Fishing: School Me on the State of Spinning

[Tony S]

So ... Back when I thought I knew something, this is what I thought I knew. (Note that in my youthful career I went through a few Garcia Mitchell 300 reels and Fenwick fiberglass rods. Not to mention many fish, and a lot of lead split shot, the handling and biting of which probably explain my current mental failings.)

Spin fishing was born in the post-war era when high quality limp monofilament nylon line became available. Braided line had basically two uses: 1) backing for fly reels 2) trolling for big fish in the ocean.

Fast forward to 2022 and people are taking about using braid for spinning. Help. What happened?

 

[Wilhelmson]

I prefer mono or other similar polymers for freshwater. Braided 30 or 50 lb test for saltwater. You just can’t get the same strength for similar diameter mono that braid provides.

 

[Tony S]

I prefer mono or other similar polymers for freshwater. Braided 30 or 50 lb test for saltwater. You just can’t get the same strength for similar diameter mono that braid provides.

Okay, so modern braid must be A) much thinner and B) much more low-friction and C) much more well behaved than braided lines of yore. Back then they were all (I think) polyester. They basically physically wouldn't work on a spinning reel. What are they made of now? Can you humor me by calling out a specific 30lb line that you'd use for salt water spinning? Thanks in advance!

 

[Wilhelmson]

Okay, so modern braid must be A) much thinner and B) much more low-friction and C) much more well behaved than braided lines of yore. Back then they were all (I think) polyester. They basically physically wouldn't work on a spinning reel. What are they made of now? Can you humor me by calling out a specific 30lb line that you'd use for salt water spinning? Thanks in advance!

Plain old Berkeley big game. Just to confuse it more, usually with a 50 or 60 lb mono leader if not using a wire leader. The mono is more abrasion resistant.

 

[mikes781]

I remember the braid that my grandfather had on his conventional reals. It was more like rope. Modern braid is made with woven spectra fibers and much much thinner. For example 20 lb braid has roughly the equivalent diameter of 6 lb mono. That gets you longer casting and more capacity which allows the use of smaller reals. It also has much less stretch and lasts longer than mono so you don’t need to change it out as frequently assuming it’s not getting run across rocks and other structure. It is a more expensive than mono. Most line manufacturers offer braid these days, There are some variations in how it is woven and coatings. Berkeley Power Pro has been around for over 20+ years and would be good to try if you wanted to give it a go.

On spinning reels you just have to watch out for getting slack on your line when you are reeling in. That can throw a loop on the spool and when you cast the next time it will knot up. More of an issue when throwing lures. I use for just about everything. The exception are my lightest freshwater/steelhead rods and heaviest surfcasting conventional rods that I use for red drum. As @Wilhelmson mentioned a mono leader is a must for most situations. It does required some different knots to join the two together.

 

[Tony S]

I remember the braid that my grandfather had on his conventional reals. It was more like rope.

Exactly.

Modern braid is made with woven spectra fibers and much much thinner. For example 20 lb braid has roughly the equivalent diameter of 6 lb mono.

Okay. This is the info I was looking for. Thanks!

On spinning reels you just have to watch out for getting slack on your line when you are reeling in.

Yeah, this is not new.

 

[Lane Myer]

late to the game but i'll weigh in here just cuz i like talking fishing. i use spinning gear exclusively to fish for walleyes in northern minnesota and canada and resisted making the transition from mono to braid for a long time, but finally made the switch a couple years ago and would never go back. walleyes are almost always caught within a foot of bottom so i'm usually fishing with a jig or slow trolling a bottom bouncer. in both cases being able to feel the tick tick tick of the rocks on the bottom is critical to making sure you have your bait on or just above bottom in the strike zone...as well as being able to differentiate ticking bottom from the tick tick tick of a walleye picking up my bait. braid is so sensitive i can feel everything going on with my lure 15-30 feet below. when i fish with mono now using those types of presentations it feels like i'm fishing blind because of all the stretch and lack of feedback. and as others have said above, the diameter of 8lb braid is so much smaller than 8lb mono it cuts through the water easier when slow trolling to allow for a more vertical presentation. i'll still use mono when trolling cranks because the stretch in that case actually helps hold hookups where as the no stretch braid can just tear it out of their mouths. will also use it if i'm throwing topwater baits. but if i need to feel the lake bottom braid with a fluoro leader is where its at.

 

[Wilhelmson]

Anyone use braid for trout?

 

[mikes781]

Honestly then only thing I haven’t used braid for is steelhead where a very light leader is used and the stretch of mono helps. I’m not sure how it would be with the cold and icing. The other area where is still use mono is my big conventional surfcasting rods where I’m throwing 8 ozs of lead plus a chunk of bait. That’s specialized gear though and fishing in crowds where braid will make you unpopular quickly and pulling out a birds nest with braid would be a PITA.

