New to Braided line

[Swampgecko]

G'day, whilst I have had braided line on my spinning outfit for some time, I haven't really used it that much. I got talked into it by a workmate who is no longer with the company so I can't quizz him on it. I was out on the Hawkesbury below Lower Portland chasing bass using a light combo I have. The braid is a pink Fireline, I can't tell you the age of it or the weight but I believe it is somewhere around the 6lb mark. I had a few issues, but the two big ones were as follows. Frayed line and slippage on retrieval after the spool got wet. The outter couple of layers on the spool I have noticed are faded in colour, which surprised me as I store my rods in the garage. I had the line break couple of times casting, didn't notice the frayed areas until that happened. The fraying may have been from my lack of accurate casting and having the lure end up on rocks and snags. The second issue is the one that concerns me, the whole spool of line was slipping on the spool itself after getting wet during a light rain. Since I had some massive hits with bass and managed to hook up on one small one, I am now convinced that I need to look at how to load braid onto a spool correctly.

So first of all how often should you change your braid?

What is the best/correct way to load braid onto a spool? Do I need to put a backing line on?

I was really enjoying the braid yesterday, I did get one hook up with a sugapen, previously I had used the same outfit at Gosford and had fun with some small tailor.

Cheers

[Wellzy94]

Hey Swamp,

First up, Fireline isn't quite the same as braid. Braided line is multiple strands braided together (hence the name). Fireline uses a different method to fuse the strands together, as opposed to braiding them.

I'm not sure why, but personal experience shows that Fireline just frays more often than braid. If you're having issues only near your leader connection, I'd suggest removing 1-2 metres of line and trying from there, maybe it's just the very end of the line having issues.

I personally use Daiwa J-Braid on everything, never had an issue! That being said, everyone has their own preferences.

With braid and fireline, it's best to have a tape or (preferably) mono backing to prevent spool slipping. You don't need much! Even with a few metres of mono backing, you can fit your braid onto the spool with no problems.

Hope this helps!

Cheers,

Wellzy

[BrassRoots]

Another tip I would suggest is:

put the braid on first then use an FG knot to tie on the mono back. Then add backing until the line sits as full as you want it on the spool. Then transfer the line back onto another spool (or the brain line plastic spool in my case) and then onto ANOTHER spool before putting back on to your reel.

That way you can just use a uni knot to tie your backing onto your reel and you know that you will have enough line to cast properly.

It's a bit of effort but I find it really useful as some of my reels can hold 200m to line but its cheaper to buy a 150m spool of braid.

[big Neil]

G'day Steve, either of those methods (previously mentioned) will solve your problems and help stop potential loss of expensive lures. I put mono on the spool first and then add the braid to it. I don't use Fireline as I think it less reliable with knots than other braided braids. I then add my leader to the braid using an FG knot. However, I acknowledge that the FG may not be the best knot with light leader lines (less than 10lb) as it relies on "biting" into the leader. This can produce a weaker knot in lighter lines (my belief). You may want to explore other knots like the double uni for joining the leader to the braid. I generally use 30lb braid and leader and have had no trouble with the FG knot on my baitcasters...the knot passes through the guides very easily and assists accurate casting. Good luck BN

[Swampgecko]

Thanks for the advice everyone. got the line off the spool, fitted some backing line and respooled the original line. Learnt a few new knots in the process.

Cheers

[Nolongeramember]

On ‎20‎/‎01‎/‎2017 at 0:56 PM, Swampgecko said:

The outter couple of layers on the spool I have noticed are faded in colour, which surprised me as I store my rods in the garage. I had the line break couple of times casting, didn't notice the frayed areas until that happened. The fraying may have been from my lack of accurate casting and having the lure end up on rocks and snags. .

 

Fading is normal on the part of the line that continuously comes off and on the reel. Its caused from use, not by where you store it. I actually prefer the line a bit 'used' rather than brand new.

It's also normal and good practice to remove a meter or 2 of the braid after a decent session. The end of the line cops the most punishment and will tend to fray after a while.

[PaddyT]

USed fireline for years- i have one baitcaster which has line over 8years old on it and no probs- it does get a bit tatty looking though. Fireline is not a true braid - it is a fused line, as i said i find it fine. Sounds like your main problem has occured during spooling- with all braids/PE line youve got to use a bit of muscle to spool correctly, take the line off (wind onto another reel) and respool under tension and you should fix your probs