Braided loops
 

I recently bought some braided loops which came with a plastic sleeve. The sleeve is supposed to slide over the loop (once the braid is threaded onto the fly line) to be glued over the butt end of the braid, as a kind of 'cap', I guess to stop the braid end fraying.

Anyway, this plastic sleeve is about 4-5 inches long and I'm pretty sure it's intended to be cut down first.

Can anyone tell me if this is the case and what size to cut it down to. There's so much talked about rigs which do/don't turn a fly well, that I want to get this about right.

Thanks for any help.
Mark

Braided loops
 

On Tuesday, July 24, 2012 8:11:23 AM UTC-7, M wrote:
I recently bought some braided loops which came with a plastic sleeve. The sleeve is supposed to slide over the loop (once the braid is threaded onto the fly line) to be glued over the butt end of the braid, as a kind of 'cap', I guess to stop the braid end fraying.

Anyway, this plastic sleeve is about 4-5 inches long and I'm pretty sure it's intended to be cut down first.

Can anyone tell me if this is the case and what size to cut it down to. There's so much talked about rigs which do/don't turn a fly well, that I want to get this about right.

Thanks for any help.
Mark

Yes, if you use the plastic sleeve to keep the end of the braid from fraying you should only use a piece about 1/2" long. However, there is a problem using these plastic sleeves. Because they are stiff compared to the flyline, they eventually cause the flyline to crack just above the joint. A superior solution is to do a whip finish wrap with light monofilament at the end of the braid and then lightly coat the entire braid covering with Aquaseal.

Braided loops
 

Also, cut off a 1mm section of this sleeve and pass a match about 4 inches under it (or hit it with a blow drier) to be sure its not shrink-wrap instead of glue on.


On Tuesday, July 24, 2012 5:01:54 PM UTC-4, wrote:
On Tuesday, July 24, 2012 8:11:23 AM UTC-7, M wrote:
> I recently bought some braided loops which came with a plastic sleeve. The sleeve is supposed to slide over the loop (once the braid is threaded onto the fly line) to be glued over the butt end of the braid, as a kind of 'cap', I guess to stop the braid end fraying.
>
> Anyway, this plastic sleeve is about 4-5 inches long and I'm pretty sure it's intended to be cut down first.
>
> Can anyone tell me if this is the case and what size to cut it down to. There's so much talked about rigs which do/don't turn a fly well, that I want to get this about right.
>
> Thanks for any help.
> Mark

Yes, if you use the plastic sleeve to keep the end of the braid from fraying you should only use a piece about 1/2" long. However, there is a problem using these plastic sleeves. Because they are stiff compared to the flyline, they eventually cause the flyline to crack just above the joint. A superior solution is to do a whip finish wrap with light monofilament at the end of the braid and then lightly coat the entire braid covering with Aquaseal.

Braided loops
 

Braided loops work like a Chinese finger trap; as the loop is pulled at the end of the line, the braid lengthens and constricts tighter around the entire length of line tip within the braid. Applying an adhesive or sealant to this entire length will prevent the braid from applying its extremely strong grip around the line. The glued-on braid may work fine, but it will be limited by a chemical bond rather than the mechanical grip that becomes increasingly stronger as it is pulled.

Braided loops can fail if they are pushed off the line at the cut end of the braid. It doesn't take much effort, either. Applying a nail knot or heat shrink tubing to the very end of the braid prevents this failure and protects from further fraying.

The diameter of the braid should be small enough that you can't just slip the braid over the line; it should take a minute or so of "inchworming" the braid onto the line. Also, don't be tempted to cut the braid down. It may seem excessively long, but the added length provides more surface area of grip on the line tip.

Braided loops
 

On Thursday, July 26, 2012 5:13:49 PM UTC-7, E.B. wrote:
Braided loops work like a Chinese finger trap; as the loop is pulled
at the end of the line, the braid lengthens and constricts tighter around the entire length of line tip within the braid. Applying an adhesive or sealant to this entire length will prevent the braid from applying its extremely strong grip around the line. The glued-on braid may work fine, but it will be limited by a chemical bond rather than the mechanical grip that becomes increasingly stronger as it is pulled.

That's why I specified a thin coating of Aquaseal instead of glue. Aquaseal remains flexible after curing, so a thin coating would only reduce
the effectiveness of the Chinese finger trap action minimally, while making the whole connection smoother. Uncoated braid tends to pick up grit which can wear on your guides each time you string up your rod.