Dumb Questions

[dshel61]

These are probably dumb questions but I have never used braided line before so here goes...

What purpose does tying braid to mono serve?  And does the mono go on the spool before the braid or does the braid get tied directly to the spool and then the mono? Told you these were dumb questions. Sorry.

[bigjim5589]

Mono is often used as a backing with braid because braid, having no stretch won't "grip" the reel spool, so under tension, against a tight drag, can turn on the spool. The mono stretches & grips well on the reel spool. 

[Bud Kennedy]

Also, you don't need a lot of backing to get the job done.  Most add enough backing to allow for about 60 to 75yd of braid on the spool.  This way the know from the mono/braid connection does not come into play.

[dshel61]

Another dumb question... aren't there holes that you pass the line thru in the spool to tie it on? Wouldn't that prevent the braid from slipping?

[dshel61]

So the mono is backing. Now I just need to learn how to attach the braid to the mono.

What would you suggest for a good  braid to start off with? Probably going on my Berkley Lightning Rod Shock rod. Frogs or jigs maybe. 

[Bud Kennedy]

Might work in some cases but the safe and one might say proper thing would be to use backing.

[Princeton_Man]

Another dumb question... aren't there holes that you pass the line thru in the spool to tie it on? Wouldn't that prevent the braid from slipping?

Yes but, some reels don't have drilled spools.

[dshel61]

Ah 

[Bud Kennedy]

So the mono is backing. Now I just need to learn how to attach the braid to the mono.

What would you suggest for a good  braid to start off with? Probably going on my Berkley Lightning Rod Shock rod. Frogs or jigs maybe.

Many will recommend the uni to uni knot for this purpose.  FYI, that is what I use.  You can find a few websites that will show you a step by step way to tie this know along with about any other style of knot.

[cport]

So the mono is backing. Now I just need to learn how to attach the braid to the mono.

What would you suggest for a good  braid to start off with? Probably going on my Berkley Lightning Rod Shock rod. Frogs or jigs maybe. 

Another good knot is the Alberto, google it. Also, another good reason to back with mono is you save money by not spooling the whole reel with the more expensive braid. As Bud said, if you spool on only 75 yards of braid, you can get two reels filled with one spool of 150 yd braid. I would start off with the standard green Power Pro line. It's relatively inexpensive and works pretty good in my opinion.

[dshel61]

Some suggest putting a piece of scotch tape around the spool before tying the braid to the spool to prevent slipping.

[Bud Kennedy]

Yep some do but most don't.  Is there a reason you don't want to use backing?

[dshel61]

No reason. Just collecting information and various opinions to see which way to go.

[analfisherman]

I used to use backing....now I don't.
The reason,

the connecting knot can and will cause casting challenges eventually.

Lets just say you use backing and add let's say 60-75 yds of braid to the top.
you now use it for a month or two and due to cutting line and switching baits and things....you cut/loose 10yds of braid.
After 6 months you've lost 30 yards.

You now cast 20-30 yards and that knot will be pertruding on the spool and can easily catch on the next and following casts.
Yes there will still be braid over it but there will be a hump or uneven spot on the spool.

I have done line connection knots for awhile and my go to is the double uni on the water and the Albert off water.
Alberto is just slightly harder to tie.....especially when first learning it.

Any way, now the knot is causing casting challenges by the 'hump' catching out going line and hence you cut off the remaining braid and what you going to do with like 30-40 yards of braid....throw it away.
Braid, especially 4 strand tends to 'dig in' on hard 'sets'....humps increase the 'dig in' tendency.....I feel anyways.

So by trying to save money you maybe actually wasting money with backing.

It's easy to simply take old braid off and reverse it onto a different reel and the back end of the braid is basically NEW braid now.

This is simply my thoughts and maybe no one elses.
I've been tieing knots for easily 30 years and I'm 'ANAL'....so you know I studied/learned how to tie knots...I use a Double SanDiego Jam as my go to lure connection knot.

AGAIN, this is only my thoughts and braid can actually stay on a reel for YEARS before you even have to think about reversing it....some NEVER reverse it.

[Smallie_Stalker]

There is no such thing as a dumb question so please never feel that way about anything you want to ask.

In fact some of the things members have said were dumb questions have produced a number of fantastic threads where a lot of people learned from what was posted in response.

I use braid pretty much exclusively at this point. Straight braid with no leader. I do use mono backing. I tie the mono to the spool with an arbor know and then only wind enough mono on until I can't see the color of the spool underneath. Then i tie a the braid to the mono with back to back uni knots and fill the reel the rest of the way with braid.

Knot choice often comes down to personal preference and ease of tying. I have sausage fingers lol!! and tremors so I have found what works best for me. For knots to lures I use a snell knot for flipping/pitching and will be experimenting with it for certain other techniques (mostly with weighted plastics). For hard baits I use the tied and true old Palomar knot and leave a small tag end.

There are a lot of good knots out there and I would encourage you to try different ones until you find something YOU are comfortable with tying. 

[Pferox]

Since this is my first time chatting with you, Welcome to the Greatest Fishing Site on the WWW, IMO.  NO such thing as a dumb question, you should have seen the questions I asked when I was starting out, and they actually get "dumber" as I get older.

Power Pro is probably a good choice. Bullbuster.net or even the POSEIDEN line might be of interest to you, not sure.

