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SammyN
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05/13/2018 08:29PM   (Thread Older Than 3 Years)
Never used a bait caster before.
When you spool line on it, do you first put some mono on it first? if so, what kind? how much?
i'm planning on using 10lb PowerPro as the main line.
Thanks!
 
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Savage Voyageur
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05/13/2018 08:50PM  
I just put #20 line on my baitcaster a few days ago. I looked up this video to remind me so I would not get line twist. I couldn’t remember if I lay the spool flat on the table and let it come off or parallel to the rod. The video shows how to do it correctly. As far as how much mono backing I just put about 1/4 of the reel spool on. It’s just so you don’t have to put so much of the expensive braid on. Spooling braid on a baitcaster
 
bassnet
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05/13/2018 09:12PM  
Dyneema Line is very slick on the spool. Put on 20-30 yards of maybe 10-12 lb. mono first, then tie on the dyneema, Spook up. Doesn’t matter how the spool is laying. When you get to the lake, troll with nothing tied on. Let all of the dyneema spool out, troll for a few hundred yards. This will take all of the twist out, stretch the line, and it will lay evenly on the spool. Do this whenever you get a lot of twist in the line also.
 
The Great Outdoors
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05/14/2018 12:26AM  
When spooling a bait caster, 1st put the line into the bait caster and tie it on the spool. (make sure it's through the level wind)
Then have someone hold the spool with the new line while standing in front of the rod or bait caster with a pencil or dowel through the hole to act as an axel. Make sure the line comes off the top of the spool so it will not twist. If you take it off the bottom, you are putting the line on in a figure 8, and it will always twist.
 
mastertangler
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05/14/2018 06:08AM  
Hmmm.......the poster has never used a bait caster and is putting on 10lb power pro? Whats wrong with this picture? Sounds like a recipe for disaster IMHO. I'm no pro with a bait caster but I'm no slouch either and I would not be eager to fish this combo.

I use bait casters for heavy truck applications not for indy car racing. 10lb braid sounds like the land of spinning equipment to me. But, with a name like Mastertangler there is a reason I avoid tiny braid on bait casters..........perhaps others have differing experiences?
 
05/14/2018 07:46AM  
Each spring I spool up my baitcaster for walleye and laker fishing with 10 lb. Berkley XT Mono line.

I am an avid user of the "Precision Trolling" app that allows me to place the lure I am trolling to be at the precise depth I want it to run to catch fish. For example, The Precision Trolling App tells me that my Flicker Shad 7 will run 13 feet deep at 107 feet back using 10 lb. Berkley XT.

I use Suffix 832 Braid for all of my other spinning rod fishing applications but when trolling ... I use 10 lb. mono as I like its stretch when trolling and it is the line that the Precision Trolling uses for its app.

Precision Trolling App using 10 lb. Berkley XT mono
 
05/14/2018 08:21AM  
mastertangler: "Hmmm.......the poster has never used a bait caster and is putting on 10lb power pro? Whats wrong with this picture? Sounds like a recipe for disaster IMHO. I'm no pro with a bait caster but I'm no slouch either and I would not be eager to fish this combo.


I use bait casters for heavy truck applications not for indy car racing. 10lb braid sounds like the land of spinning equipment to me. But, with a name like Mastertangler there is a reason I avoid tiny braid on bait casters..........perhaps others have differing experiences? "

+1 Even if it is a dedicated trolling rig. 10lb Fireline is about as thin as I will go on trolling rigs.
 
Savage Voyageur
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05/14/2018 08:41AM  
SammyN, MT brought up an important point about using this line. I wouldn’t hesitate to use this line But there is a few things you need to understand. It is very strong for its line size. You need to tie special knots because the line is slippery. Learn the uni-knot, Palomar knot. If you have a snag, there is zero line stretch like monofilament and you could break your rod if you continue to pull. Be sure you set your drag properly before a strike. Be sure to properly adjust your line freewheel adjustment. A birdcage mess with this stuff is nasty. Under no circumstances do you grab the line to free a snag. If you try to pull the snag free, the line will slice into you hand or fingers. Instead try pumping the rod backwards from the snag, and then last resort wrap the line around the butt of the rod and pull it free. Be sure to use a scissors or tool made for this line to trim it, a clippers won’t cut it. This line also floats so plan on adjusting your presentation.
 
SammyN
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05/14/2018 09:12AM  
Savage Voyageur: "SammyN, MT brought up an important point about using this line. I wouldn’t hesitate to use this line But there is a few things you need to understand. It is very strong for its line size. You need to tie special knots because the line is slippery. Learn the uni-knot, Palomar knot. If you have a snag, there is zero line stretch like monofilament and you could break your rod if you continue to pull. Be sure you set your drag properly before a strike. Be sure to properly adjust your line freewheel adjustment. A birdcage mess with this stuff is nasty. Under no circumstances do you grab the line to free a snag. If you try to pull the snag free, the line will slice into you hand or fingers. Instead try pumping the rod backwards from the snag, and then last resort wrap the line around the butt of the rod and pull it free. Be sure to use a scissors or tool made for this line to trim it, a clippers won’t cut it. This line also floats so plan on adjusting your presentation. "


So, I use 8 or 10lb PP on all my spinning reels.

Figured I would just use the same setup for Baitcaster (since I have the line handy).
My main concern is that I wanted a Medium-heavy rod for trolling a little bigger lure, that didn't bend my spinning rods over too much. Then, while looking for vids on spooling up a Baitcaster, some people talked about putting backing on there. I've got some old 10lb mono I could use, but i don't know if I would trust it, if I ever let that much line out. I wonder if I should just pick up a new spool from Fleet.
 
