How much line do you really need?

[fishsouthcounty]

yaaa George beat me to it...no fishing deeper then 360 in state waters for recreational take of cod.

interesting thought to mike. Like Brett said though, braid lasts forever. You can put 300 yards of PP on for what 30 bucks? Ive heard from multiple people over a couple boards that they've had the same braid on for 5+ years. Depending on your favorite mono you say 5-15 bucks to spool a reel. Multiply by the 5 years you get with the PP and it becomes a pretty cheap investment.

Also like you said you barely ever see the bottom half of the spool. I have also heard of guys flipping their line, respooling their reel by taking the top half thats been exposed to the elements and tying that off to the spool then cranking it on. That way the line on the bottom half that has barely seen sunlight is now the line on the top half that gets put to use.

[Yakin]

I guess I am glad I didn't catch anything worth while down there just got hung up

[addicted2sp33d]

I always load up with as much line as I can. Like you guys say, it's better to have "too-much" line, than not-enough and get spooled.

All my reels are spinning gear, so if I need to change lines, I just swap spools.

[lowprofile]

I back most of my reels half full with50 lb braid then fill the rest with mono.

But most of my reels are used with my baits100 yrds away. For the kayak and a 30 lb rig. 150 yrds of 65 lb braid and10 ft of 30 lb mono top shot and your good. Lighter reels might need more because the fish will be fighting your drag instead of just pulling the kayak and only burning drag when it heads straight down.

[PapaDave]

I put as mich line as possible on the reels. Like it is mentioned before, you never know what is going to hit the bait. I do fish with the smaller reels though. I use a Calcutta 250 with #30 braid, my prefered setup, for bass and halibut, a Calcutta 400 with #40 braid for halibut and heavier or deeper fishing, and a Calcutta 700 with #65 braid for trolling bait or Rapala CD's (mostly for T's). All reels are filled to capacity with line. I'm going to hang onto whatever until the last inch.

That being said, I also carry a Stradic 1000F with #15 braid, it is my favorite for playing around with the bass in the kelp.

[vincentek9]

oh, another thing to take into account... and i learned this the hard way.

you could spool your reel with mono.. or spool 3x as much braid on it and feel safe. but remember.. braid is VERY THIN AND STRONG AND CAN CUT THROUGH YOUR THUMB. i tried to spool 300yd of 40# spectra on my reel with only 50' of mono as a mini shock absorbant on my avet... and fish for rockfish in 200' of water. well.. reeling up the very first drop started to cut into my thumb. i had to wrap my thumb in a cut piece of cloth to prevent any more damage to it.

[jorluivil]

Originally Posted by fishsouthcounty

yaaa George beat me to it...no fishing deeper then 360 in state waters for recreational take of cod.

interesting thought to mike. Like Brett said though, braid lasts forever. You can put 300 yards of PP on for what 30 bucks? Ive heard from multiple people over a couple boards that they've had the same braid on for 5+ years. Depending on your favorite mono you say 5-15 bucks to spool a reel. Multiply by the 5 years you get with the PP and it becomes a pretty cheap investment.

Also like you said you barely ever see the bottom half of the spool. I have also heard of guys flipping their line, respooling their reel by taking the top half thats been exposed to the elements and tying that off to the spool then cranking it on. That way the line on the bottom half that has barely seen sunlight is now the line on the top half that gets put to use.

My oldest spectra was 6years old, I lost it during a small yard sale at LJ the same day that this same line landed a 43lb wsb. I love spectra, all but two of my seven reels are spooled with 150yds of PowePro, not a yard more but possibly a few yards less.

[lowprofile]

Another thing to consider is your drag. No sense to run50 lb top shot on a reel with12 lbs max drag. And no sense in running only15 lb on a reel that has22lbs of drag.button that down and your fish is gone. I think its funny when guys put40 lb top shot on a Calcutta200. It only has9 lbs of maxed out drag. Run20 or 25.

[wiredantz]

I just go to tackle store and tell them to put some spectra on it, and fill it to the top.

They say " you don't need that much"

How much do i need?

"About to here?"

and i go ok lets do it


then they go "how many lbs. "

I go what ever you think.


No problem since. LOL