Braided Line (Superline)

Hello,

I have never used braided line (superline) before and was thinking about giving it a try this year. I was going to use braid with a fluorocarbon leader. When I was looking at different superlines at the store I noticed that most were sold in 125yd packages. Since most medium to heavy action spinning reels hold much more than that, how are you supposed to line your spools with braid if they don’t give you enough? Do you have to back all of your spools with mono? So your reels would all be mono, then braid, then fluorocarbon? Seems kind of ridiculous?

Any suggestions? How do you guys do it?  Any recommendations on brands for braid or fluorocarbon leaders?  

Thanks,

Mike

I really liked smeylink's comments.  I too have been very happy with Power Pro.  I use it on my Musky/Pike rigs and haven't changed the line out in years.  Great stuff!

I get 1024 yards of KastKing braid and just fill up the whole spool and then

use a flourocarbon leader for jigging.

The kastking braid is good and it's a 4 strand so it's a bit noisy on guides line rollers etc, but it casts a country mile.  I think I paid about 34 dollars for over 1000 yards.

Other wise you can just put some heavy mono as a backing if you don't want to get more than 150 yards of braid at a time.

A decent priced 8 strand braid is the Daiwa J Braid and that comes in 165 yard spools.  I think I paid 11 dollars for 15lb from amazon.

I like braided lines for fishing, but some are hybrid set-ups with FL or Mono leaders.  

Sufix 832 I liked it but seems the Powerpro lasted longer for me so I am switching back.  Salmon fishing 40# PP as my backing to leadcore, dipsy rod set-ups.  Musky PP 80 line and 30# for my spinning reels for upnorth where getting a musky/pike is more likely.  Jigging 10# line seem good for Walleye but I tie a 8ft or more leader normally FL.  

Nice thing is once I have braided line I don't swap it out for years.  Musky rods I have 7 yrs on the same line.  Only go for 1 week / year so nice being confident in the line w/o having to re-spool for such a small window I fish / year.  

No stretch has advantages and disadvantages.  Salmon fishing I have soft tip and/or stretch line in the mix for trolling to give some when a king hits.  Don't need to pull hooks out or bend them over.  Walleye jigging rod needs some bend when you set the hook as well.  

Good luck and once you go braid you will question why it took you so long to start using.  Note when adding braid I took cat litter tub, put a thread rod thru the top near the handle and spring for tension and filled with water to wet the line.  With water it doesn't fall over and keeps the line wet to aid in packing the reel.  Did this to spool 16 reels on a bulk spool.  Wetting the line with tension is best for braided line spooling.  You don't want the braid line to cut into itself when a fish takes out line (King Salmon for example) but any strong fish.  Tight pack or after you spool up troll and let line out and reel back in to pack the reel properly.  That is the only real trick besides direction of spool to avoid line twists.

thanks for the info, going to try some 832 nano! Suffix seems to have a good handle on what's next, and a really good product as well

I'll second the Suffix 832 Nano as having better casting distance.  I tried out some 4lb on one of my ultra lights and it casts smoother and farther than any comparable 4lb line I've used.  I'd been running 6lb 832 braid but I now prefer the nano for my ultra lights.  My buddy had some 17lb on one of his casting rods and I didn't like that lb test however.  I still prefer the braid once you get above 10lbs.

I've noticed most people here referring to Suffix 832.  Suffix also has a nano 832 in lines up to 10lb.  I use the nano 832 on all my untralights and find it better than plain 832.  Casts farther and has takes knots well.

I, too, had problems with braids and wind knots until someone tipped me off to not closing bail with reel.  The guy - who repairs his own reels - also said using the handle puts a lot of stress and wear on gears.  

I use a lot of superline my personal preference is power pro or suffix 832.  I use power pro dark green on casting or trolling rods then hi vis 832 on my spinning gear/jigging rigging setups.  What I started doing acouple years ago was only putting 50yds of super line on my jigging setups do the same thing with hi end floro line. This gives you 3 reels worth on a 150yd spool just use a portable line counter(10$)  I do this so it's not such a shot in the arm everytime you want new line and have never been spooled to the backing yet.  Backing is usually 10lb Berkeley big game.  As far as floro leaders when on a really gin clear lake and trying to finesse fish yes I think it's a must but when fish are active or water has a slight stain I don't think it matters 10lb line is 2-4lb diameter.  I've caught bass and walleye in some pretty clear lakes tying directly to hi vis line on slow moving baits like jigs and senkos 

I have only used Suffix 832 and really like it. Huge casting distance increase. I mainly toss 1/16 oz. jigs with 3-5 in. plastics. I have 10 lb. test strength in green color with 4lb. mono equivalent thickness. I would buy the bigger spools, 300-600 yds. better value. As far as the amount of line you put on the reel, use some old mono as a backer and go online to see what are the best knots for joining superline and mono. Good luck.

