Braid - What are your strategies for spooling your reels?

[fragmeister]

Hi Raiders,

I just respooled my main favourite 4 Reels  with braid ( various high-quality brands).

Shimano Saragosa SW 10,000  with 65lb Colour Depth Braid  - which leaves about 10 meters on the 300 meter spool 

Shimano Stella SW4000 with 20lb Colour Depth Braid  - which leaves recon about 100 meters on the 300 meter spool

Shimano Stradic 6000FJ with 50 lb Colour Depth Braid - which leaves about 60 meters on the 300 meter spool

Shimano Aero C14+ with 20lb Single Color Braid which leaves about 100 meters on the 300meter spool

Now we all know that little investment in braid is not going to provide much change from $200  so I was wondering how other raiders manage their braid usage.

Here are some of the things I have done in the past.

1) Use backing line on the spool first and only use half of the new braid so you get 2 respools from one purchase.

2) Reverse the old braid before changing it if you haven't lost too much line.

Your ideas would be most welcome.

Also, if you had 100 meters of 20lb braid what would you do with it? In fact, I have at least 15 partial spools of braid of various diameters sitting in the draw as I write this post.

 

Cheers

 

Jim

 

 

 

 

 

 

[kingie chaser]

Think you did well really, probably would have spent close to the $200 on the 300mtrs of 65lb braid alone.

 

Some good questions in there thought. 

 

I would only generally spool 5-10% of backing line onto a reel for the line class otherwise your taking up to much space imo.

Reversing braid, well that's an interesting idea, although not all the line has seen time through the guides its all been salt affected over time so not sure how that would go??

Would it be like turning your undies inside out when they are warn out at the front 😏

 

Edited February 18, 2019 by kingie chaser

[fragmeister]

Just now, kingie chaser said:

Think you did well really, probably would have spent close to the $200 on the 300mtrs of 65lb braid alone.

 

Some good questions in there thought. 

 

I would only generally spool 5-10% of backing line onto a reel for the line class otherwise your taking up to much space imo.

Reversing braid, well that's an interesting idea, although not all the line has seen time through the guides its all been salt affected over time so not sure how that would go??

Would it be like turning your undies inside out when they are warn out at the front 😏

 

Hmmm... I think you must be buying your braid from the wrong place!

Not sure I understand the 5-10% backing line theory... that doesn't really seem to help reduce the quantity of braid by much and it adds another knot in the equation.

and yes... I have turned my undies inside out when I was desperate!

 

[frankS]

I have reversed the braid on a few of my reels with no apparent  side affects, as for 100 yds /mtrs left I would use that for my Barra reels as I very rarely have more than about 25 metres of line/braid off the reel when fishing for Barra. The FG knot is very good for tying backing to the braid and once you wrap 100 yards or so of braid on the spool it's pretty well impossible to tell you have a join.

Frank

[GoingFishing]

I have reversed the braid on a few of my rods in the past...works great and the braid looks and performs almost as new.

Only downside is introducing another knot as u already mentioned.

@King chaser im curious mate $200 for a single 300m spool of braid? is it gold plated 🤣

Edited February 18, 2019 by GoingFishing

[xerotao]

I usually reverse onto a lesser used reel. as for left over line, I retie to a reel that would running low on line. But would strip some line out to fill up the spool with leftover line. Aslong as the knot doesnt come out during cast im fine with that.

12 minutes ago, GoingFishing said:

@King chaser im curious mate $200 for a single 300m spool of braid? is it gold plated 🤣

Made me laugh also.

[savit]

[nutsaboutfishing]

2 hours ago, fragmeister said:

and yes... I have turned my undies inside out when I was desperate!

how about back to front? Would that be the same as using a braid backing and mono mainline?

Edited February 18, 2019 by nutsaboutfishing

[Berleyguts]

I use mono backing and then top shot with braid. Most of my fishing is in shallow water so I don’t need a lot of braid. For gamefishing, I use mono.

[nutsaboutfishing]

3 hours ago, fragmeister said:

Hi Raiders,

I just respooled my main favourite 4 Reels  with braid ( various high-quality brands).

Shimano Saragosa SW 10,000  with 65lb Colour Depth Braid  - which leaves about 10 meters on the 300 meter spool 

Shimano Stella SW4000 with 20lb Colour Depth Braid  - which leaves recon about 100 meters on the 300 meter spool

Shimano Stradic 6000FJ with 50 lb Colour Depth Braid - which leaves about 60 meters on the 300 meter spool

Shimano Aero C14+ with 20lb Single Color Braid which leaves about 100 meters on the 300meter spool

Now we all know that little investment in braid is not going to provide much change from $200  so I was wondering how other raiders manage their braid usage.

Here are some of the things I have done in the past.

1) Use backing line on the spool first and only use half of the new braid so you get 2 respools from one purchase.

2) Reverse the old braid before changing it if you haven't lost too much line.

Your ideas would be most welcome.

Also, if you had 100 meters of 20lb braid what would you do with it? In fact, I have at least 15 partial spools of braid of various diameters sitting in the draw as I write this post.

 

Cheers

 

Jim

 

 

 

 

 

 

I used to religiously put on a few layers of mono backing then fill the rest of the spool with braid. But everytime I respool my reels 90% of the braid looks untouched and brand new. I think in the future I might start putting maybe a 1/4 of the spool as mono backing and save on the braid. I've never before even come close to being spooled so most of my braid never sees the light of day.

