I got a new reel for Christmas and just bought some braided line to put on it. I have always heard of puttting a mono backer on the spool before putting the braid on but, had friend from work say that he puts electrical tape around the spool and puts the braid straight on. Anyone familiar with this technique? Good idea, bad idea?
I tried the search function but is was not working. Thanks
It works. The tape gives a softer surface for the braid to grip instead of slipping.
Who’s Ready for a Sleigh Ride? KayahFishSC.com
BUT if ya ever get something thats gonna “spool ya” i’d much rather have braid followed by mono than 125 yards of braid followed by tape.
green grass and high tides forever
jhp----- Murrells Inlet
I spool my reels with mono and then add 150-200 foot top shot of braid using a uni-to-uni connection. Braid is expensive (relative to mono). Using a mono backing saves money.
I back my reels, except my Battle (the spool is braid ready), with Mono and it never slips. Also make sure you are getting an even tight wrap on the spool… We have the machine to do it here and I’d be happy to spool it up for you with your braid at no cost… If you buy it in bulk it is 11-cents a yard so you save some money doing it that way, you don’t have a spool with 10 yards left on it hanging out and on the machine the line on the spool is tight and even and causes less wind knots…
“Paddle faster boys… I hear banjo music!”
SC Chapter Coordinator- Heroes on the Water
http://www.HeroesOnTheWater.org
Charleston Director- SCKayakfishing.com
Tarpon 160os
Have ya ever had issues with the braid catching on the uni-uni knot? I have. Maybe I should have used less mono and more braid so it would never get that far down the spool. But its a possibility that if you ever get the big one, and it pulls that much line, it might catch on that mono/braid knot and break… Just another point to ponder
2000 SeaPro 180CC w/ Yammy 115 2 stroke
1966 13’ Boston Whaler w/ Merc 25 4 stroke “Flatty”
Never had an issue with the braid to backing uni’s…
“Paddle faster boys… I hear banjo music!”
SC Chapter Coordinator- Heroes on the Water
http://www.HeroesOnTheWater.org
Charleston Director- SCKayakfishing.com
Tarpon 160os
A uni knot reduces line strength to 62% of ABS. Most manufacturers lines test at 10-30% higher than box rating. Jerry brown 60# consistently breaks at 90#+ but since it is hollow core, you can make a 100% strong splice and loose no strength. Let’s do some math.
55# Diawa boat braid= ABS of 72#/ tie a uni in it and it is now good for around 45#(72# x .62)
Back that with 50# mono which will test out in the low 60’s-ABS/ tie a uni in that and you get 39# ABS(63# x .62)
So, by putting that knot in there you just reduced your 55# braid that is really good to 70# down to 39#(the weakest link) if that knot ever comes off the spool. Granted you’re most likely not fishing 40# of drag, so it won’t be an issue.
Tie the braid right to the spool. Learn to tie a Page Ranking knot or an FG knot and scale your line down a knotch or 2 to increase capacity. Power Pro now makes a splicable 40# braid, if you lose 30 yards just re-splice a few more yards on. No more half empty spools laying around the garage.
You dont need that much mono to stop it from slipping. That way you dont have to worry about the knot catching when casting.
I agree with Court on scaling down on line strength to get more capacity…its a bad feeling when all your braid just got ripped out and now youre praying your uni holds…for all the money we spend on other stuff for fishing, i find it hard to be cheap on the only thing connecting me to the fish. A friend of mine gave me a couple reels of “wind tamer” braid, and i find it comparable to power pro but a little smoother, and obviously designed to cut down on wind knots…may be something worth looking in to.
'a stranger is just a friend i havent met yet’jt
The reel I was loading is a size 30 and it would only take 125 yards of 20# braid (the whole roll) so, I decided to experiment with a tape backing and see how it goes. Now if I can just hook a fish to see if it all works out…
I just put enough mono to cover the surface of the spool, maybe a little more then put the braid on.
There’s a fine line between fishing and just standing on the shore like an idiot.
-Stephen Wright
I have been using electrical tape for awhile. No problems.
06 200 Bay Scout 150 Yam
“Tie the braid right to the spool.” Make sure you use the tape method or it will slip on you. I made this mistake when I first started using braid and it gave me fits. For inshore redfish and trout that uni-to-uni knot will hold up just fine, if you are splicing braid for offshore or jiggin work I’d look at somehting different…
“Paddle faster boys… I hear banjo music!”
SC Chapter Coordinator- Heroes on the Water
http://www.HeroesOnTheWater.org
Charleston Director- SCKayakfishing.com
Tarpon 160os
quote:
Originally posted by OptikerHave ya ever had issues with the braid catching on the uni-uni knot? I have. Maybe I should have used less mono and more braid so it would never get that far down the spool. But its a possibility that if you ever get the big one, and it pulls that much line, it might catch on that mono/braid knot and break… Just another point to ponder
2000 SeaPro 180CC w/ Yammy 115 2 stroke
1966 13’ Boston Whaler w/ Merc 25 4 stroke “Flatty”
I did so I switched and use an Albright special to attach mono to power pro.
http://www.netknots.com/html/albright_special.html
“Sometimes I think it’s a shame, when I start feelin better when I’m feelin no pain…”.
GW 205
F200 Yam
I use the same knot and have not had any problems so far.
As long as the braid you have on there is longer than you can cast the knot won’t matter. Also, the Haddrell’s team uses Albright or reverse Albright knots to tie braid to mono on the reels they load.
NaClH20
Use a reverse albright instead of uni-uni if going from mono to braid.
For casting reels, your braid to mono knots will be much better if you use a sebile knot. This is if you use short pieces of mono or fluro topshot. The knot will shoot right out the guides then. Going the other way, it is not as smooth but still much better than a uni-uni IMO. I only use uni’s to lock other knots in braid. They do work, but if they are your main knot, the braid cuts thru itself or your mono from what I’ve seen.
I am not sure what it is that you call the knot that I typically make for mono-braid connections, but it is a variation of the reverse albright and improved albright. Very easy to tie- as is the sebile. The sebile is basically a chinese finger trap type deal, and knot strength is 100%. The mono doesn’t have to be doubled over itself, so the thickness of the knot is only slightly more than your mono.
Of course, i think all of you are talking about much lighter test line than what I’m used to using offshore so knot diameter is not as much of a concern for you guys as breaking strength. The sebile is the way to go- or using hollow core splicing. Same concept… braid wraping around a single strang of mono instead of knotting around it in a way that will cut through it and decrease line test. Uni-uni’s have failed when I have been bottom fishing. I haven’t seen an albright fail before my terminal leader or knot/crimp at the hook fails. Never seen a sebile knot fail either. Something else always fails first. This is with 20lb up to 200lb hollow braid.
About 3/4 of my reels have electrical tape on the spool with braid straight on top. Have not seen a problem. I do put a bit of mono on the spool of spinning reels first though. I do it to make a 300yd spool of braid go on two reels instead of one. Like someone said above, putting mono on first is a good idea to save money if you rarely use that portion of the line anyway…
Put a good amount of tension on the braid when you first put the line on the spo