Wilsonburger

It's Braid for me now always. Fish in Canada every year and last year it was real windy one day and we were trolling and the wind blew the boat side ways and my line got tangled in the prop shaft. Got it out and still fished the rest of that week with that line without a problem.

I'll get that from Spiderwire but haven't had it with Sufix yet. I haven't bought it in a year or so, though.

I am also a big fan of Suffix 832 over Power Pro. I did recently pick up some Cabelas Rip Cord and honestly with out using it, I couldnt tell the difference when looking at it or playing with it compared to Suffix 832. We will see though. I buy the green 832 and notice that when I run it through my fingers I get a green color on my hands. Also when using on my baitcasters I will sometimes get a chunk of that green resin forming on my reel guide. Anyone else have this from Suffix? What is it? The line isnt frayed and its not from my reel guides.

 I have not used mono on my spinning outfits for many years. The sensitivity and Hook setting with no stretch line is far superior to mono . 

My current favorite is suffix 832  because I can get longer casts as compared to power pro. I have tried power pro slick eight and it is also a good line.  832 stands for eight strands of line  with 32 weaves per inch. Seven strands are Dyneema which is the material in other braids. The eighth  strand is Gore-Tex which supposedly makes it smoother for going through the guides and some water repellent action. 

A couple of down sides of using braided line: 1. it ices up more than mono. 2. Wind knots.

Most wind nights are self-inflicted.  They come from closing the bail with the reel handle rather than closing with your hand. A strand of line can be left over the top of the spool.  On  subsequent casts the loop will catch other line and then comes the big birds nest. 

 I carry a couple of large safety pins to help me pick out  the wind knots. They work much better than a hook because frequently you catch The fibers with the barb and tear the line. 

  I think the concern with no stretch line losing fish is over rated. A decent rod and a reel with a good drag will land Just as many fish as mono.

 Grey Beard 

On spinning reels I will use 8 or 10 lb. braid for walleyes.  Conditions will also make a difference.  If you're in heavy cover fishing for northerns, you will be needing much heavier line than if you were trolling in open water.  I'd also use a titanium leader for serious northern fishing, unless you are prepared for bite offs. 

I'm sure there are serious trollers that would never use braid because it's lack of stretch, they prefer the stretch of mono.  In the limited trolling I do, it works great.  Fluorocarbon sinks, so that may give you an advantage if you're trying to fish deep.  Mono, with it's larger diameter will sink much slower, so that can be an advantage too.  Braid will freeze up more than other lines in cold weather.

I'm not an expert on baitcasters.   On my bass baitcasters I think I have 40lb test.  I'm sure there are guys that could spool them with anything, but you can be asking for problems if you go too light with braid. 

In general, on spinning reels go with the same lb. test braid as mono.  On baitcasters lean more towards same diameter of braid as mono.  I use braid for almost everything except outside ice fishing.  That should get you started.

I typically spool about 25 yards of mono on the spool then join the lines with the albright knot.  I find that a 150 yard spool is usually plenty of line for almost any reel.  I currently have some of the bulk 2500 yard spools that I've been using because I save money in the long run.

I prefer Suffix 832 over the rest.  Power pro and Spiderwire are pretty decent enough.  Regular Suffix braid isn't that great.  

I use 6lb braid on my ultralight panfish rods, 6lb-10lb on my mediumlight/medium action walleye rods.  For my bass rods I use 20lb or 30lb for heavier cover.  For my catfish and musky rods I use 50lbs up to 80lbs.

Thanks for all of your help!  This has been really helpful.  I typically fish for walleye, smallmouth bass and pike.  Is there a specific line weight you recommend?  I typically use 8-12 lb mono when fishing these species, depending on the body of water.  Do you just want your braid diameter to be in that range?  For example, some braids are 20-30# strength but have a braid diameter of 6-8lb. So that's what  I would go with for fishing these species with braid?

Also, are there any applications where you don't use braid?  I'm guessing slip-bobber fishing would be one?

Thanks again for you help!  This is all new to me.

Mike