Is this advisable??

What I do do is when I lose braid and the lip of the spool becomes prominent, I'll add more backing. I just drill a hole in lid of 2 litre drink bottle, attach it to the drill and unspool that way.

 

[xerotao]

57 minutes ago, savit said:

Yes i am aware there are expensive braid out there. But is it really worth it?

That is meant to be put of stellas and saltigas. PE10 is like winch rope.

[connico]

1. Reverse old braid

2. Buy Tasline braid in the exact length i need for the spool

3. Profit

[kingie chaser]

11 hours ago, fragmeister said:

Hmmm... I think you must be buying your braid from the wrong place!

Not sure I understand the 5-10% backing line theory... that doesn't really seem to help reduce the quantity of braid by much and it adds another knot in the equation.

and yes... I have turned my undies inside out when I was desperate!

 

Well I am not buying it from Aldi 🙄

[fragmeister]

10 hours ago, xerotao said:

Yes i am aware there are expensive braid out there. But is it really worth it?

That is meant to be put of stellas and saltigas. PE10 is like winch rope.

Yes, that is expensive PE10 Saltiga line - rated at  100lbs

Diawa have some excellent lines like the J braid series that are 1/3 of that price.

Is it worth paying $200 plus for top of the line braid?

I seriously doubt it. 

Like most anglers, when I lose a quality fish it will almost certainly be because of poor attention to knots, poor decisions in playing the fish (like being too heavy on the drag and pulling a hook not heavy enough and getting reefed) or just plain bad luck.

The very slight advantage which the Saltiga line could possibly provide, IMO would not enter into the equation.

 

 

[kingfishbig]

On some reels I have braid as backing and a mono top shot of about 100m. This way I can boost line capacity/ use a smaller reel.

When I have braid at the business end I usually buy a 100 - 150m spool and use mono backing of sufficient length to fill the reel. It's too expensive buying 300m or more when most of it won't see the light of day.

I am not worried about introducing extra knots as the line is only as strong as the weakest point and there will be a knot at the terminal end. Also if you double the braid with a bimini twist (at least 40 turns) then use your joining knot to mono then the knot will be close to 100% strength.

 

[fragmeister]

12 hours ago, nutsaboutfishing said:

I used to religiously put on a few layers of mono backing then fill the rest of the spool with braid. But everytime I respool my reels 90% of the braid looks untouched and brand new. I think in the future I might start putting maybe a 1/4 of the spool as mono backing and save on the braid. I've never before even come close to being spooled so most of my braid never sees the light of day.

Is this advisable??

What I do do is when I lose braid and the lip of the spool becomes prominent, I'll add more backing. I just drill a hole in lid of 2 litre drink bottle, attach it to the drill and unspool that way.

 

I like the idea of the drink bottle and drill

[connico]

For doing all my reels i use the Busted fishing Bee's knees reel spooler and the ripper stripper!

[anthman]

For stripping line, I use an empty spool attached to a biro pen lid , which is then attached to a cordless drill. 

For anything less than 40LB, I use kastking kastpro braid - cheap Chinese stuff that breaks a bit above advertised breaking strain. For higher than 40LB, I've also got some gallant braid that I got on sale - breaks at much higher strain levels. 

I've heard great things about j-braid and lots of youtubers rock fishing pulling in big honking tuna and gt seem to be using this stuff:

https://www.dinga.com.au/wft-strong-braid.html?gclid=Cj0KCQiAzKnjBRDPARIsAKxfTRAp9XXJjTPjhqVN40l3H7mM3PaRihgdGEOl56yci-PoAUIaOezIVuoaAlmxEALw_wcB

 

 

[Rebel]

Hi,

My Ten Cents worth.

I tried all sorts of braid. Gave up and went back to Mono.

Now I but the top of the line Mono and the fish aren't complaining.

Cheers.

[savit]

12 minutes ago, Rebel said:

Hi,

My Ten Cents worth.

I tried all sorts of braid. Gave up and went back to Mono.

Now I but the top of the line Mono and the fish aren't complaining.

Cheers.

Do you use Mono for jigging?

[fragmeister]

Just now, connico said:

For doing all my reels i use the Busted fishing Bee's knees reel spooler and the ripper stripper!

I have something similar but your one is much better... might have to invest in that one.

Thanks for the info.

[fragmeister]

Just now, savit said:

Do you use Mono for jigging?

Yes , I use for jigging but not for beach fishing as I find it too easy to tangle and knot as it washes around in the surf.

I also don't use it when using a  for centrepin reel for  blackfish  fishing.

And I don't like it on a handline that I might use for catching live bait.

Somehow I feel that it can get a bit hard to manage when there is some reason not to have continuous tension on the line.

Could just be a personal thing though.

Cheers

 

Jim

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 19, 2019 by fragmeister

[Rebel]

Hi Savit,

No jigging. Rocks and the beach.

Cheers.

[blaxland]

I buy 1000 mtr spools of dyneema  colour change braid starting at $85 for 6lb I normally use a drill and a golf tee to unspool and throw away never thought of reversing the line but you have reminded me that I need to respool most of my reels Thank you! To re spool I put the 1000 meter on a screw driver in the drill and use a calico garden glove to apply tension on my left hand as I wind on.