Braid on finesse bait caster?

[Jig Man]

I just put 6# line on my Ned bait caster and decided to to use it for small swim baits.  I wasn’t really satisfied with it.  I’m thinking about using some braid instead but I have never used less than 30# braid on one.  I have 8, 10, and 15# braid.  
 

Do any of you have any experience with bc reels and light braid?

[bulldog1935]

that's all I do.  

Please don't be offended, but 8- 10- and 15-lb braid don't mean anything.  

We're going to have to talk braid diameter (with the rest of the world).  

 

The smallest braid I use on deep spools is equivalent diameter to 20-lb 832 (0.235-mm dia).  I build up an arbor using 20-25 yds, 20-25-lb mono, tie with an Allbright knot that will pass line guide, and top with my working braid.  If you want to calculate stacking line capacities, use this capacity calculator from Pattaya

 

The easiest way to keep up is talking diameter and, better, Japan silk thread diameter scale (PE#).  You'll note braid strength on Japan X-braids is much higher than USM equivalent diameter.  (All braid is not created equal - this chart is a standard from Japan Line Committee)

For standard LW pitch on shallow spools, Jun Sonada recommends nothing smaller than PE#1 (0.165-mm dia) to avoid line dig.  But I fish one smaller size, PE#0.8 on Zillion/Steez and big inshore fish with no line dig problems.  That said, I much prefer PE#1 all around (equiv dia to 4-lb mono).  

 

To go to smaller braid (if you'd ever want to), you need a BFS reel, which come from the factory with increased LW pitch.  This lays line wider on the spool to prevent line dig.  

Silver Wolf PE Special is rated to fish down to PE#0.4.  The smallest I fish on this reel (with aftermarket spool lighter and shallower than Daiwa Boost 1000 PE spool) is PE#0.6.  Even this small is kind of the limit of sanity, but it shows up in cast distance.  

 

General rule - don't mess with tiny braids until you're backlash-proof.  

[Jig Man]

My braid is 0.13   0.15   and 0.19 mm are they too small to work on a Curado 70 XG. It’s on a Gloomis 6’9” Gloomis Bronzeback rod.  I’d like to be one and done and use it Monday with swim baits for smallmouth.  If one works would you use 10# or 6# backing?

[bulldog1935]

On that reel, you shouldn't go smaller than 0.15-mm dia.  (PE#0.8)

The smart thing to do is stack line, with thicker backing, and your thin working braid on top.  

Use the capacity calculator I linked

https://www.pattayafishing.net/advanced-fishing-reel-line-capacity-estimator/

[Jig Man]

Thanks for your expertise.

[Dye99]

Im in the dark with diameters but I run a few BFS reels and I use 8lb braid to 6 pound flouro with great success.

[Robin]

I generally run 8lb Power Pro on all of my BFS reels. Never had any problems. I started with 10lb

several years ago before I switched. The 10lb worked fine, but the 8lb casts a bit better and gives some extra distance.

[Jig Man]

20 minutes ago, Robin said:

I generally run 8lb Power Pro on all of my BFS reels. Never had any problems. I started with 10lb

several years ago before I switched. The 10lb worked fine, but the 8lb casts a bit better and gives some extra distance.

Power Pro is what I use.  What do you use for backing?  Do you use a leader?

[Robin]

I normally use a bit of cheap mono that I have laying around for the backing except for some of my Daiwa reels which have super shallow spools. On those, I skip the backing completely. My usual leader material is 6lb clear CXX by P Line. It is very abrasion resistant and quite a bit stronger than normal 6lb. Connecting knot is either an albright or alberto. These knots have performed very well and are relatively easy to tie with a little practice. I tried fluorocarbon and did not see any advantages over the CXX. This line ties very good knots and I do not have to worry about unexplained failures.

[waymont]

8lb power pro is my all time favorite BFS line. It’s crazy thin, and really strong. 

[Robin]

FWIW I have also tried some of the PE lines in the past. You can get these in smaller diameters than the 8lb Power Pro. They cast great, but I have experienced several unexplained line snaps

that were nowhere near the leader knot. Not much fun when you have a $15.00 JDM trout minnow

on the end of the line!

[OkobojiEagle]

15lb test, .14mm diameter on my Pixy 68L (full spool).  I fish hard jerkbaits and small crankbaits with it.  Usually I have a .01" diameter nylon/fluoro co-polymer monofilament leader tied to the end of it.

 

oe

[bulldog1935]

@Robin I think I can explain that as a deep backlash loop in your spool.  

