40lb backing braid too light or just right?

[gulley hunter]

Soooo.... Hi, I'm new to sealine

Just had a thought strike me...I fish often but mostly light tackle so I'm gonna do what makes most sense and ask the pro's...

The great majority of us who choose to tangle with toothy critters in the summer months use 50lb backing...but a lot of guys are ending up with around 400m of braid and 200m .55 on a torium 30. For rags and fish that aren't known for their blistering fast long runs, that's more than adequate... But for a big bronzie 600m could be a first run... Leaving u...praying that u don't lose everything


Now most people with hands big enough just buy a trini 50/torium 50 blah blah blah... But what about the little guy?whose hands don't fit the BEAST reels so well.

Now my question is this... Would 40lb braid as opposed to 50lb braid work as backing...especially with most guys throw baiting and not using lines thicker than .52 (35lb-ish).... If so 600m gator braid 40lb will allow you(in mathematical theory) 300m of .50 or so on a torium.

Realistically none of us can pull a scale 40lb on a surf rod anyway and stitching the loop to join is meant to keep 100% strength in the braid.

So to the pros...will this work or is it another well meant but impractical idea that us fishermen occasionally dream up.

 

[Dave Batista]

You don't need to go 40lb braid, I've got 600m of 50lb bully braid and 200m of 0.55mm on my Tor 30, thats plenty. You could easily get 250m of 0.5mm but I use 0.55mm as I slide mostly and prefer the extra thickness.

 

[christosch]

Welcome - I'm also new to trying out shark angling. Caught my first little bronzie in December and was instantly hooked!!
What most guys suggested to me is to get Whiplash braid, as it is only 0.17mm for 50lb. I did just that and loaded my Saltist50 with 600m and then 0.55mm topshot - I have no line counter but would guess about 250-300m. All the other braids I looked at was about 0.3-0.34mm for 50lb - so there is a huge difference!
But take Dave's advice to heart as he knows what he's talking about - just check out his awesome post on his catches.

 

[Koper]

0.17mm if flatten, closer to 0.23mm normally.

Enigma did a thread where he explained it.

What's 0.06mm between Sealine members

 

[christosch]

All I know is that if something takes 800m of line off my reel I WILL need a new pair of Jockeys!!!

 

[aquadementia]

not all braids are equal... 50lb is where you wanna be.. if its not below 0.3 at 50lb, ITS NOT A BACKING BRAID and should not be used for that purpose

also remember that '50lb' is not always actually 50lb...
40lb jerry brown = 50lb
50lb jerry brown = 60lb
65lb jerry brown = 90lb+

this website is useful in determining the real numbers on a given braid http://www.paulusjustfishing.com/4linetesting.htm

 

[gulley hunter]

Thanks for all the reply's

I get the whole idea of 50lb as backing and how thin whiplash is, I have been fishing 50lb backing for a number of years just like everyone else but today I just had an idea and ran with it.

Problem with whiplash is the price... What I'm getting at is the fact that twice I've watched my line run dangerously close to getting spooled only for the leader to cut off... Both times I'm pretty sure that I would of lost the lot if it wasn't for that...I'm talking like 10-12m of line left on the spool.

Braid is afterall meant for increasing line capacity and not give u more pulling power ( I guarantee no one will pull a scale to 40lb with a surf rod anyway)

Theoretically it would work (I'm a maths lecturer- I work with numbers). I get the whole diameter of backing braids being thinner but for those who can't afford whiplash the alternitives aren't always there. Alota braids understate their diameter...and guys r left trying to find a cost effective 50lb braid and end up with something around .30
+

I just don't like the whole 600m braid 200m mono...on a long wade ur essentially casting into ur braid by the time u get back to the beach. If u put less braid on say 400-500m then u end up 250...which is acceptable but.... Y settle for 600-750m of line when 40lb wud do...I know 200m mono means u get 3 uses out of a spool.but 300m offers more drag in the water than 200m .50 = more stopping power and if u can get an extra 100m y not.


I basically need to know if anyone has tried it and if it works cos I'd like to try it and see. If u cud get 900m of line on ur torium 30 wouldn't u feel that little bit better?tonight I'm going to sit and work out the full mathematical implications and see where it goes.

Thanks for all the reply's again and keep up the awesome stuff. As a member of alota forums and sights I must say u guys lead the pack on all things fishing. Again if anyone has or knows of anyone who tried it let me know

 

[Stapies]

I would go for the 50lb... Not being funny but thin braid cut easy, touches in the water and off... 50lb might sound like only 10lb difference but like aqua explained it makes up to 15 20+lb difference in breaking strain.

I fish in CPT and we have lots of bamboo. Lost a monster shark the other day due to the main line parting against it. I personally buy expensive braid that is of high quality, it lasts a lot longer, you can pull the tears out of a shark and best off all trust and have faith in the line you use. Using 40lb you will always wonder...

