Ok I know I’m a few months away from having to worry about this but I can’t seem to keep myself away from the bass lures at sportsmans! I’m looking at what kind of line I want to put on my spinning rods. I’ve been using Pline premium in a 10 pound for just about everything and I love it! thinner than other monofilimants, very low memory and very tough. I’m looking at something a little heavier for using my new planer boards on willard, for ripping spinner baits at pelican and for stripers on powell. I’ve been looking at some of the super lines and I’m not sure what to think, they’re drastically thinner than mono but I’ve never used it before. Any advice from you guys who have used super lines or from the willard pros would be appreciated!!
I tried some braid on a spinning reel a couple years ago and hated it. Sorry but I don’t remember the brand. It dug in on itself, slipped on the spool and was a pain to trim. I finally peeled it all off in disgust during a trip to FG and replaced it with Trilene mono.
I’ve been using spider wire for about 6 years now and it’s been ok. I think it works better on a baitcaste reel then a spinning, just my opinion. when you get a backlash with braid line it’s harder to untangle. later chuck
Try picking up some PowerPro.
I’ve used it for some time on baitcasters as well as spinning rigs. Much easier casting and less prone to backlash than Spiderwire in my opinion. I like the 20# test in moss green, though you can do yellow or red or white.
If you do get backlashes, try carrying around some toothpicks in the tackle bag. Quicker to get out and a lot easier on the nerves.
I couldn’t find any at Sportsman’s in SLC last month when I looked, but Cabelas has quite a bit in stock. Or you can always order online.
what do you do when you get a snag? I bet it would be easy to snap my rods trying to pull out a crankbait with a 20lb line. Or are you tying on a section of florocarbon? I have a hard time thinking a braided line is as invisible to fish as a mono.
I am not a huge braid guy but love it for the right applications. I have 30lb Sufix (8lb dia.) on my senko rod. Its a 7’ MH Shimano Crucial spinning rod. I still use a 3’-4’ leader of 12lb Pline Flouroclear, which is a deadly combination. I use a 2500 size reel. I guess that’s the key. Make sure that if you use braid on spinning gear to have a large spool reel. I have seen it used on 2000 size reels and the line does not coil of the spool smoothly. A larger spool really helps. I use 50lb Sufix for my frog rod and 65lb PowerPro on my carolina rig rod, both baitcasters. For the three applications I use braid for I love it.
HockeyMan
Sounds like my experience with Spiderwire on a spinning reel a few years ago. It was a bad setup
I’ll throw my two bits in here on this topic.
I am pretty passionate about the use of super lines for ALL of my fishing … even ice fishing.
I have come to really appreciate braided super lines for several reasons:
[ol]- Braided lines are much more abrasive resistant. They can take the rocks, tree limbs, and sharp ice holes much better than monos.- Braided doesn’t deteriorate in the sun like mono. You replace braided because you have just plain wore it out rather than because of the way mono yellows, cracks, and breaks. Mono isn’t nearly as dependable as braided after a year of hard use.- Braided super lines are much smaller diameter per lb. test. This allows you to put longer lengths of braded on a real. Being thinner, I think braided casts further and trolls better (cuts through the water better allowing the lures to dive deeper.- But best of all, I love the fact that braided super lines don’t stretch. What ever is happening 200 feet out trolling can be felt perfectly in the handle of the rod. It is easy to tell if the lure’s action is vibrating correctly way out there or if you are getting a hit way down deep jigging. Unlike mono, you just cant be as sure because mono tends to act a bit like a shock absorber.[/ol]But, if you are going to take advantage of all those great features of braided super lines, you best be tieing on some leader. I think that fish can easily see, and will avoid, braided lines. I prefer to use any of the 100% flurocarbon lines like Berkley Vanish or Bass Pro XPS. Unlike braided line, 100% flurocarbon line is very hard for fish to see in the water (so I am told).
As for what knots to use when joining super braided main lines (Fireline, SpiderWire, etc.) to fluorocarbon leader, the Double-Uni knot (also known as the Uni-to-Uni or Back-to-Back Uni knot) is my all-time favorite:
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Lay the two lines side by side with twelve inches overlapping. Form a Uni knot type of circle on the first line.
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Wrap the first line around the second four times, through the loop of course.
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Pull the tag to engage enough tension to close and hold the wraps in place, not too tight.
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Create another Uni knot on the second line, just like before.
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Pull the main lines apart to butt the knots against one another. To tighten harder, pull the tag ends firmly. Clip as you like.
Now, having bragged up braided line, I need to warn you that if you plan to start using it, understand that you MUST put some kind of backing (like mono) on your spool before you spool up the braided. The braided will slip on the spool where as the mono won’t. So, first, using the Arbor knot, tie on 20-30 feet of mono, then, using the double-uni-knot, connect and spool on your braided.
