How much line do you really need?

[taggermike]

I've been checking out new reels and pondering the amount of line that they can hold. Specs like 500 yards of 20lb mono or 700 yards of 30lb braid just sound rediculous. I'm talking about LJ fishing not off shore or gulf coast deep dropping. My kelp cutter reel is a Newell 533 about half full of 65 lb braid. That seams plenty for kelp fishing. I might half fill a reel with heavy mono of even way old school dacron and load braid on to the top half. Why pay for all braid when you'll never even see it come off the reel? Smaller reels are another option. The little lever drags are too pricey for me though. Are there "low capacity" large diameter spools to let you use a bigger reel with larger gears/drags/cranking power with out spooling way too much line? What are you guys doing about line capacity, particularly when it comes to braid? Mike

[gupppy]

better to have it available when needed than not.

[Cbad Mike]

Great question..... I'm looking forward to reading some answers too.

[Yakin]

When I was out fishing on the islander, I would fish for hali and rockfish on the same rig to save space. I was fishing 350' and 400' of water, so yeah being in kept and maybe 200' of water MAX, you will have enough. You have to remember there is always that chance of that HUGE toad swimming by and maxes out your line and your going for a slay ride with around 200'-300' of line out, you will feel a lot more comfortable having atleast an extra 100-200 feet of line to back you up.

[jorluivil]

Originally Posted by Yakin

When I was out fishing on the islander, I would fish for hali and rockfish on the same rig to save space. I was fishing 350' and 400' of water, so yeah being in kept and maybe 200' of water MAX, you will have enough. You have to remember there is always that chance of that HUGE toad swimming by and maxes out your line and your going for a slay ride with around 200'-300' of line out, you will feel a lot more comfortable having atleast an extra 100-200 feet of line to back you up.

unless I'm reading this wrong if you were fishing anything deeper than 360' you were fishing illegally.



Rockfish
The recreational fishery for rockfish (Sebastes sp.) is open to divers² and shore-based anglers year-round. The fishery is open to boat-based anglers from March 1, 2012 through December 31, 2012 (see important NOTE at the end of this section). These species may only be taken or possessed³ in waters less than 360 feet (60 fathoms) deep*. The daily bag and possession limit is 10 fish in combination of all species within the RCG Complex (includes all species of Rockfish, Cabezon and Greenlings) per person, with a sub-limit on bocaccio (2 per person, minimum size limit of 10 inches total length, also included in the 10 fish RCG Complex aggregate limit). Yelloweye rockfish, canary rockfish, bronzespotted rockfish, and cowcod may not be retained (bag limit: zero).

[Yakin]

Originally Posted by jorluivil

unless I'm reading this wrong if you were fishing anything deeper than 360' you were fishing illegally.



Rockfish
The recreational fishery for rockfish (Sebastes sp.) is open to divers² and shore-based anglers year-round. The fishery is open to boat-based anglers from March 1, 2012 through December 31, 2012 (see important NOTE at the end of this section). These species may only be taken or possessed³ in waters less than 360 feet (60 fathoms) deep*. The daily bag and possession limit is 10 fish in combination of all species within the RCG Complex (includes all species of Rockfish, Cabezon and Greenlings) per person, with a sub-limit on bocaccio (2 per person, minimum size limit of 10 inches total length, also included in the 10 fish RCG Complex aggregate limit). Yelloweye rockfish, canary rockfish, bronzespotted rockfish, and cowcod may not be retained (bag limit: zero).

Oh shit thanks for pointing that out jorge I really didn't know that!!

[mtnbykr2]

The "thriftyness" comes out in us all, I guess, I was doing the same with my gear, when necessary I would put a backing of Dacron or heavy mono then
splice the top of whatever be it braid or otherwise, but as I got through the different lines, once I got liking braid I just sucked it up and spooled the reels with the line I thought would work best. Braid lasts seemingly forever so I opted to fill the spool with the line of choice.
I don't think putting a backing on first wouldn't harm anything unless you backed up 65 lb with 20 lb test, really on most occasions you will not see the bottom few hundred feet of line on your reel, but like it has been said, there will inevitably be that "sleigh ride" of a life time, that you may have wished that you put on quality line all the way down... having had a few sleigh rides never come to color, I was happy I had a full spool...IMHO

[vincentek9]

i usually make sure i have 200yds + on my reel. most of my reels are backed with at least 100yd of spectra. my bigger tuna and offshore reels have about 300yd total on them.