How many feet/yards of braid are you running on top of your mono?
Key West 2300 Bluewater
What are you fishing for?
Trolling- 50 feet to my snap swivel.
Shallowish bottom fishing- 15-20 feet to my weight or rig.
Deep dropping- I tie my braid straight to my snap swivel for my light/chicken rig.
Not so much for what I’m fishing for…just trying to come up with a good set up for all around fishing. The gear I use for trolling is the same gear I’ll fish some of the near shore reefs, and put some some baits on the bottom of the Broad. I don’t have a ton of gear but I try to make everything I have as versatile as possible. TLD’s 20’s and 25’s. I was thinking about 150 yards of 50lb Power Pro on 30lb big game.
Key West 2300 Bluewater
I go the other way around. For any of my conventional reels (trolling, bottom, whatever) that have braid, I generally have a fluoro or mono topshot. It’s important to have the topshot as it’s less visible and also absorbs a lot of shock (especially when trolling).
My bottom rigs: Penn Int’l Trq25’s and Release SG’s with 50lb braid with a topshot of 80lb fluoro
Trolling rigs: Penn Int’l 30tw’s and 50tw’s spooled with 30 and 50lb straight mono. I do have braid backing on a pair of Shimano Tiagra 50w’s that I use for high speed trolling.
Edgewater 245cc
17’ Shamrock
Catalina 350
I’d never heard of a braid top shot. Mono top shots are the standard
19ft. Carolina Skiff
w/115hp Yamaha 4stroke
27ft. Contender
w/twin 225hp Yamaha 4stroke
Not braid top shot. That’s not what I’m going for. Using Mono as a spool filler, then braid for my main line and then go with a 10ft top shot of mono or fluoro.
Key West 2300 Bluewater
I’ve got a big spool of suffix 50 lb. mono if you want to come put that as backing on your reels.
Thank you kindly…I’ve got some line on order.
Key West 2300 Bluewater
It seems that you already have a pretty good idea of what you want to do. Braid needs to be wound tight on a reel and braid over mono would tight will cut into your spool of mono. Especially if a fish gets you down to your mono backing. If you take care of your reels/line it will take braid several years to go bad if it does at all. My suggestion would be to spend the $$ up front, fill your reel with braid and top with mono.
Do not tell fish stories where the people know you; but particularly, don’t tell them where they know the fish.
- More Maxims of Mark, Johnson, 1927
31’ Contender
“Touche”
250 HPDIs