At Willard, for trolling planer boards, I use 20 lb test FireLine with 14 lb. fluoro leader.
To break off snaggs with any type of line (braided, mono, or ANY kind of line), understand that the line will always break at a knot regardless of the lb. test strength.
— Coot —
Now THAT’S a post Ralph!!! And so Intelligent too!!!
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I have the 20# PowerPro on a couple of Shimano Stradic 1000 spinning reels, and it does just fine, small spool and all. I have a 2500 rigged up with Spiderwire, and it sits in the garage until I get the ambition to rig it up with something else.
I usually do put on a few feet of flourocarbon leader, and I secure it with an Albright knot. Here is how to tie:
As far as snags, I never use the rod for leverage…have seen too many people break their rods doing that.
Simply give yourself some slack, put on a pair of gloves, and then see if you can get it out (if you try it with your bare hands, you will cut yourself very quickly). Most of the time that works, especially if you are using a lighter leader…as Coot said, it will break at the knot, and you don’t have to lose 50 yards of expensive braid.
Visibility…I’m not sure. I think it all depends on water clarity. If I’m jigging at 100 feet for Stripers at Powell or Mead, I don’t use a leader. Otherwise, I do.
Also, as Coot mentioned it doesn’t stretch, so if you plan on using it for trolling, I definitely recommend a mono leader and a relatively loose drag setting so you don’t rip the lures out.
I’ve seen those pictures and illustrations before. what website did you get those off of?By the way I’ve never been able to keep monofiliamant on more than couple fishing trips . Line will turn into bubble gum if it is not replaced within reasonable amount of time. Also spyderline under 8Lb Test frays easily, that is major warning for everyone using light line to catch trophy size bass.
Madman,
I stole the knot pics from http://www.eagle.ca/~jam/roddiper/fishingknots.html
wow, that was exactly the answer I needed! Thank you very much! Now all I need is for you to teach me to think like a wiper…[;)]
I’ve had big problems with Spiderwire but the Spiderwire Stealth is great. Its coated so it wont knot or dig in unless your drag is redicilously tight. Its cheaper than the regular Spiderwire. On my spinning rods, especially my dropshotting rod I use 30lb with a 3ish foot 8lb flourocarbon leader. I have Ultracast on 2 of my casting rods and it works great too. One’s for flipping with 65lb braid and the other one I have $50lb.
I’ve been using Fireline since Berkley came out with it. It can be a pain but I think there are more pluses than negatives. The biggest drawback is that it digs into the spinning reel’s spooled line and tangles when cast. I can deal with that because it doesn’t happen that much. I use 12-pound Fireline in the smoke color, with a five-foot fluorocarbon leader for stealth purposes. I sometimes use 10-pound line, too. There’s no issue with line twist as with mono and it’s great in any temperature range. But there are several things I do differently with braided line. First, always add about 5-10 yards of mono backing before spooling up. This will stop slippage on the spool. A piece of tape with two stickey sides will work just as well. Most fishermen have a tendency to set the hook strongly. Because braided line doesn’t stretch like mono, lighten up on the drag so that it will give a little on the hookset. Otherwise, you might break your rod or rip the lure out of the fish’s mouth. Most of these braided lines are coated with a teflon-like substance so I always give the line an extra wrap or two when tying on a swivel or lure. Always pull the knot in tightly to test for any slippage. But be careful when tying flurocarbon because the friction heat will break the fluro…Lastly, if you ever have a tough sewing project like canvas or leather consider using braided line. instead of regular sewing shop thread. It works great in 6-8 pound test.
You can keep the line from slipping on the spool by putting some electrical tape on the spool before you wind the line on.
I’ve seen a couple guys break rods while trying to pull free of a snag while using one of the new braided super lines. I’ll offer this advice. NEVER use the rod to pull on a hard snag. Instead, crank your drag down a bunch, point the rod at the snag and crank the line as tight as you can. Then grab the spool to prevent any unwinding and pull while keeping the rod pointed straight down the line. You might have to go through the wind tight and pull a couple times before the line breaks, hook straightens out or you pull free but your rod will remain intact.
I’ve gotten so lazy in my old age that I only use one rod setup for 99% of my fishing. I have a 6’ fairly stiff ultralight rod and a wide spool light spinning reel that I spool with 10 lb. Spiderwire or Fireline. I use that setup for everything from little creek trout to macs. Yeah, I’ve had some breakoffs but they have very rare and I’ve had some hellacious fights. I use a little piece of tape to secure the first wrap to the spool to keep it from slipping.
A small drop of super glue on the first wrap on the spool . Let it dry and the line will not slip on the spool . Curt G.