Couple of Braid "how-to" questions...

Howdy all.  Went and spent my Cabela's points yesterday, came home with a new stick and reel and a goal to try out this braided line stuff 

The stick's a Cabelas brand, medium wt so a bit more than my usual, the reel's a Pfleuger spinning reel rated for 8-17 if I recall correctly.  Sitting here at work taking a brain-break so I don't have it in front of me   I picked up a spool of 30-lb Spiderwire a few weeks ago, also a 30-lb mono leader spool.  I've found a huge number of youtube clips on how to tie braid, how to put on mono for backing, etc.

What I haven't found, though, is the answer to a seemingly simple question.  When choosing the mono for the backing, should it be the same weight as the braid, or higher, or lower, or does it matter all that much?  I've got 10, 15, and 20lb mono I could spool on there too.  Is diameter more of a consideration than weight for backing?  (intended use is out in the Sound in my ongoing quest to find out if salmon really do exist out there...).

Another question, which seems more personal preference?  is whether you tie the terminal tackle directly to the braid main line, or hang a swivel on it and use mono leaders.  Any real reason not to go with swivel & leader?

Thanks,
         Jim

I just ruined a tip guide by reeling in the swivel too far, too enthusiastically with a swivel between the braid and the mono leader. Normally I just use an albright knot and that seems to hold if tied correctly. A knot would be my personal preference but I guess it depends on exactly what you are doing.

I run braid almost exclusively,with a fluorocarbon leader...depending on how/what I'm fishing. If trolling, I go with braid to swivel and then trolling gear.

If casting lures, I like to run a few feet of fluoro then the lure.

I put just enough backing on the reel spool to make filling the rest with 150 yards of PowerPro feasible, no reason to spend a ton of money on 300 yard spools. I tend go with lighter (thinner) mono backing to save space.

I attach braid to mono/flouro with a double uni knot. I also use the uni to attach braid to snap swivels.

Congrats on the new set up.

What pound test mono backing I use depends on what purpose the mono is serving.

If using mono backing to keep the braid from slipping on the spool it doesn't matter much what lb it is because I'm only using 10 wraps.

If I'm using mono to fill space on the spool I usually go with the same lb test as the braid. 

If you want the backing amount to exactly fill the spool, here's a handy trick.  Spool your braid on first and then spool on your backing to the exact spool depth you want. Then head to the nearest football field and walk out all your line (you might need to loop around the goal posts).  Go back to the free end of your mono backing and wind it up.

I'm sure you'll get 10 different responses for 10 people on these questions, but I'll throw my hat in the ring...

I don't use backing on my spinning reels but if I did I would use the same thing I use on my levelwinds, which is dacron of the same or heavier test as the braid. If using mono I guess I'd go with something the same weight or heavier.

On the terminal tackle side it definitely has a lot to do with preference. For snaggy fishing, like rockfish and lingcod, I highly prefer a swivel, with a leader 1/3 less pound test than my mainline. If I snag and can't recover I bust it off, reel up, attach another pre-tied rig to my swivel, and I'm back fishing in 60 seconds.

But for bass fishing, for example, I usually just tie my mainline directly to my leader. It's a better presentation and as noted above you can reel it down through your eyelets if you need to for some reason, or if you want to "top shot" your braid with 5 yds of flouro or whatever.

Experiment! You'll figure out what works best for you quickly.

Congrats on the new set up.

What pound test mono backing I use depends on what purpose the mono is serving.

If using mono backing to keep the braid from slipping on the spool it doesn't matter much what lb it is because I'm only using 10 wraps.

If I'm using mono to fill space on the spool I usually go with the same lb test as the braid. 

If you want the backing amount to exactly fill the spool, here's a handy trick.  Spool your braid on first and then spool on your backing to the exact spool depth you want. Then head to the nearest football field and walk out all your line (you might need to loop around the goal posts).  Go back to the free end of your mono backing and wind it up.

Great point, I do the same thing on my fly reels, it's a pita running all the line out and back, but well worth it.

Great point, I do the same thing on my fly reels, it's a pita running all the line out and back, but well worth it.

Filling fly reels with dacron backing was why I started doing it too,  before all the superbraids became popular.

Thanks everyone.  Ended up putting some 20lb mono on for backing, filling up with the braid, practicing a couple of new knots, and tying on a swivel for the end bits... 

Next comes a little practice 🙂

Jim

Every reel I own is spooled with mono backing, braid, and leader.

For backing, I like to use a mono rated the same as or at most one weight heavier than the braid.  No particular reason for that; it's how I spooled braid the very first time I used it and I've kept doing it that way with no problems.

For the leader, I use mono or fluorocarbon of equal or less weight rating - usually less.  No formula for the leader, I match the leader to the fish.

Braid tends to be a bit slippery when knotted.  Strong, but the line is slick and it doesn't "dig into" itself like mono and fluorocarbon - and after donating enough free-flying tackle to the Lords of Fishing, I started hunting for knots that cinch down on the braid and stop the knots from slipping loose.

I use the mono backing to get a bit of springiness if I ever have a fish on big enough to get spooled.  I connect the mono to the braid using Alberto's knot: http://www.netknots.com/fishing_knots/alberto-knot/.  No other knot I've tried has the same non-slip reliability with mono-to-braid.

I attach leaders either directly to the braid (using the Alberto's knot again) or to a swivel (using a double Palomar knot with the braid) depending on how I'm fishing and always when using lures.

Oh, yeah: get good snips!  It's a booger to get a clean cut in braid.

I was using a standard pair of nail clippers and noticed that it was a challenge, yeah...     I used a "double uni" and Palomar (neither hard, but new ones for me...)

Jim

When choosing the mono for the backing, should it be the same weight as the braid, or higher, or lower, or does it matter all that much? 

Another question, which seems more personal preference?  is whether you tie the terminal tackle directly to the braid main line, or hang a swivel on it and use mono leaders.  Any real reason not to go with swivel & leader?

You can skip the mono backing if you put a layer of tape on the spool. Just make sure the tape doesn't absorb water. The backing or tape are there to keep the braid from eating into the spool which will speed up corrosion behind the line. I have lost a couple spools to corrosion that way. Also it is a good idea regardless of tape or backing to remove all the line once or more a season to rinse off the line and to check the spool.

My typical setup on the spool is tape to braid to fluoro top shot.

Here's an interesting braid to mono knot that a fishing fanatic acquaintance showed my brother. Haven't tried it yet, but it gets rave reviews:

http://www.saltstrong.com/articles/fg-knot/#

You should try the John Collins knot.  Just search it.  It's a take on the improved Albright.  By far the easiest knot for braid to mono/flouro connections I have used. Just got back form a trip to Mexico and it held up beautifully.  I was using a double uni, but this is way faster.  I use this for all my top shots bottom fishing here in the NW.

I agree with the tape. I believe that there are tapes made for this purpose now. That's one less knot to fail and one less piece of line on my reel. As far as leader/topshot match what and where you are fishing. I like to leave enough space on my conventional setups that I can run enough topshot to fish without getting into my braid until on a good fish. Spinning reels I fill most of the way and use minimal topshot since there isn't much extra room.

thanks - a couple more knots to try out   I thought about using tape, might give it a run next reel I spool up. 

Turned out to be a rather interesting thread topic!

Jim