Braid Size for AI surf fishing

[ffemtreed]

Ok, I tried the search but a million hits came up! Here is my question,

Now that I am comfortable casting my conventional reels I want to venture further into the darkside and try some braid on them.

What size braid do you use on your surf reels? I will be using a Mag 525 for my experiment.

Here are my thoughts, Initially I was going to put 30lb power pro on the reel but then realized that such a small diameter wasn't a good idea on conventional reels.

My next thought was 65 lb power pro which has 16 lb mono diameter. Then I was thinking, 65 lb is way overkill for Drum and Striper fishing and I am not really gaining and capacity on the reel between 16 lb and the 17 suffix Tri mono I been using. So with the high cost of the braid this option didn't make much sense to me.

My last option was dropping down to either 40 or 50 lb power pro, so I get the higher capacity and less wind resistance when casting with braid but still have it empty the spool quickly to decrease the blowups towards the end of the cast. I am now just thinking that the 12 lb diameter of the 50 might be too thin and cut into the spool.

Is there happy medium here that I am missing? What are you all using?

Please lets not turn this into a mono -- vs-- braid debate. I know most of the pro's and Con's but I want to experience all those cons of braid for myself.

[trowpa]

LOL the man has a death wish!!!! lol just kidding Jim - looking forward to the results of your experiment.

[ocsnapper]

From what I have heard most use around 40#, and you can always put some mono on the reel first to give it some backing on the spool. just my 2 cents. Good luck with the reel I'm still waiting for Bev to get one in and I will be getting a 525 myself so I can't wait to hear how you do.

[ffemtreed]

Originally Posted by ocsnapper

From what I have heard most use around 40#, and you can always put some mono on the reel first to give it some backing on the spool. just my 2 cents. Good luck with the reel I'm still waiting for Bev to get one in and I will be getting a 525 myself so I can't wait to hear how you do.

well I bought my first conventional reel in February of this year (Mag525) and I now own three of them so needless to say I love the reel. I got some good deals from randysbaitshop that I couldn't pass up.

I am definatly going to fill the spool with a little mono under the braid, or I might try the electrical tape trick I read about.

[Charkbait]

My only thought is to spool it up with 50, then after a few blowups and getting shreded by the shells etc, empty the spool and fill it back up with mono!

Seriously, how many have you or people you know gotten spooled by something other then a ray on AI that would create a need for additional capacity via braid? If you are chasing distance I'd think an hour or two of practice a week will gain you much more then going to braid.

IF you are deadset on doing it I wouldn't even think about PP and please don't fish near me .

Sorry for the rant, the few I know of that use braid use it on spinners where the gain in distance is more substantial and outweighs the negatives.

Just my opinion.

[ffemtreed]

Originally Posted by Charkbait

My only thought is to spool it up with 50, then after a few blowups and getting shreded by the shells etc, empty the spool and fill it back up with mono!

Seriously, how many have you or people you know gotten spooled by something other then a ray on Assateague Island that would create a need for additional capacity via braid? If you are chasing distance I'd think an hour or two of practice a week will gain you much more then going to braid.

IF you are deadset on doing it I wouldn't even think about PP and please don't fish near me .

Sorry for the rant, the few I know of that use braid use it on spinners where the gain in distance is more substantial and outweighs the negatives.

Just my opinion.

You may be very right about pulling all the braid off and never even thinking about it again, however I want to see for myself and experience and try it. I am pretty certain I will go back to mono.

My reasons for wanting to try braid is more distance, Those hours in the practice field will yield even better results with the braid than just staying with mono.

The next reason is the smaller diameter doesn't get pushed with the waves as much. This means I can hold with less weight and gain even more distance and not have my line going slack or getting pulled by waves.

My last reason is for casted out baits shark fishing. My 525 doesn't hold enough line to put anything bigger than 20lb suffix on it when I am casting for sharks. It would be nice to know I have a viable option of using 50lb braid and not worry about a shark spooling me or breaking me off when I crank down the drag a tad bit to stop him from spooling me, of course with the sand tigers around braid can get really expensive.

I am really thinking that my final setup will be a piece of electrical tape around my spool, 150 yards of 30lb braid and then filled with 17 lb suffix tri. I might try 30lb mono on top for shark season.

of course I'll be using a mono shock leader with anything i cast.


PS -- don't worry about me fishing by you, I can cast straight ahead of me with my conventionals. Now my spinning rods thats a whole different story!

[Charkbait]

the fishing nearby thing is for fighting fish, I could care less about getting cut off without a fish on. IMO if you go to braid you should convert your whole spread.

good luck and have fun with it, by the time I'm able to fish AI again, you'll be back to mono!

[Charkbait]

If the capacity thing is really an issue you can always back with the same # braid, say 200 yards of 20# mono and 200+ yards of 20# braid.

just another idea.

[Steve]

I have 35# braid on one spinner, flies fine and straight with less effect of the crosswind. On the Chark reels (Penn 309 & 115's) I have 65 and 100#. This gives me about 3000 feet of 100 pound line to haul in that 12' Tiger or Hammer from a half mile out.
(wishful). My reasons for braid are a little extra distance on one spinner and additional heavy line for the toothies.
If you are using smaller reels, braid is fine for wrapping more line on.
The 100# is .018, the same dia as 20# mono.
I just don't use braid at night, the ST's seem to slice it more often.
I use all mono on my smaller reels (Penn 309 & 65) at night, 50 #.

[Dixie719]

Originally Posted by Charkbait

My only thought is to spool it up with 50, then after a few blowups and getting shreded by the shells etc, empty the spool and fill it back up with mono!

Seriously, how many have you or people you know gotten spooled by something other then a ray on AI that would create a need for additional capacity via braid? If you are chasing distance I'd think an hour or two of practice a week will gain you much more then going to braid.

IF you are deadset on doing it I wouldn't even think about PP and please don't fish near me .

Sorry for the rant, the few I know of that use braid use it on spinners where the gain in distance is more substantial and outweighs the negatives.

Just my opinion.

I'll second this!

Seen plenty of big fish landed on 17# mono with a 40/50# Shock!