 

[Andy Mink]

Anyone use braid for trout?

I haven't fished in quite some time but have used braided line for trout. I like that I can use a heavier weight line on a small/light tackle setup and still have enough line to get out into the river without worrying as much about breaking it. When I trolled for trout in a lake I'd use bigger rod/reel setups with 20# test at 6# diameter, or whatever it was. Very smooth casting but you have to tie the knots differently than plain old mono. It's really slick line and a regular knot will slip out quickly.

 

[Wilhelmson]

Honestly then only thing I haven’t used braid for is steelhead where a very light leader is used and the stretch of mono helps. I’m not sure how it would be with the cold and icing. The other area where is still use mono is my big conventional surfcasting rods where I’m throwing 8 ozs of lead plus a chunk of bait. That’s specialized gear though and fishing in crowds where braid will make you unpopular quickly and pulling out a birds nest with braid would be a PITA.

That’s interesting I see most chunkers or anyone else at the Cape Cod Canal or elsewhere using braid. The 50 lb mono just is inferior. But I hear you about birds nest.

Of course the guys that actually catch fish are jigging with a bait caster in the exact spots where the fish are.

 

[mikes781]

That’s interesting I see most chunkers or anyone else at the Cape Cod Canal or elsewhere using braid. The 50 lb mono just is inferior. But I hear you about birds nest.

Of course the guys that actually catch fish are jigging with a bait caster in the exact spots where the fish are.

Yep braid would throw further and has the advantage of sensitivity but some of the spots where I’ve fished for red drum in the outer bamks can get shoulder to shoulder. It can get nuts when a bite is on with lines going over and around each other in the pitch black. Braid will do a number on mono when they get wrapped around each other. It also gets expensive real quick if you have to cut off from a rats nest. If it wasn’t for the crowds I’d fish braid for sure. For jigging it can’t be beat.

The canal is one place I’ve never fished but want to try at some point. Used to spend two weeks in June and two weeks in October fishing Martha’s Vineyard with a group of buddies. I love fishing that area.

‘Haven’t really been able to fish seriously in several years. Kids travel sports and coaching makes it pretty impossible. I’m officially done coaching this year and they will be off to college soon, I’m in no rush to be an empty nester, but I’ve warned my wife that i have a lot of fishing time to make up for once they are off.

 

[crgildart]

‘Haven’t really been able to fish seriously in several years. Kids travel sports and coaching makes it pretty impossible. I’m officially done coaching this year and they will be off to college soon, I’m in no rush to be an empty nester, but I’ve warned my wife that i have a lot of fishing time to make up for once they are off.

^^^^THIS^^^^

Both kids in college now. Trying to fish while also keeping track of a bunch of scouts just wasn't productive fishing at all. They had fun though..

Fishing is something I'd like to do again a little more seriously when me and the Mrs go RV-ing in our retirement.

 

[Lane Myer]

My wife and I always wait for the spring/summer club soccer schedule to drop around this time of year to see how many of our weekends will be spent driving to tournaments vs the cabin, which is where the fish are for me. My kiddo is still in H.S. so soccer is winning for now.

On the original topic, I'm a fan of the palomar knot for tying slippery braid directly to lures/swivels/etc. and the double uni for splicing braid to mono for reel backing and leaders. Also recommend super sharp scissors...braid is a PITA to cut cleanly.

 

[mikes781]

Ha we are waiting for softball schedules to come out to see what weekends are gone, This is my first year not coaching and not having any say over schedules. The trade off… My oldest is in in HS so no club ball until June and one more year of spring weekend with my youngest,
This is a great not for joining braid to mono if you haven’t tried it. Pretty simple to tie and reliable.

 

[Wilhelmson]

Yep braid would throw further and has the advantage of sensitivity but some of the spots where I’ve fished for red drum in the outer bamks can get shoulder to shoulder. It can get nuts when a bite is on with lines going over and around each other in the pitch black. Braid will do a number on mono when they get wrapped around each other. It also gets expensive real quick if you have to cut off from a rats nest. If it wasn’t for the crowds I’d fish braid for sure. For jigging it can’t be beat.

The canal is one place I’ve never fished but want to try at some point. Used to spend two weeks in June and two weeks in October fishing Martha’s Vineyard with a group of buddies. I love fishing that area.

‘Haven’t really been able to fish seriously in several years. Kids travel sports and coaching makes it pretty impossible. I’m officially done coaching this year and they will be off to college soon, I’m in no rush to be an empty nester, but I’ve warned my wife that i have a lot of fishing time to make up for once they are off.

My youngest is 14 so we have a few more years to go. I was checking out some waterfront homes in NC they look pretty nice. I might need to check it out sometime.