Braided Line

Braided lines are made from either Spectra fibres or Micro Dyneema and both types of fibre are used in the current generation of lines available.
These lines are most often ''fused'' in a process that takes lots of fibres in parallel and joins them together.
Braid has had several names and Superline is one of them. For some time the Australians have called braid Gelspun because of the threads that are made from Gelspun polyethylene.

There are two reasons why braided lines are the best choice for soft bait fishing.
The first is that braid has almost zero stretch and for soft bait that requires direct connection with the lure, it is perfect when matched with a suitable rod allowing absorption of the shocks.

> Rod for more details

The second is diameter, and braid is very very thin. It is so thin that manufacturers usually use the diameter equivalent of mono when referring to the braids breaking strain to help the customer.
An example of this is a 6lb braid which is claimed to have a breaking strain test diameter of 2lb. The line packaging also states it has diameter of .15mm which is less than 1/6th of a millimetre. This example is a perfect braid as the very fine diameter allows less resistance in the water letting the bait sink more naturally. It also allows more line on smaller reels and longer casts while drift fishing, keeping the bait in the strike zone for longer.

Leader (trace)

For the job of soft bait fishing the only choice for your leader is fluorocarbon and there are plenty of reasons but most importantly it has exceptional wear qualities which far exceed those of nylon.
Fluorocarbon sinks rather than floats allowing more natural bait presentation but also is said to have the same re-fractive index as water making it almost invisible.

Furthermore, fluorocarbon doesn''t absorb water and won''t break down as fast as nylon. Because fluorocarbon is around 50% more abrasion resistant than mono of the equivalent diameter, it is possible to use lighter leader material and most large fish are caught on no more than 25lb trace.