Braided Line & Older Rods

[BASSHUNTER1961]

I was looking into a heavy spinning rig for the pads, but I'm not not sure at this point. I took my St Croix baitcast rig out today for the first time in a few years and I think I'm going with this one for the pads. It's a 6'6" MH Legend Series IMS Graphite baitcaster, and it's about 15 years old. It handles a 3/8-1oz lure and 10-20# line and it's in excellent condition. My question is, will using 20# braided line be safe for this rod or will it damage it? The reel is a 15-18 year old Quantum EX200 which is pretty useless, and I'll be looking for a replacement soon. This would be my fist attempt with braided line as I've never used it before and do not know much about the stuff.

TIA

[swarrin4]

I would probably use a heavier braided line. Something along the lines of 65# Power Pro. Not familiar with set up you have but usually bait caster are made for heavier lines though I know people who do use lighter lines on their setups. Just remember braided line has a smaller diameter than mono. For example 65# Power Pro is about 16# mono where 20# would be about 6# mono. Also would recommend using a backing to spool your braided line on. People tend to either use a few yards of mono for a backing or some tape. Good luck to you in your braided experiences I love braided line for fishing the heavy cover.

[BASSHUNTER1961]

I would probably use a heavier braided line. Something along the lines of 65# Power Pro. Not familiar with set up you have but usually bait caster are made for heavier lines though I know people who do use lighter lines on their setups. Just remember braided line has a smaller diameter than mono. For example 65# Power Pro is about 16# mono where 20# would be about 6# mono. Also would recommend using a backing to spool your braided line on. People tend to either use a few yards of mono for a backing or some tape. Good luck to you in your braided experiences I love braided line for fishing the heavy cover.

Thanks for the tips.... I just was unsure if the braided line would harm the guides.

[WRB]

Your rod more than likely has Fuji guides; metal frame with ceramic ring that works good with the abrasive braids. The super braids are very small diameter compared to mono ro FC line and as noted the bait casting reel will cast easier with line diameter about 0.012 or equal to 15 lb mono, ie; 65 lb braid.

Your rod however can not handle more than 6 lbs of line tension, which is a lot force. Set your reel drag with a spring or digital scale so you don't break your rod.

The reels level wind guide may not handle braid, it must be tempered steel or the line will cut into wire line guide.

Two concerns; the rod guides and the reel level wind to check into before using braid.

If you spool braid on top of filler like mono; tie the lines together and tape over the filler before spooling on the braid. 60 yards of braid is a good length and eliminates deep backlashes.

Tom

[MichiganFishing1997]

If you've never used braid, im sure you dont know what brand to get. Personally, i dont like spiderwire or PowerPro. I suggest suffix 832

[BASSHUNTER1961]

Thanks for all the helpful information, it is much appreciated.

[unionman]

Its a St. Croix. Your good to go. Just add a new Quantum Tour Edition and your really good to go.

[Bair]

I like PowerPro, never had a problem with it. With all braids, make sure to use the knot they tell you to use. Most will slip.