Fishing spectra on the salmon rod.

[Birdsnest]

I wanted to touch base on a recent thread about using spectra on the salmon rods. I could not find that old thread so I am starting this one.

I have been fishing salmon with this spectra for a few weeks now and have played a fair handful of spring all 12 - 25 lbs. I do like it but it certainly is less forgiving. Bursts of speed by the fish are explosive and there is a really good added sense of one to one with this type of line. I would say that some losses my be a result of this line in terms of breaks or hooks breaking free due to the lack of elasticity in the line compared to mono. I think it is wise to lighten up on your effort/tension by 10 to 20 % due to the "no stretch" factor in the line. That is the only major negative aspect I can see now.
There is a fair list of pros. First the line is easy to pull out of the snap at the canon ball. It only take one try every time to release it and then you are on the fish pretty quick for a good hook set. Second pro is there is less blow back on the braid from the rod for it is thiner and it seems very easy to take up the slack to the ball. Since there is no stretch on the line you can see everything going on at the end of that line such as a tiny undesirable(on the hook) that would sometimes go un noticed. I can now see those easily so less time is waisted dragging those thing around thinking your bait is presentable when its not.

All in all a pretty fun way to get them salmon in the box. Im glad I gave it a try. Its a more aggressive fight for certain.

I rigged my with 40 foot mono leaders but I now wish I had used 50 to 60 feet. Small detail.

 

[paplae]

I'm with you on the braid, switched this spring and have no regrets.
Playing the fish is so much more fun. Plus it got me using plugs more often.

 

[Fish Assassin]

I switched to braid a couple weeks ago....Got 100ft of 30lb ultra green as a top shot and 300 yards of Suffix 50lb. So far it's been working great.

 

[scott craven]

Lots of knots for tying mono to braid, which is simplest and most effective ?
double uni-knot ?

 

[Sharphooks]

Very informative post---thanks, though I gotta admit---I'm old school---I'll stick with braid for the Scotty and Ultragreen for the reel.

Plus, it drives me nuts seeing that stuff on a river---my guess ---braid has a half-life of 2 billion years... mono is just 1 billion years

 

[Birdsnest]

QUOTE

...."There is a fair list of cons. First the line is easy to pull out of the snap at the canon ball. It only take one try every time to release it and then you are on the fish pretty quick for a good hook set. Second con is there is less blow back on the braid from the rod for it is thiner and it seems very easy to take up the slack to the ball. Since there is no stretch on the line you can see everything going on at the end of that line such as a tiny undesirable(on the hook) that would sometimes go un noticed. I can now see those easily so less time is waisted dragging those thing around thinking your bait is presentable when its not....."

UNQUOTE

Not to niggle here but pretty sure you meant to say "pros", not "cons"...

otherwise, people will take this to mean these are all the negative aspects of using braid....

Very informative post---thanks, though I gotta admit---I'm old school---I'll stick with braid for the Scotty and Ultragreen for the reel.

Plus, it drives me nuts seeing that stuff on a river---my guess ---braid has a half-life of 2 billion years... mono is just 1 billion years

Good points I will edit my post.

 

[Sr SQ]

http://www.sportfishingbc.com/forum/showthread.php?27939-tie-Power-Pro-Spectra-to-either-monofilament-or-fluorocarbon
Try this post, great knot for solid braid to mono

Lots of knots for tying mono to braid, which is simplest and most effective ?
double uni-knot ?

 

[Bows Up]

x2 sharphooks on seeing it in the river. Left me with a bias when it comes to putting it on a reel. Run braid on the downriggers and solar on the reels. Hangover from too many years of fishing the Cap. lol

 

[bardfromedson]

Braid is great. I put that s#%t on everything.
6ft of floro leader is the only. shock absorber . rods are long M which helps. Fishing with no flashers or mono makes things interesting. Might loose a few more but man is it fun. I wouldn't trade it after you feel a 35 pound make a big run. Can feel every little head shake. better hook sets when fishing deep. Not so much blow back.

 

[searun]

I've been running the Suffix 832 super braid on all my moochers for 3 years. I tried connecting direct to the flasher which works fine in the Scotty clips until you start hitting large fish. What happens is on a heavy hit, the fish will bury the line into the soft clip rubber and it will NOT let go. To overcome this try using 50 feet of floro-carbon as a tag line for your Scotty clip to grab onto - problem solved. Use the Uni knott to connect both. No issues at all.

Lots of great benefits as described due to low stretch of braid. I prefer the Suffix 832 because it is perfectly round and acts like mono on the reel, so less chances of the line tucking under itself like you get with some of the flat braids. The other huge bonus is while braid is more $$ up front, you actually save a lot because you will not be changing out your mainline 2 times a season like I had been doing with mono.

So far we are experimenting with the Suffix to see how many seasons I can run it before it starts breaking down...that is now 3 seasons....and I'm thinking you can actually get more out of it if you swap it end to end. By that I mean, take the line and reel it onto another reel so the end that has all the use is buried near the backing and you fish the un-used section on round 2 of your re-use of the line.

Its great stuff, and you won't be disappointed.