Light Braid And Baitcasters

[Boomer_bassin]

What is the lightest braid you are comfortable using on a casting rig?

[IronSpork]

I try not to use anything below a 10lb diameter so I use 30lb minimum on my casting rods.

[Darren.]

What is the lightest braid you are comfortable using on a casting rig?

 

We all differ here. I have used 10lb on a BC, in fact, my PB was on a BC with 10lb Fireline + 10lb leader.

 

But 10lb PowerPro was a different story, a bit too thin. I like 20lb the best. That's me, it fits my style.

[J Francho]

I don't use anything less than 40#.  Any lighter, and I go with a spinning reel.

[dave]

I tried 30#.  While it casts okay,  everytime I caught a fish or pulled out of a snag,  there was some digging into the spool.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

I don't use anything less than 40#.  Any lighter, and I go with a spinning reel.

x2 same here

[MCS]

30# no problems.

[john81]

I tried 30#.  While it casts okay,  everytime I caught a fish or pulled out of a snag,  there was some digging into the spool.

How much pressure are you using when spooling your reel? The more drag needed to spool a reel the less digging there is

[Teal]

I use 30 # on a few of mine. No trouble. But I do rake special care to ease the drag back just a hair more than what I set them at. I do this to try to keep it from digging on a hook set. I've been doing it long enough now that its not a bother. I would not go any lower tho.

[thehooligan]

I use 20lb for cranking and 30lb for frogs. My shallow spool reels have 10lb. There is no digging in or other problems when you spool it nice and tight.

[Alpha Male]

I use 15#, 20#, and 30#. nothing heavier.

[Scott F]

I use 20 pound Suffix 832. Never had a need for anything heavier. I've never had it dig in but I also don't lock down my drag. I like the increased casting distance I get with thinner lines. For me, one of the advantages of braid over mono is how thin it is. Using heavy braid gives up that advantage. On my musky rods where I throw bigger, heavier baits, I use 65 pound braid. I also don't see a lot of heavy slop/weeds in my lakes which is another reason I get away with lighter line.

[Felix77]

No less than 40lb Power Pro for me.

[5dollarsplash]

Tried going under 20lb and didn't care for it.  No digging, I just thought if I'm going that light I will probably be using a spinning rod.  So more of a rule of thumb for me at 20lbs.

[MacP]

The lightest braid I use is zero lb. test! 

 

I've only got 50-65lb braid on mine.  It's similar to 12-14lb monos.

[OkeechobeeAngler]

20lb-8lb diameter Power Pro on a revo premier, Loomis pole. Most everything else is 30lb. My jungle rod has 65lb.

[Nick49]

30 lb Power Pro on my bait casters and 10 to 15 lb Power Pro on my spinning rigs.

[John G]

30# 

 

I know this method of putting braid on a reel won't work for everyone cause not everyone has a spare reel that they are not using.

 

I used to have the problem with braid digging into itself when pulled really tight so when putting braid on a reel, instead of running the braid through my fingers, and hoping the braid is going on tight enough, I will put the braid on a reel with a larger line capacity than the reel that I want to put the braid on.

 

I will then put the rod/reel with the braid on it, on my bed, and then tie the loose end of the braid to the reel that I want to have the braid. I adjust the drag on the reel that has the braid on it so that when I am reeling the other reel, the braid is coming off with a lot of constant resistance. You will know if your drag is too tight when you start to pull the one combo off of your bed.

[QUAKEnSHAKE]

8-10-15-20# braids on my bc reels

[JeziHogg]

Lowest I got is .16mm on a Aldebaran BFS w/ an upgraded spool and on my LTZ with the super shallow spool.

[Avaitor63]

I use Master Braid 20 lbs small diameter and easy to tie on leader.

[Grantman83]

I have braid as low as 10lb on baitcasting gear BUT these are designed for finesse baitcasting.

10lb on a tuned daiwa pixy

20lb on a tuned alphas type r

30lb on a TDZ Type R.

Gear specialized for finesse can handle lighter braid. The lightest I've gone on a stock reel is 30lb and I never had a huge issue with it but it wasn't ideal as a strong wind could really mess things up.

As others have said, 40lb is usually the benchmark. I would never go below 40lb on say a zillion because the spool is too deep and too heavy to effectively throw line that thin.

There is a reason that line capacity on a box or description usually starts with 12lb or 14lb mono.

[ww2farmer]

I use 20lb no problem.

[mnbassman23]

I keep it between 40-65 for the most part, but I have one with 20lb. With the drag set correctly I have no issues with it. 

[BenB54]

30# no problems.

x2 here