baitcaster and braided line 2024

tugboat reply :

Fished with a spinning reel all my life , thought I would give a baitcaster a try this year.

Been practicing in the backyard with monofilament tied on. Would like to put braid on,but how do you tie it to the spool correct and how do you set the drag right without wrecking everthing? What type of brand do you use ? Thanks.

crankybaits reply :

to be honest, braid is great on spinning reels. But it really sucks on baitcasters.

Signguy reply :

All I run on all my rods is 30lb power pro and on my flippin stick I use 50ilb. Some reels

have line holder holes in them . what I do is put a small piece of black tape on the spool first before

I spool it up. Another trick for power pro I waste 1 spool every 2 years , by throwing one spool away

then back spooling all my other reels to the next leaving having to buy 1 reel of line every year not 12.

Murray Signguy

bassin5 reply :

I would agree power pro is a good braided line. I have only been using it for about 4 months and I have been pleased.

stratosdriver reply :

I usually use at least 14 lb iron silk on my baitcasters but i do have one with 30lb power pro and i just use the piece of tape that holds the line on the spool it comes on to keep it from spinning on the reel.Then i just replace the first 50yds usually 3 times a year.

Wayne P. reply :

I've been using super braids since they were first introduced. I always use mono backing to about mid depth of the spool and then fill up with the braid (about 50-75 yards) on spinning gear and baitcasting gear. I can get three reels spooled with one braid purchase and the braid will last for several years. I reverse the braid when it looses it's color or starts looking frizzy. Also after I have retied enough to see the joining knot on a long cast, I just replace the rest with enough to fill the spool again. I don't particularly like Power Pro, it has too rough a texture for my taste.

tugboat reply :

So you put the black tape on first then tie or tie then black tape or either way works.

Do you set your drag on low setting?

guest reply :

I do not tie braid or mono to the spool. Take a piece of double stick carpet tape that will wrap aronnd the spool and wind the line on over it. If you get a fish large enough to spool all your line the kind of knot used or any other method of attachment won't make any difference.

Hawgin reply :

If you already have mono on the spool, there is no reason to waste it. Peel off enough of the mono so that there is about 40-50 yards still on the spool. Tie the braid directly to the mono and fishing filling your spool with braid.

guest reply :

You should ALWAYS use mono backing when tying braid to a baitcaster.

Braid is excellent on baitcasters, but do not use lighter (I never use less than 50#) line.

The thin diameter and lack of stretch will cause the line to dig into the spool, especially after fighting a heavy fish, or a hard hook set. Your next cast will backlash.

Larger diameter line will negate this.

avid

PS> Learn to tie a variety of knots. The tounament mentality of doing everything as quickly as possible, has taken some of the skill and unique pleasure out of fishing. Regardless of what many will tell you, fishing is not just about catching fish. If you feel that it is, then a poor catch day is a "lousy" day. Whereas if you look at fishing as more than merely catching fish, you can have a low catch rate and still have a great day.

Think about it.

Knot tying is rapidly becoming one of the lost arts, so toss the tape, the snaps, the swivels, the split rings etc. and learn how to tie the palomer, the trilene, the rapala or perfection loop, the uni to uni, blood knot, albright, and a few others and you will see just how rewarding this sport can be even when not catching fish. If you really want to impress your friends, learn to tie the bimini twist. They will think you are some kind fishing God.

guest reply :

Power pro is my favorite braid.

You can set the drag tighter with braid because of the higher break strength, but don't overdo it. No sense in ruining a perfectly good drag by overtightning it.

Use a palomer knot for most applications

I use the rapala knot for all jerkbaits and topwaters.

I often use a mono leader. I tie a blood knot. If properly tied it won't slip. A teeny dab of super glue will add confidence if needed.

shimanogloomis man reply :

like said before use about 30 yrds of mono backing and use 50 pound braid, tho power pro is good sufix is even better iv tried both and sufix is the way to go ;D

FishTank reply :

I have someone I trust fill my reels now and he puts about 20-25% mono backing. He also under spools the reel just a little. I have been using 50lb PowerPro. I would not recommend anything lighter. I have also tried Sufix in 20lb on a spinning reel and 50lb on a baitcaster and a spinning reel. I love the 20lb but did not care for the 50lb, go figure.

Garnet reply :

Just got back from our sportaman show and explained this 2 doz. times today.

If you are starting new with any reel buy dirt cheap mono of the same Dia. fill spool full even fish for a day some are happier with a little less.

For normal picthing casting take off 33 pulls and a pull being 3ft. thats 100ft 35 would be 110.

Fill with Power Pro and any other line you like. This maintains your full spool capcity so you get the full gear ratio from your reel.