05/14/2018 09:35AM  
SammyN,

If you go the mono route instead of braid, I would just pick up a new spool. Mono tends to breakdown and get brittle over time.

Braids useful life is a lot longer than mono. No need to change out braid every year. I usually just replace my braid on my spinnjng reels when there is not enough braid left on my spool. I like smaller light reels when walleye and smallie fishing and Line Capacity on these lighter reels is lacking ... so I tend to change out braided line at least once each season. On medium sized reels with bigger line capacity spools I change out line less often.
 
mastertangler
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05/14/2018 10:14AM  
Sammy its all good if your trolling your bait caster. My concern is casting lures with a bait caster and hair thin line. A little bit of wind and inexperience adds up to one big mess.

I like a moderate action rod for trolling with braid as the softer action will be more forgiving. I also like a bit longer rod as well. So keep that in mind. Also, when setting your drag understand that the amount of line which is on your spool directly effects the drag tension. In other words, if you set your drag with a full spool and then let a bunch of line out your drag will be tighter as the diameter of the spool decreases.

I like to re-check my drag setting often, especially if long lining. Its a habit I have and I will generally give my drag (line) a tug every hour or so just to make certain things are what I like. Its needs be tight enough to set the hook but able to protect the line from parting. Bear in mind that braid has little or no stretch where mono has a bit of a bungee effect. That bungee effect can be a blessing or a curse and its the wise angler which understands that.
 
05/14/2018 05:52PM  
use the mono backing, look up ghost drag, been there done that. old mono will work fine.
 
MeatGun
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05/15/2018 06:49AM  
I recently added a bait caster too. Like you, I favor braid on my spinning gear and even feel pretty competent with it. It was a mess for me on the baitcaster. It takes some time (I still suffer birds nests going on my third season with it) to adjust. Try the trilene “easy casting” or easy handling or something like that. Heavy lures are also easier.
 
mastertangler
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05/15/2018 07:00AM  
MeatGun: "I recently added a bait caster too. Like you, I favor braid on my spinning gear and even feel pretty competent with it. It was a mess for me on the baitcaster. It takes some time (I still suffer birds nests going on my third season with it) to adjust. Try the trilene “easy casting” or easy handling or something like that. Heavy lures are also easier. "


Whats nice about bait casters is their ability to handle hard pulling lures and / or heavy lures without so much effort. Try fishing the 8oz Shadzillas on spinning. But I do like spooling up with braid on my Bait casters but use caution when dealing with smaller lb tests. I generally like 50lb braid and above for bait caster work and seldom have any tangling issues. Even 30lb braid I will still put that on a quality spinner for my Snook and red fishing back country work.

Trolling is another story however. I have 20lb 832 suffix braid on my Tecota line counter and that works nicely.
 
SammyN
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05/15/2018 07:09AM  

You are scaring me...
I wonder if I shouldn't go with 20lb mono (at least this first time with a baitcaster), and then my normal 10-12lb fluro leader.
My main goal for this is
a)trolling heavier/bigger spoons for lakers,
b)jigging 3/4-1oz lures for lakers
c)Throwing big spinners/swimbaits for northerns.
Thoughts?
 
mastertangler
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05/15/2018 07:24AM  
SammyN: "
You are scaring me...
I wonder if I shouldn't go with 20lb mono (at least this first time with a baitcaster), and then my normal 10-12lb fluro leader.
My main goal for this is
a)trolling heavier/bigger spoons for lakers,
b)jigging 3/4-1oz lures for lakers
c)Throwing big spinners/swimbaits for northerns.
Thoughts?
"


Sammy I am not so keen on your applications with 10lb line be it braid or mono. 10lb braid would be fine for trolling typical walleye crank baits like shad raps, not jigging 1oz jigs and throwing big spinners.

20lb braid sounds much better for trolling for lakers (its what I am going to use) and jigging 3/4 or 1 oz jigs. I like throwing on a 10' fluorocarbon leader as well via the FG knot (see "Salt strong" vid on UTube for FG knot).

But I cannot endorse chucking big spinnerbaits or big spinners on 20lb braid unless you are very proficient and experienced. IMO 20lb braid is just to light to even set the hook on a violent strike. You definitely run the risk of busting off even on the strike. Plus I do believe you will have some tangling / birds nest issues. Probably by the third cast LOL. Been there, done that. I'm not saying it cant be done, but you need the right outfit and some practice.........really sharp hooks help as well. If your rod is a broomstick (stiff) you will likely break your 20 braid off on a good fish (especially on the hookset). If your rod has some bend you might get by rather well with practice and open water. And don't be like me when I rolled my canoe after busting off 20lb trilene XT with a big pike in the weeds and lost my balance when the line parted and over I went!

Now I separate my Pike gear from everything else. Most truly experienced pike anglers (from everything I have read) will be throwing 65lb braid on their bait casters to handle the bigger lures and weeds that sometimes come along with larger pike fishing. Using this kind of equipment makes tangles non existent and you can really set the hooks with authority. It has worked wonderfully well for me without any "hassles".

You have the right idea to toss big spinners and spinnerbaits with a bait caster however. It certainly makes fishing these hard pulling lures more productive and much more fun due to ease of use.

If you are now considering 20 mono I like that idea better for tossing big spinnerbaits (even 14 would be good) but I would not be so keen trolling and jigging with 20 for the Lakers. What about a 14lb test mono? The stretch helps you significantly with lures like the Mepps Musky killers and it would still be an acceptable trolling line for lakers although you may have to add weight if they are deep.

You might consider bringing extra line as well. Sometimes tangles must be cut out and extra line puts you back in business.
 
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