Mystery Braid: Is 80# Overkill?

[Dave Legacy]

Hey dudes,

I was thinking about spooling up a reel with some mystery braid (looks like 80#) that I have around the house. I'm going to San Simeon for some shallow rockfish and I wanted to have a setup for dropping down bait to supplement my swimbait rods. 80# seems like wild overkill to me, but is there any reason why this would be a bad idea? I plan to use a 30# mono leader, but might snagging still pose a hazard? Trying to be resourceful here.

Maybe I'll just leave the 20# mono I have on there now; It's just rockfish. I was just thinking braid fares better in kelp + lings. I need guidance, y'all.

Best regards,

Dave

[FullFlavorPike]

Unless you need a massive volume of line on there, the fact that you're running a 30# topshot means you should be able to break off of anything and the 80# braid is no less overkill than 65#.

That's just common sense talking. Maybe real fishing logic will dictate something else.

[Dave Legacy]

Originally Posted by FullFlavorPike

Unless you need a massive volume of line on there, the fact that you're running a 30# topshot means you should be able to break off of anything and the 80# braid is no less overkill than 65#.

That's just common sense talking. Maybe real fishing logic will dictate something else.

This was my thinking as well, but then I got to wondering what would happen if I managed to get tangled up on say a kelp stringer. My understanding was that the braid would saw through it, so I think I'd still be fine. I think it's cool to run the 80#, but a while back I had this idea to use a 5'6" trolling rod and was well educated on why it's a bad idea, haha.

[King Saba]

The only issue with 80 is the diameter. It won't make a world of difference, but the sink rate of your lures may be thrown off as compared to say using 65. But, eh who cares, it's just rockfish! I say use it!

[sharjak]

Originally Posted by Dave Legacy

I think it's cool to run the 80#, but a while back I had this idea to use a 5'6" trolling rod and was well educated on why it's a bad idea, haha.

What happened??

[Dave Legacy]

Originally Posted by sharjak

What happened??

Fortunately nothing in real life, but the fellow-BWE members informed me that the rod wouldn't be long enough to get the line over the bow if a fish crossed sides of the kayak and I could get flipped over. Until last year I had always only fished from shore, so where as I'm an experienced angler there's a ton of fairly common sense kayaking things I just haven't gotten yet.

Since safety is such an importance on the water I figure it's better to just ask a dumb question rather than risk the self-experiment.

[sharjak]

Thanks! I had heard the same thing. Fortunately, all my rods under 7ft are for FW.

[Fishin' Magician]

I have two Toriums and have them both filled with 65# PowerPro. I've never had a problem and have caught some big calicos as well as yellowtail on them. I'm not sure that I understand the comment about how the 80# would cast better unless it's because it's smooth and the 65# has a rougher texture to it. But other than that, I'm not sure that one would necessarily cast better than the other. But as I've never cast anything with 80#, I don't really have any experience to draw from.

[Dave Legacy]

Originally Posted by Fishin' Magician

I have two Toriums and have them both filled with 65# PowerPro. I've never had a problem and have caught some big calicos as well as yellowtail on them. I'm not sure that I understand the comment about how the 80# would cast better unless it's because it's smooth and the 65# has a rougher texture to it. But other than that, I'm not sure that one would necessarily cast better than the other. But as I've never cast anything with 80#, I don't really have any experience to draw from.

I could see 80# maybe having less tendency to dig in to itself on the spool, but but to what end? A Torium20 was designed for 20# mono originally, right? Or maybe I'm thinking of Penn's sizing system. Anyway, 80# braid is closer in diameter to 20# mono than 65# braid, so maybe the 80# is technically a better fit for that reel? I really have no idea.