Now you guys get some fast runners and I have caught many a bronzy but it doesnt happen very often that you see the drum of your reel, lock the drag and everything snaps... Normally line whistles and your eyes start watering with your hart beating in your anus... Then normally the shark turns. If it doesnt turn then then I dnt think you want that shark to turn...lol

My advise is go for a strong braid and another thing to keep in mind, thicker line puts more drag in the water so the shark tires out very quickly. I hooked a bus sharpnose once which was estimated near 250kg and brought it right to the side of the rocks before cutting the line, Guess what, NO BRAID... Thick .59 Seagrand Alpha line on a Grandwave x... I stopped, turned and got the bus to the side...

Using thin braid and light tackle for sharks you only damage yourself and the fish you fight... Chances are you can take so long with a big shark that it dies because of exhaustion. Your tackle suffers as the drag and gears of a reel doesnt last long under than pressure. I believe in fighting the shark hard and quick and releasing it within 3 min of landing it.

My 2 cents bud and welcome to sealine. Hope to sea many pics and great reports from you.

 

[pringle]

I have tor 30's loaded with Jerry Brown 40lb and its thicker than Whiplash obviously, but is hell of a strong stuff, thats just how i go about it.

I've always been more about being able to pull a fish harder from the get go straight through the fight whether in braid or not. This is something Enigma showed me, you can fill a tor 30 and 50 with the same AMOUNT of line, difference is on the 50 its .80 mainline and 85 or 100lb braid. So you are sacrificing capacity for overall strength (just how i do it)

Come league i am limited to 50lb backing and .60 mainline so then i have capacity to my advantage again in terms of my tor 50 atleast.

I have 30lb Jerry Bronw on a Tor 20 (all i had laying around at the time) and have played around with some throwbaits on .47 looking for trouble and have managed some medium bronzies, havent picked up a bigger fish though. Few okes here in CT actively go in search of those big bronzies on whats considered light tackle and manage, that comes with experience and many failed attempts i guess.

So in terms of the 40lb backing - its plenty strong to pull with to get back into your mainline and added capacity will help with that. All personal preference i suppose.

PS i hate maths hahah, my GF graduated as an actuary and im struggling to pass straight maths, third time lucky i suppose!

 

[aquadementia]

putting lighter line on because you keep getting stripped doesnt really make sense... if he strips you with 50lb braid then he's definitely gonna take all your 40lb... get a bigger reel and use your hand on the spool if you must

 

[QAZA]

Stapies wrote:

Using thin braid and light tackle for sharks you only damage yourself and the fish you fight... Chances are you can take so long with a big shark that it dies because of exhaustion. Your tackle suffers as the drag and gears of a reel doesnt last long under than pressure. I believe in fighting the shark hard and quick and releasing it within 3 min of landing it.

Totally agree

 

[Straightstick]

Correct me if I'm wrong but ideally you want your braid backing to be of a higher breaking strain than that of your main line. If a fish strips you and you have to hold tight and break off, you want your mainline to part not your expensive braid. Double x 0.55 has a breaking strain of 48lbs, so i would think 50lb backing would be a minimum.

 

[Stapies]

Straightstick wrote:

Correct me if I'm wrong but ideally you want your braid backing to be of a higher breaking strain than that of your main line. If a fish strips you and you have to hold tight and break off, you want your mainline to part not your expensive braid. Double x 0.55 has a breaking strain of 48lbs, so i would think 50lb backing would be a minimum.

I use more or less the same breaking strain but the braid is always stronger than the mainline and the mainline parts 99% of the time.

 

[Straightstick]

Would that still be the case using 40lb braid and .55 mainline?

 

[Stapies]

I will not use below 48lb targeting in eds and I use between .55 and .65 line as main line. I have never lost the braid and ANY knot is a weak point and the line is more likely to snap there... I have found leaders getting toothed or hit off before being stripped.

Here is a pic of me getting seriously close to the drum... The shark went like a oneway train to start with, after about 700m of line I locked the drag and the shark turned. Afterwords the hooks pulled but no failure to line or braid... Still need a hiding where the topshot breaks withj braid backing.

Had my reel with only nylon stripped several times targeting a small shark for bait...

 

[gulley hunter]

This is awesome,these r the kind of responses I was looking for...guys who have thought about something before just throwing an answer out there.I know we want the mono to snap and not the braid. My thought was purely based on guys who use thinner lines for throwbaiting. But logic has prevailed and thanks to everyone on clearing it up... I ran a test last night before all the awesome responses and the 40lb braid I had for a grinder was put on a empty torium I had and then tied to 100m of mono attached to a leader, wound around my washing line pole...I walked out about 150m(50m into the braid) and then proceeded to straight stick it to death to see what happened...I'm on a small holding so I got space to indulge my little thoughts.well in the short end I ended up on my backside 3 times with line parting... With .50 the 40pound held as it did with .52 both lots of mono breaking but with .55 the braid eventually parted... Leaving me with a sore backside. So my little idea heads back into the cupboard and will stay there. Thanks again to everyone who replied.

 

[gulley hunter]

O and just to clear it up... I wasn't talking about putting lighter line on..just the braid. If it had held against the .55 I think I wud of tried it. If i cud get 600m of braid with 270-300m .55 it wuda been kewl. And yes I do have a bigger reel for swim baits so I understand how the 850m works on a tor/trini 50. Don't want u guys thinking that this newbie to the sight is completely clueless.