Here is my dumb question to you:  What all do you fish?  Do you just fish for Bass, or other freshwater species, or do you even dabble in the salty side of things?  Depending on your answer I can give you some ideas on what to do with braid for you personally.

[dshel61]

Since this is my first time chatting with you, Welcome to the Greatest Fishing Site on the WWW, IMO.  NO such thing as a dumb question, you should have seen the questions I asked when I was starting out, and they actually get "dumber" as I get older.

Power Pro is probably a good choice. Bullbuster.net or even the POSEIDEN line might be of interest to you, not sure.

Here is my dumb question to you:  What all do you fish?  Do you just fish for Bass, or other freshwater species, or do you even dabble in the salty side of things?  Depending on your answer I can give you some ideas on what to do with braid for you personally.

I fish mostly for bass. I grew up in Connecticut and did mostly trout fishing. Not much of that in Atlanta. So I guess mostly bass and crappie right at this time.  Bank fishing as I have no boat access. So I guess small lakes and ponds.

[Fun4me]

Some people (including Pro's) use braid for backing with fluoro/mono. Supposedly makes the spool spin faster and cast farther (braid is lighter). I've never tried it. 

[crankenstein]

Or if you're fishing clear water and using braid, you can tie on a mono or fluoro leader.

[Oldfart9999]

Or if you're fishing clear water and using braid, you can tie on a mono or fluoro leader.

Why?
Rodney

[crankenstein]

Why?
Rodney

Mono or fluoro is less visible than braid.

[Smallie_Stalker]

Mono or fluoro is less visible than braid.

Not trying to be argumentative here but this is not entirely true, and even flouro is visible (despite company hype to the contrary) which is why  a lot of companies make colored flouro now.

For lots of years before mono was invented (and even after) many folks fished with dacron line. That stuff was thick and highly visible. And they caught plenty of fish while using it. The idea that fish can become "line shy" hasn't been around that long and personally I don't buy into it.

And so what if a fish can see your line? They aren't smart enough to realize what it is. I stopped using leaders years ago. I fish some of the clearest water on the planet (bottom is visible 30 + feet) and I use hi-vis braid for everything. Haven't noticed any difference in the amount of hits I get.

Like I said, not trying to be argumentative just giving my take from 50+ years of fishing. If a leader gives an angler more confidence then by all means they should use one. That's one of the best things about fishing - so many options for people to try and find what works best for them. 

[crankenstein]

Not trying to be argumentative here but this is not entirely true, and even flouro is visible (despite company hype to the contrary) which is why  a lot of companies make colored flouro now.

For lots of years before mono was invented (and even after) many folks fished with dacron line. That stuff was thick and highly visible. And they caught plenty of fish while using it. The idea that fish can become "line shy" hasn't been around that long and personally I don't buy into it.

And so what if a fish can see your line? They aren't smart enough to realize what it is. I stopped using leaders years ago. I fish some of the clearest water on the planet (bottom is visible 30 + feet) and I use hi-vis braid for everything. Haven't noticed any difference in the amount of hits I get.

Like I said, not trying to be argumentative just giving my take from 50+ years of fishing. If a leader gives an angler more confidence then by all means they should use one. That's one of the best things about fishing - so many options for people to try and find what works best for them. 

Not argumentative at all. I actually agree about the debate about fish being line shy, I was trying to think of reasons that ppl might use the two lines together. I'm a straight mono man myself lol. Keeps it simple😂

[islandbass]

I used to use backing....now I don't.
The reason,

the connecting knot can and will cause casting challenges eventually.

Lets just say you use backing and add let's say 60-75 yds of braid to the top.
you now use it for a month or two and due to cutting line and switching baits and things....you cut/loose 10yds of braid.
After 6 months you've lost 30 yards.



You now cast 20-30 yards and that knot will be pertruding on the spool and can easily catch on the next and following casts.
Yes there will still be braid over it but there will be a hump or uneven spot on the spool.

I have done line connection knots for awhile and my go to is the double uni on the water and the Albert off water.
Alberto is just slightly harder to tie.....especially when first learning it.

Any way, now the knot is causing casting challenges by the 'hump' catching out going line and hence you cut off the remaining braid and what you going to do with like 30-40 yards of braid....throw it away.
Braid, especially 4 strand tends to 'dig in' on hard 'sets'....humps increase the 'dig in' tendency.....I feel anyways.

So by trying to save money you maybe actually wasting money with backing.

It's easy to simply take old braid off and reverse it onto a different reel and the back end of the braid is basically NEW braid now.

This is simply my thoughts and maybe no one elses.
I've been tieing knots for easily 30 years and I'm 'ANAL'....so you know I studied/learned how to tie knots...I use a Double SanDiego Jam as my go to lure connection knot.

AGAIN, this is only my thoughts and braid can actually stay on a reel for YEARS before you even have to think about reversing it....some NEVER reverse it.

I experienced the same thing do the same thing. However, if you allow the mono to truly serve as backing, you need realistically only 30' of mono and do the rest braid. If you fish to the point the connecting knot becomes an issue, the spool is already so low that the reels casting distance and line recovery is impacted. It's also a sign to replenish the spool too, lol.

I learned a neat trick whenever I used a ratio of braid to mono. Put a small piece of tape over the knot. This will help to reduce the chances of the outgoing line "catching" the knot. I also use fewer wraps in the knot to lessen the knot's profile.