20Lb braid vs 40 or 50LB braid?

[TheSnowman]

Sorry if this question has been answered before I did a search and found a few threads but nothing useful. I am wondering how much casting distance is lost with a heaver say 40-50lb braid compared to 20 Lb braid? Throwing on the same setup with say 6oz plus bait? I ask because I have been using 20lb and had a few break-offs even with the drag set fairly loose.

[Dixie719]

Spin or conventional?


I'm not a big briad fan either way. I would never put it on a conventional surf reel, but may put on 30# braid for slinging metal at stripers.

[ocsnapper]

Go with either 30# or 40# and you should not see too much of a difference in your casting,

[Mighty Quinn]

What Snapper said. No need to go less than 30# in my opinion. Same diameter as 8# mono. It's what I've been using and I've been satisfied with it. Kind of expensive though.

[ffemtreed]

I have decided that I am going to use braid on all my surf gear. However I plan to never cast with braid. I use it strictly as a backing on the reel to get some added capacity.

150Yds of 30lb power pro topped off with however much 17lb or 20lb sufix tri my reel will hold. (thats for striper/drum fishing)

my sharking setup I am going to up to at least 200 yd of 40lb power pro on the reel as backing and finish spooling the reel with 40lb Berkley big game mono. I am also thinking about using Ande premium instead of the big game.

My braid backing should last a long time since it won't usually see the water, so when I re spool my mono all I have to do is cut 2 or 3 inches off the braid and retie the new mono onto the braid and fill the reel up.

[igormothra]

I used to fish braid on all my surf gear...I found out the hard way(lots of lost fish) that the braid doesn't hold up well on the beach. I just don't think it can handle the abrasion like mono can. I did find out(again the hard way) that on conventional reels you can't use levelwinds, it puts the braid too close together and when you really lay into a cast it will sometimes bury itself deep in the spool and poof there goes a 5 dollar rig. Sam and Coop have been telling me all along to go mono and I have finally listened.

[Charkbait]

you'll notice a difference in tossing a 6oz sinker with no bait, once bait enters the equation less then 5% difference due to the aerodynamics.

If you have a drag and gear built for it 50# is no sweat. Won't catch braid on my conv spiking gear though.

[Steve]

Jim,
Your braid will indeed see water, even as a backing. You'll have that wet mono spooling on seeping through to the braid. No worries, just rinse well with clean water.

I have braid only on two charkin rigs, 65 & 100#. These are for yakking only with guide rollers.
Everything else has 20# Ande Green Envy.
I can't toss a lick due to a bum shoulder so the distance equation doesn't come into play. What a lot of folks do is wrap with 20 and have 40 or 50 tied with a blood knot wrapped a few times as a shocker. I wouldn't use braid for a tosser, it's pretty abrasive and in time, will notch the guides (not to mention a finger!).

[ffemtreed]

My reels always get a good rinse when I get home. I was saying my backing won't see the water often was more due to the abrasion of the sand and broken shells. I am not too familiar but i don't think saltwater actually hurts the braid line of course I am not going to test this theory out because I will give it a good rinse once home.

Originally Posted by Steve

Jim,
Your braid will indeed see water, even as a backing. You'll have that wet mono spooling on seeping through to the braid. No worries, just rinse well with clean water.

I have braid only on two charkin rigs, 65 & 100#. These are for yakking only with guide rollers.
Everything else has 20# Ande Green Envy.
I can't toss a lick due to a bum shoulder so the distance equation doesn't come into play. What a lot of folks do is wrap with 20 and have 40 or 50 tied with a blood knot wrapped a few times as a shocker. I wouldn't use braid for a tosser, it's pretty abrasive and in time, will notch the guides (not to mention a finger!).

[Charkbait]

Originally Posted by ffemtreed

My reels always get a good rinse when I get home. I was saying my backing won't see the water often was more due to the abrasion of the sand and broken shells. I am not too familiar but i don't think saltwater actually hurts the braid line of course I am not going to test this theory out because I will give it a good rinse once home.

Jim,

Where is the power of positive thinking!?

The correct answer is: "I have to rinse my reels and line due to drum and stripers pulling out a couple hundred yards into suds."

[ffemtreed]

Originally Posted by Charkbait

Jim,

Where is the power of positive thinking!?

The correct answer is: "I have to rinse my reels and line due to drum and stripers pulling out a couple hundred yards into suds."

Well if my name was Dave and I like to capture critters I would say that would be a true answer, however my realistic answer is I have to rinse my reels all the time because I fell asleep in my chair and a skate pulled my rod into the drink!

[Sam]

For stripers and drum, I find 17lb Suffix Tritanium the best. That stuff is amazing and much less expensive than braid.

If you are using conventional, braid can bird's nest and ruin your day.

[ffemtreed]

Thats why I always plan on having enough of the mono on my reel so I am never casting into the braid. I am strictly looking for capacity here with using the braid. I know I shouldn't need it at all for drum or stripers but I am still shell shocked from the spring when something just about spooled me by the time I was able to get to my rod. I still wish I had a camera on that hook to see what the heck took my line like that, my brothers jaw is still dropped to the ground from watching my reel spin and scream like a baby.

Originally Posted by Sam

For stripers and drum, I find 17lb Suffix Tritanium the best. That stuff is amazing and much less expensive than braid.

If you are using conventional, braid can bird's nest and ruin your day.

[Sam]

Jim, what kind of knot do you use for the mono to the braid?

[ffemtreed]

I use an improved albright and a drop of super glue. I tied one end to my jeep and wrapped the other around my hockey stick and walked backwards a few times and everytime it broke the mono, not at the knot so I think its a good solution.

I am going to give the Uni -- Uni a try once I give in and learn to tie it correctly.