Garnet

tugboat reply :

Thanks for ALL the tips, looks like I will head back to the store for heavier line then what I bought did buy power pro tho.

bocabasser reply :

i totally and respectfully disagree with avid. there is no need to use mono backing when spooling a baitcaster with power pro. like some of the others have suggested, double sided tape works, and i use electrical tape when spooling mine. i have 8 of my baitcasters spooled with pp and 5 spinning rods spooled with it. the only reason a couple of my reels have p-line flouro, is when i fish a clear water lake, and here in florida, that is rare.

Banor reply :

Quote
to be honest, braid is great on spinning reels. But it really sucks on baitcasters.

Huh? :-/

Banor reply :

Quote
i totally and respectfully disagree with avid. there is no need to use mono backing when spooling a baitcaster with power pro. like some of the others have suggested, double sided tape works, and i use electrical tape when spooling mine. i have 8 of my baitcasters spooled with pp and 5 spinning rods spooled with it. the only reason a couple of my reels have p-line flouro, is when i fish a clear water lake, and here in florida, that is rare.

Some people cant afford alot of gear and others can afford it but like to be cost effective. Why spool up 150 yards of expensive braid when you can spool up 50 to 75 yards of braid on top of a really cheap mono backing?

I fit in the 2nd category. I could afford to spool up 100% braid but choose not to. I'll save the money and buy more lures.

Banor reply :

Quote
I do not tie braid or mono to the spool. Take a piece of double stick carpet tape that will wrap aronnd the spool and wind the line on over it. If you get a fish large enough to spool all your line the kind of knot used or any other method of attachment won't make any difference.

This may be true for other sport fish but is a non issue in bass fishing, atleast for me. I dont use braid in long cast scenerios. I use braid for my up close and personal slop/stump/heavy cover situations. If I'm cast long distance it's because I'm in clear open water and I'm not going to be using braid, I'll be using fluoro or mono in a thin, less visible diameter. Even if I was, I am doing something wrong if I'm letting a bass spool me. Then again, I'm not catching double digits on a regular basis up here in Michigan.

But that's just me - opinions vary,

Garnet reply :

On your regular casting bass/walleye it's just a waste of money to spool all braid. A 150 yard should do 3 reels and have 3 turn arounds thats 6 fills.

There are specail applications like dipsy diver for salmon and walleye were you are going down 70-80 ft and back 200ft. Downriggers is another.

In our northern speckle trout lakes long line trolling is popular 2-300 ft back trolling dead slow with tiny flat fish.

I'm not a salt water guy but I'v seen the show lots of application there.

The manufactures will love you.

Garnet

senile1 reply :

bshaner stated:

Quote
I dont use braid in long cast scenerios. I use braid for my up close and personal slop/stump/heavy cover situations. If I'm cast long distance it's because I'm in clear open water and I'm not going to be using braid, I'll be using fluoro or mono in a thin, less visible diameter. Even if I was, I am doing something wrong if I'm letting a bass spool me. Then again, I'm not catching double digits on a regular basis up here in Michigan.

While this is mostly true, I've found that long casts also may be needed when the fish are in shallow stained water with moderate brush. By moderate, I mean there are plenty of gaps for the fish to get a good look at you. Under these circumstances I use braid and long casts.

I also use mono backing but I only spool on enough to cover the spool with a couple of layers. This leaves me more braid for longer casts and I can also clip my line off more times when it is frayed or when I need to retie a knot, before I have to respool.

sal669 reply :

I always use about 50 yards of Power Pro on my reels for bass fishing. Bass will not make long runs, it will burry in weeds or snags/ wood. I have never had a bass take more than 10 yards of line off the spool.

I use 30lb on the baitcasters and 10 lb on the spinning reels.Most of the time I will use a 3-6 ft mono or fluoro leader on the spinning combo.

I spool cheap mono all the way to about 3/16 to1/4 inch off the spool lip (it depends on spool size), than fill it up with braid .

I will buy some 50lb braid this year and try it out , see if it works better than the 30lb.

On the reels I'm using for carp or walleye fishing it's a totally different story...

New 2 Bass reply :

I'd add, keep the spooled line tight. Once you get it all spooled up and go out casting, it's going to get mushy on you. Every now and again, let the line out and respool it tight. Takes a minute and the line won't dig in as much.

lubina reply :

Avid has said it all.

I prefer Sufix 50 in my baitcasters, a fellow in this site named Dodgeguy talked me into a try and since then no more PowerPro for me. Always backing with mono and almost alway ( I don't like it with Frogs ) a leader, mono or fluoro. I tie my leaders with uni-uni + superglue, it works for me

Banor reply :

Quote
bshaner stated:

Quote
I dont use braid in long cast scenerios. I use braid for my up close and personal slop/stump/heavy cover situations. If I'm cast long distance it's because I'm in clear open water and I'm not going to be using braid, I'll be using fluoro or mono in a thin, less visible diameter. Even if I was, I am doing something wrong if I'm letting a bass spool me. Then again, I'm not catching double digits on a regular basis up here in Michigan.

