Braid ???

[Npike]

I'm new to using Braided line. I'm going to try my luck with it this season. I've got some questions though.
First is I've got some 14# Fireline and was wondering what # I should use for the backing? I was thinking of using 10#.
Second I also picked up some 14# Vanish to use as the leader. Will this be enough?

Thanks to all that reply.

[Striperjim]

The backing is a matter thats dependent on the size of your spool. Most guys leave half of their old mono line on it for backing. If you can, use a piece of compressable tape on the spool and then backing.
Braid can bury into the larger diameter monofilament. To solve this issue back off on the drag more than you would for regular mono.
The vanish has a reputation for being trash. Its worth the extra money for seaguar. Its by far the best.

[Sudsy]

Yup, What Jim said.
The main reason for mono backing with braid is to keep the line from spinning on the spool, mono will grip while the spectra is too sick and will slip under pressure.

Seaguar is great stuff but I've gone to Triplefish for the last few years. I can't find much of a difference except that it's a lot cheaper.

Vanish is

[Npike]

Thanks.

My wife got me a Penn Captiva 4000 last week when she was working out of New York. What would you suggest the # I use for the backing and leader.

I'm going out on a limb here. But I think you guys really like the SeaGuard.

[JakeF]

Hey Npike,
I used Vanish almost exclusively for leader material last year and it really sucked. Stiff, lots of memory, poor knot strength, and it gets brittle after a while for some reason. I picked up some Seaguar this winter to tie my rigs for the coming season and it's MUCH nicer to work with and from what I hear it holds up better too. Haven't tried Tripplefish yet.

[LittleCasino]

Seaguar is my #1 choice.
A good reason to use flurocarbons as backing is you won't have to worry about line-rot, because fluoro's don't hold water.

[Npike]

SeaGuard it is. Is a 10# backing good? I still plan on using 14# as my leader.
Is this a good idea/plan?

Thanks

[Sudsy]

Flouro for backing? Way too expensive, definite overkill. I go with 50# mono under 250 t0 300 yards of braid.

[Striperjim]

Like sudsy said pike use mono. They make flouro now for freshwater as line. In the past it was too stiff. Now seaguar makes something called invisx which isnt all that expensive. But for saltwater application I would use the mono. If you have the 8000 captiva it will hold 160 yards of 30 pound test.

CV4000 210/10 6.2:1
CV5000 200/12 5.2:1
CV6000 175/16 5.2:1
CV8000 160/30 4.7:1

That means the diameter of the 14 pound fireline is ~ 6 pound test.
Berkely Fireline
A little bit more than braid.

You can make the approximations based on 6 pound test.

[Roccus]

Just a little something I do on my #50 tuna reels that are loaded with braid, I wrap two or three turns of black electrical tape around the spool, that gives the braid something to bite into and keep it from slipping, I dont use backing on those because I want every last foot of line I can pack on the spool ( and more than once I've needed it)

I do the same on ultra light setups for fresh water....

and forget about the vanish.... NFG....

[Sudsy]

Just got a few boxes of donation gear for my clubs kiddie trout tournament. In the box from Ande line was a spool of their new 30# braid with a note asking me to try it out and see what I think.

Right out of the box I'm amazed at how thin it is much thinner then any other 30# braid I've ever seen. Perhaps it actually breaks at or near its rated strength unlike the rest of the common braids that break at near double.
Some tests are in order.

[Npike]

When the little woman gets home on Friday. I should have in my hands a Captiva 4000. I've got about 1/2 a spool of 40# Ande I bought last year to make my leaders.
I'll use that as the backing. I'll fill up about 1/3 the spool then put on the 14# Fire Line. Then the 14# Sea Guard leader.
Yes I know you all know this but I may have to comeback to this post for referance later on.

[Sudsy]

There's a trick for spooling with braid, it takes a few extra steps but it's infallible.

First load the spool with the braid leaving just enough room for 1/8" of backing. (I know, it's backwards). Don't bother tying the braid onto the spool, a bit of masking tape is fine. 1/8" on the outside of the spool will be equal to 1/4" +/- on the inside.

Next, take an empty plastic spool that line comes packaged on and using a few nuts and washers mount it on a 6" piece of threaded rod or bolt of the same approximate length and thickness. You want the bolt to be near the same diameter as the hole in the spool.

Chuck the bolt with the spool into a hand drill and spin off all the line. If you can do it by putting a thin dowel through the reel spool and spinning it off sideways you're better off as you won't get any line twist like you would taking it off while it's still on the reel (spinner of course).

Now, take the full spool off the bolt and put another empty one on and spin the line back again. The line is now in the correct position with the backing on the outside, ready to load back onto the reel.

When you do, it'll be perfect and you've maximized the amount of braid while still having enough backing.

At the end of the season you can use the same technique to reverse the braid so you're got the fresh unused side to fish with. You can also add to the backing to make up for the amount of braid that you've lost cutting back during the season. One of the reasons I try to go with at least 250 to 300 yards of braid. The 150 yard spools are good for one use only, there's never enough left to reverse.

I've got about a dozen reels that all need this done and I'm dreading the job.

[Striperjim]

Im carrying an extra spool.
Its ridiculous not to be prepared to fish with all lines ready to go.