Bought myself a new reel today

[Mattones]

It was fairly cheap too nothing special from Wal-Mart its a ''R2F WALLEYE SPIN COMBO W/KIT''. The rod it self looked and felt pretty solid which caused me to buy it.

 

My question is,

 

I saw a post today on here asking if he should use Fluorocarbon or Power Pro. I was kind of confused as being new to the sport and was wondering do you replace your entire line and use one of those brand names or just take 8-10 feet and attach it on? I'm sorry if this seems like a silly question.

 

My line came already on the reel so is this good enough for someone who goes off shore fishing mostly who wants to catch the normal game fish, Trout, bass, Walleye , Pike etc. Would the line just snap if i caught a biggie?

 

I hope this makes sense. lol

Edited May 10, 2008 by Mattones

[danc]

If anything, you might want to upgrade your line. I've never used anything but mono. I don't know what Fluorocarbon or Power Pro even looks like. But line is important.

 

Enjoy your new combo. Get back to us with your results.

[Mattones]

Alrighty thank you. I will pick up some line tomorrow morning. Any one of those three names should be good I am guessing.

Edited May 10, 2008 by Mattones

[jace]

Unless the combo has a card telling you the line is a specific brand and type, i would definitely change it. Even with info, i would at least buy a new roll and take it with me because you never know how long it's been on there or if the rod has been exposed to too much heat or whatever. For the pike, you'll want wire or heavy mono leader. you'll be fine for the other species. If you do respool with new line, resist the temptation of overlining (spooling a very heavy test), you probably won't need it unless you know you're fishing through heavy weeds.

 

you can't go wrong with trilene xl. 10-12#. maybe 14..that's about the highest you want.

[Mike the Pike]

Go with some mono if you plan on shore fishing where you can often get snagged.

 

Although I love braid it gets expensive when you get snagged from shore and have to break off alot of line.

 

When I am in the boat it is easier and less costly to get to the snagged line.(except for the gas that is lol)

 

Buy your self some Trilene extra tough 10 lb test it should cover all the species you want to catch.

 

Now go get some fish.

Edited May 10, 2008 by Mike the Pike

[OhioFisherman]

If your going to use braid leave 10-20 yard of mono on the spool to prevent the braid from slipping on the spool. Toss up on line, a pick-em deal everyone has their own favorites, I use original Stren but just my choice.

 

Set your drag to allow the line to go out fairly easily without breaking, don`t crank in line while the fish is taking line out to prevent line twist. Line test and the ability to land a bigger fish on it depends on experience, dumb luck, conditions in the area you are fishing, the more junk in the water the heavier the line for success in landing them. Most species the first thought when hooked is head for cover, junk.

 

Braid is a lot thinner than mono, a spinning reel will be able to cast a heavier braid easier than the same pound test mono. Landed some good fish on a spinning reel and line that was in my opinion too light for the fish, hard to pick what bites sometimes.

[Garry2Rs]

Why not just go out and enjoy using what you have for a few trips.

If you change the line you will probably put a lot of twists in it by accident, where as the line that's on there is not twisted yet.

 

I use braid for everything. On my spinning out fits I have ten pound Power Pro. I use this for plastic worms, finesse techniques like shaky head jigs, and for pan fish. It is the diameter of two pound mono, so I don't use a leader for anything even for tiny Crappie jigs. Ten pound braid isn't as abrasion resistant as ten pound mono or Fluorocarbon, because its much thinner...like two pound mono, but the line floats at rest and I don't drag it across rocks etc. It cuts through weeds very well because it's tough and thin. If I didn't have baitcasting equipment for heavier work, I might use 20 or 30 pound Power Pro. I wouldn't use any other brand in those weights on a spinning reel. Fireline is also a line I like on spinning reels, but it is much thicker than Power Pro, so I would stay down around 15 pound test. It's no harder to break off a snag on ten pound braid than it is on mono or fluoro of the same weight...in fact it's easier because the mono/fluoro stretches and stretches before it breaks. Anyway you're not fishing for snags...hahaha.

Many of the light weight hooks used for smaller spinning rod type/size baits will straighten enough that and you can pull the lure free of a snag, with braid, because the line doesn't stretch like a rubber band. This isn't generally true of jigs, but if you wrap the line around a stick (Never around your hand) and pull, something has to give.

 

If you are going for toothy fish like Pike, or fishing where these fish are commonly caught, you might want a steel leader, but I will guess that the line you have is eight or ten pound test and you won't have any trouble landing a toothy fish with line of that weight.

After landing a fish like that check the last foot of your line for nicks! It only takes a minute to retie!

Toothy fish, Walleye, Pike, Musky, don't have any molars, grinding teeth, their teeth are like needles. When you get "bit off" either the knot failed, the line was weak because of previous nicks or the line got plucked back and forth across the fishes teeth until it wore through. The answer is to learn a good knot like the Palomar, check the line for nicks often, and haul those tooth fellows in as fast as possible so they can't work your line back and forth across their teeth.

 

Mono twists easily, in a few weeks you will have line that looks like a Slinky, you will get a big birds nest and cut off about 60 feet, this is the part you have been using...A few days later it will start again...and you will be ready to replace the line.

 

With the experience you have gained, using the old line you will have a better idea of what weight you want and if you want to stay with plastic line or move to braid.

Good Luck

Garry2R's