While this is mostly true, I've found that long casts also may be needed when the fish are in shallow stained water with moderate brush. By moderate, I mean there are plenty of gaps for the fish to get a good look at you. Under these circumstances I use braid and long casts.

I also use mono backing but I only spool on enough to cover the spool with a couple of layers. This leaves me more braid for longer casts and I can also clip my line off more times when it is frayed or when I need to retie a knot, before I have to respool.

I'm with ya Senile and it makes sense. I'm curious though, you consider a long cast in that situation 50+ yards? I wouldnt be able to hit anything accurately at 50 yards. In the situation you described I'd just back off far enough to accurately pitch and would be using braid as you suggested. No way I am throwing anything thin diameter at wood and heavy cover.

CyBasser reply :

Braid works very well on baitcasters but the type of braid can have a major influence on the outcome. I had problems when I initially used braid on baitcasters but the BR forum came to resque! This is my recent experience in the matter (after taking up the advise).

I have tried three different brands of braid on baitcasters. The new "Ultra Braid" from Mustad was given to me for testing out for a local publication. The 20lb dia worked fine on spinning reels. I tried it though on baitcasters and it was a near disaster - continuous backlashes and continuous line digging. The 50lb version was a nightmare. It would not coil evenly and a lot of capacity was lost.

With Fireline Crystal the coiling was better and I had no line-digging problems. But Fireline is not as soft and is rather springy - resulting in (minor) backlashes more frequently than I would like - and if you retrieved a very light lure it would not go on the spool as well as it should.

I solved all problems with Power Pro. The line is smoother than Mustad, softer than Fireline, and it works excellently on baitcasters both in 20lb and 50lb diameters that I use for my applications. These two characteristics (smoothness of braid and springiness) seem to be crucial. Although I'm now using PowerPro only on the baitcasters, I believe that there must be some other brands with similar characteristics that work as well....

jomatty reply :

you might not be any reason that you must use a mono backing with braid but there is a very good reason to use a mono backing on every single reel you own. it saves an incredibly amount of money if you change your line regularly and also makes is so much easier to change the line. think of all the line you dont have to strip off every time you change your line. some folks may just spool up and fish all the way until they dont have enough line left to make a cast but i dont want any old line on my reel and i also dont want my reel not fully filled so that i get the full gear ratio for my reel. i use a cheap mono backign on every one of my reels and have never had a problem. i change my line a lot and have never not had enough new line to be a problem.

matt

captbob reply :

One thing that hasn't been mentioned: If you like to fish deep using a thin braid will add up to 20% to your lure depth due to less water resistance on the line when you retrieve which "lifts" the lure. This is also a benefit where current is present. Braid is a must for dropping a butterfly jig deep on structure, the no stretch feature lets you feel the lightest pick up. For deep work the new Red braid is best. captbob.

Redlinerobert reply :

I have pretty much switched over to Sufix from Power Pro. It casts beautifully and I have less issues with it digging into itself that with PP. I personally get more birdnests with mono over braid.

Also consider that long run it is cheaper that mono. Because it tends to break down, mono needs to be replaced every season. I've had PP braid on some of my older reels now for ~3 years and have had zero issues.

flechero reply :

Quote
Also consider that long run it is cheaper that mono. Because it tends to break down, mono needs to be replaced every season.

I attribute mono as the reason I haven't broken a rod while fishing in about 20 years... one rod equals 50+ spools of line or so. I consider it low cost insurance for my fishing stlye.

I would never leave mono on for a whole season... rarely do I leave it on a full month. If it's not worn out, or so nicked up... then I've cut and re-tied to the point that I'm casting to the spool. (usually after 2-3 trips out)

Bass_junky reply :

It seems you have plenty of responses regarding braided line spooling. I totally agree with Avid's reply. No need to waste money by spooling 100% braid. I believe everyone focused on the braided line in your question. The other part of your question regarding drag setting. Your first option should be a limber tip with a stiff backbone regarding Rod for braid line. A stiff pole (until you are use to braided line) will cost you fish. If you do choose to use a stiff pole and adjust the drag, I would loosen the drag (another 20-30% compared to mono) and use my thumb for tension. Although this may be the cause of a very sore thumb at the end of a good day, it is a good pain!

grahamb reply :

When using a mono backing when spooling a baitcaster with braid, are you tying the two line types together, for one continuous line, or are you tying the braid around the mono...as if the mono were part of the reel?

thanks!

-graham

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