbon to add a bit more shock absorption.
Braid’s lack of stretch works against it here, and Sufix 832 demands at least a yard or two of stretchy leader if your throwing crankbaits. Dial down your drag, too, and choose a rod with plenty of flex in a medium (or slower) action.
Knot integrity
Spectra, Dyneema, and other forms of HMPE are super strong but also very slick.
Fishing knots rely on friction to hold, and they demand that line can bite itself and grip.
One weakness typical of braided line is that knot integrity tends to be worse than it is with nylon monofilament, with greater risk of pull-throughs and knot failure when lots of force is applied, say, during a hard fight with a monster bass.
Sufix 832 is no exception to this rule, and you can typically only expect about half of your line’s rated test strength from your knots.
But knots like the San Diego Jam, FG, Improved Palomar, Kreh, and Double Uni hold well when tied in slippery HMPE, and won’t let you down when properly executed.
Abrasion resistance
“Strong” isn’t a synonym for “tough.”
And while Sufix 832 is super strong, very little abrasion renders it terribly weak.
That’s just a hard truth: once even one of those fibers has been compromised, the test strength of braided line – including Sufix 832 – drops off the charts.
As you’ll see in the video, equal abrasion with 180 grit sandpaper resulted in vastly more damage to the Sufix 832, reducing its tested strength to just over 1 pound.
That’s bad news, but fully expected.
The woven composition of braided line means that while it’s incredibly strong, it’s also relatively fragile.
On the water, I’ve run Sufix 832 into cypress knees, stumps, branches, sumberged logs, and other similar hazards, and it hasn’t let me down.
But I wouldn’t choose Sufix 832 if I’m fishing around rocks, shells, barnacle-encrusted pilings and other sharp surfaces, at least not without some serious leader on the business end.
And I check my braided line every few casts for signs of abrasion and damage. If I can make it out, it’s time to cut and retie.
Color availability
HMPE doesn’t take dyes very well, and it can’t be made clear.
That leaves braid pretty visible in the gin-clear lakes and ponds bass love, but it hasn’t been a problem for me in the tannin-stained waters of South Carolina.
There, I like Low-Vis Green, as it just disappears into the background.
When I fish clear water, however, I’ll use 10-pound mono or fluorocarbon leader to reduce line visibility.
And unlike some braided lines, I’ve never had a problem with my Sufix 832 fading or flaking. It looks as good now as it did the day I spooled it on.
Cutting Sufix 832
One final real-world lesson I’ve learned is that teeth and fingernail clippers won’t cut it: literally.
Sufix 832 is very resistant to clipping, and it takes a sharp blade like a good EDC knife or quality fishing scissors to cut it cleanly.
Forget about using your teeth!
Final Thoughts
Sufix 832 has proven to be outstanding line for me and my purposes on the water.
As a line for bass fishing with single-hooked lures and applications, it excels at long-distance and precision casting, holds knots pretty well, and delivers awesome sensitivity and powerful hooksets.
I spend my hard-earned money on Sufix 832, and if you give it a try, you won’t be disappointed.
As always, we’d love to hear from you, so please leave a commenr below.
Source: usangler.com