Biggest problem with tiny braid - you can't find these because they make 180-tight loops that disappear.  

Without backlash, you can take PE#0.8 to the bank.  

this morning, I was on fish sign, and when I found the right lure blend color, caught 7 in 12 casts

This was all in a couple of days last fall, with 12-lb (max breaking strength) hard fluoro leader.  

[Jig Man]

Bulldog what kind of fish are those?

[Hook2Jaw]

10 minutes ago, Jig Man said:

Bulldog what kind of fish are those?

Those are red drum, also known as redfish, puppy drum, spottail bass, etcetera.  I've caught a couple inshore near Savannah, GA.

[bulldog1935]

Yes redfish, during our fall kayak Redfish Rodeo - wind and storms last October week limited us to 3 short days.  There was no wind on that first day, but my limit took me off the flat at 10 am.  

My buddy kept up with his dad by text and we got off the water on the 2nd morning just as thie storm front advanced to us.  We were loaded up and driving to Mexican food when the rain hit.  

But not before I got my best photo of the trip - this one was on PE#1.2 to 15-lb hard fluoro leader.  

Short days on the water also aren't a problem - we make up for that around the fire pit - this was Sat nite's shrimp boil.  

[softwateronly]

I run Varivas 8 strand pe#1.5 on alphas 800s, and pe#.8 on an alphas air.  @bulldog1935 helped me out and in the future will probably up to pe#1 on the air.  The .8 is doable but dig happens a little more frequently than my vigilance.

 

scott

[Jig Man]

I have heard of red fish but never see one.  We have white drum but most people don’t eat them. 

[bulldog1935]

The croaker and drum family (scienidae) makes up about 80% of all inshore species around the world.  

Freshwater drum can be a hoot, also - I caught a 10-lb'er on fly rod fishing off a dock on Lake Livingston.  

I never ate redfish either, mostly because the slot fish are too big to pan cook well.  I went out of my way to catch speckled trout (same family) for fish tacos.  Next to flounder, this is pretty much the best food the coast offers.  

 

But when my buddy Josh showed me how to grill-blacken half-shell (skin-on) redfish fillets, this became my favorite seafood.  You scoop it out of the skin, the vitamin A makes it sweet, and you pick the charred ribs like pork ribs.  

 

[Fishing_Rod]

Those are some great meals! Bravo and Yum!

[Bandersnatch]

On 4/27/2024 at 11:02 AM, bulldog1935 said:

that's all I do.  

Please don't be offended, but 8- 10- and 15-lb braid don't mean anything.  

We're going to have to talk braid diameter (with the rest of the world).  

 

The smallest braid I use on deep spools is equivalent diameter to 20-lb 832 (0.235-mm dia).  I build up an arbor using 20-25 yds, 20-25-lb mono, tie with an Allbright knot that will pass line guide, and top with my working braid.  If you want to calculate stacking line capacities, use this capacity calculator from Pattaya

 

The easiest way to keep up is talking diameter and, better, Japan silk thread diameter scale (PE#).  You'll note braid strength on Japan X-braids is much higher than USM equivalent diameter.  (All braid is not created equal - this chart is a standard from Japan Line Committee)

For standard LW pitch on shallow spools, Jun Sonada recommends nothing smaller than PE#1 (0.165-mm dia) to avoid line dig.  But I fish one smaller size, PE#0.8 on Zillion/Steez and big inshore fish with no line dig problems.  That said, I much prefer PE#1 all around (equiv dia to 4-lb mono).  

 

To go to smaller braid (if you'd ever want to), you need a BFS reel, which come from the factory with increased LW pitch.  This lays line wider on the spool to prevent line dig.  

Silver Wolf PE Special is rated to fish down to PE#0.4.  The smallest I fish on this reel (with aftermarket spool lighter and shallower than Daiwa Boost 1000 PE spool) is PE#0.6.  Even this small is kind of the limit of sanity, but it shows up in cast distance.  

 

General rule - don't mess with tiny braids until you're backlash-proof.  

What reel is the daiwa with the yellow line? It looks like a steez ct without badging ?

[bulldog1935]

@Bandersnatch

That's SLPW-Zillion, which I matched with Ray's Studio spool:  

Not CT, but 34-mm spool.  

I made one change since the post just below, I found the gunmetal knob caps for my Studio Composite handle through west coast importer JDMFishing.com.  

I also replaced the 3-y-o Duel X-wire braid on that spool with PE#1 Varivas Si-X (white).  It is shown with the right rod above, I'm matching it full time with Abu 7'3" Kurodai Baitfinesse Prototype - seabass finesse rod.