braided line on a spinning reel

[crappiejunky]

New to the forum and really enjoy reading the articles.Does anyone use braided line on your spinning reels?Does it cast good or not?

[PanMan_VA]

PowerPro 10/2 casts very well. The problem is you cannot easily break the line when you get hung up.

[Barnacle Bill]

Welcome aboard. I use to use it and found that if I sprayed it before every use with silicon it worked a lot better. I think someone said reel magic worked good too. The only reason I quit is I kept forgetting to use a rag or something to pull it out of hang ups and kept my hand cut up.

[drfishjd]

My experience is that it (Cabelas Ripchord SI - made by power pro) casts extremely well, even if there's not much left on the spool. It's strong enough to straighten hooks easily and is more sensitive than just about anything else out there. When the wind blows though, it is so light that it blows too. You have to keep your rod tip right by the surface of the water to retain feel. Mono is much better in the wind.

[wwwUncle]

I use braided on my spinning reels and am thinking about going braided on my baitcasters. I prefer it over mono for easier casting and greater distance versus same poundage in mono. Plus, I do not spray anything on any of my lines as I have personally never seen the need for doing that.

[LOZcrappie]

My experience is that it (Cabelas Ripchord SI - made by power pro) casts extremely well, even if there's not much left on the spool. It's strong enough to straighten hooks easily and is more sensitive than just about anything else out there. When the wind blows though, it is so light that it blows too. You have to keep your rod tip right by the surface of the water to retain feel. Mono is much better in the wind.

And line-for-line, I prefer braid over mono simply due to less retying.

But when it comes to braid, I've tried PowerPro, Stren SuperBraid, Sufix and Cabelas Ripcord SI. In my opinion, the Cabelas Ripcord SI is the best, hands-down. The silicone coating REALLY makes a difference. The Ripcord is much more limp, easier to cast and has less memory.

As I said, braid overall is great. But I think, after trying a bunch of braids over the past year, the Ripcord SI is the way to go.

Good luck!

[CrappiePappy]

New to the forum and really enjoy reading the articles.Does anyone use braided line on your spinning reels?Does it cast good or not?

I use PowerPro 10/2 hi-vis Yellow on a Shimano Spirex 2000/Browning 6ft spinning outfit. It will cast a 1/16oz Roadrunner, quite a good distance, even though the rod is a med/hvy action. I don't even have to set the hook when using this setup ... I just keep reeling and sweep the rod back about a foot, and they're hooked. With the stiffer rod, and no stretch properties of braid, a "jerking" hookset isn't necessary :D
I tried the braid on some other rods ... but elected to not use it on them, for the simple reason of "noise". Rods with ceramic guide inserts, are fine ... but, all metal guides create a "buzzing" sound, when braid is used. I found that noise to be a bit annoying.
Wind knots are the only downside to braid, that I've experienced. But, I have figured out how/why they occur, most of the time. That's usually when you make a overhead cast, and use a "snap cast". By "snap cast" - I mean drawing the rod back and casting forward with a quick snap of the wrist, and having the rod straight overhead (pointing upwards). When I cast with the rod at an angle, of about 45deg to my body, or even sidearm ... I don't get wind knots, as often.
Your baits will spin, as they're being cast ... and this will create twist in your braid (just as it will with mono). Removing the bait, and dragging the line behind the boat, going at idle speed, will remove that twist. Twisted braid will still cast and fish better than twisted mono ... but, the twisted line is more prone to helping produce wind knots/cast knots ... so it's wise to go thru the "untwisting" proceedure, when you start noticing the line is getting loopy/twisty It should always be extremely limp and lay straight !!

Some other tips to consider, when using braid :
DON'T try and pull a snagged bait/line free, with your bare hands ... braid will cut you, bad !! Use a small piece of dowel rod, or other solid object, to wrap the braid around.
Get a pair of Children's Fiskar Scissors, to cut your braid with. It cuts the braid clean and blunt, allowing you to put the line thru the jig's line eye easier. Clippers and knives tend to leave a frayed end to your line ... making putting the very limp braid, thru the line eye of the jig, a much more difficult task :D
Spool about 1/3 to 1/2 of your reel's capacity, with mono ... tie the braid to the end of the mono, then finish filling the reel's spool. Leave about 1/8" of space between the line and the lip of the spool (don't overfill a spinning reel !! )
Unless you're using a long, whippy rod ... back off the drag tension, a little more than you would have it if using mono. This will help insure that, even if you set the hook with the same speed/force (as you may be used to doing with outfits with mono) ... you won't rip the bait/hook out of the mouth of the fish. Remember - mono stretches, acting like a shock absorber (in addition to the bend of the rod) --- but, braid doesn't stretch much, so the rod bend is your only shock absorber (without a lighter drag setting).

And .... Welcome to Crappie.com !!

... cp

[stinkies daddy]

I use Power Pro moss green 8/1 on all my crappie rods. I also heat the bend in the hook to take the temper out of it so it will straighten out easy. Dont try to just pull it free of hang ups, rap it around a stick NOT A ROD HANDLE or you will be bleedin for certian

[ncnat]

Crystal Fire line in 4 and 8 pound test on Shimano Spirex reels. Been using the 4 pound hard for the last month and the more I use it the better it works and the better I like it.

[hpcrappieman]

been using the fireline in 8 for long time and I use reel magic every outing by choice. the string is strong and hard to break off when needed.. best to use the palomar (sp) knot, others seems to slip.. hard to see at night tho', but that could be my eyes!! :-) and also best to use sharp set of scissors rather than clippers to cut it!