Few questions

[Squirmypug]

I have been looking at getting a new shark reel and really like what I see in the Okuma Makaira 50II.It says it will hold 400yds of 80lb mono but I was thinking about putting 600yds 130lb braid with about 100yds 100lb mono topshot.With the stated drag the reel can use it seems more than strong enough.I need to know if 100lb mono can be spliced into 130lb hollow braid also if an albright special knot would work if I got solid braid.I have used the albright special for 80lb braid to 80lb mono and that is no problem to do.Most of the guys I shark fish with use 10/0 or 12/0 Penn senators, how do you think the Makaira will hold up compared to those reels? Thanks for any info/opinions 

[Norcal Pescador]

Squirmy -
The Albright Special knot was invented for splicing 100# mono to 130# solid braid.   100# mono should go into hollow 130 braid with no problem (did that),  but I would highly recommend using a threading needle. It's a whole lot less frustrating that way.
Good luck on the reel search.

[Squirmypug]

Thats great about the Albright special I thought it would work but have never needed to use it with that high lb line, it would save from needing hollow braid and I could keep a little $$    Could you think of any reason that hollow would be better, would the splice be much stronger than an Albright special?

[conchydong]

The hollow would be better because if you damage any of the line, (which you will shark fishing from shore) you can splice in some new line and have a 100% connection. Also check the capacity of a Makaira 30; it might have enough capacity what you are looking for. Any of the Maks are light years better the large Penn Senators as far as drag, freespool, smoothness and frame strength.

[Alto Mare]

Just a little information here from one of my tutorials, maybe it could be of some help .
 Re: Penn Senator 116L (12/0)
« Reply #17 on: May 31, 2011, 02:27:49 PM » Quote Modify Remove 

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Quote from: Alto Mare on May 30, 2011, 05:39:24 PM
I understand! couldn't you experiment with braid line instead of cranking down soo much on the drag? I'm sure you could have over a mile worth of line on that reel, you won't have to worry about running out. If you do, the fish deserves to win.

Braid is out of the equation because there is no abrasion resistance into the line. Sharks swim at the bottom of the ocean enough time to get a 400yds-500yds long line to touch something sharp enough to cut the braid.
There are two major facts here - sand, and abrasion resistance. Top-shots are OK - but experience told me, you get better chances with mono then braid, when comes to shark fish.
Overall, these are the reason why i did crazy tests - to see the limits of these Penn 12/0.   
 
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[Norcal Pescador]

Thats great about the Albright special I thought it would work but have never needed to use it with that high lb line, it would save from needing hollow braid and I could keep a little $$    Could you think of any reason that hollow would be better, would the splice be much stronger than an Albright special?

In my limited tests of knots (with a recording scale) the albright came out as one of the best (consistently well over 90%). HOWEVER, any time you bend a line, the line is weakened, mainly to monofilament (which includes fluorocarbon) and solid wire. The sharper the bend, the weaker the line becomes at that point. For that reason a mono to hollow splice is probably always better, provided it's done correctly. If you go with the Albright, make sure your wraps are neat and side-by-side.
As far as re-splicing lines I can tie an Albright faster than I can thread the mono into the hollow, seize it at the end, and be back fishing. All of the replies above are valid points, too.

[alantani]

contact http://www.charkbait.com/ and ask the guys there, but i believe that you can rig the makaira 50 the way you want.  the reel will most certainly be able to handle that load.  good luck!

[Squirmypug]

Conchy the 30 would hold enough for these shark but sometimes we hook something that just doesn't want to turn around and I would like to have a little more line/drag for those times. Alto abrasion resistance isn't too much of a problem where I fish I only put my bait out max 100yds which would be the topshot, most of the shark stay on the surface when fighting.The main time we need abrasion resistance is when the shark heads to the ocean..under the bridge next to the fishing bridge but thats why we mainly fish the incomming tide    Norcal the speed of use on the knot is why I was thinking solid may be better but I guess I could tie an albright in hollow if I need fresh line while fishing, the hollow splice would be nice going through the guides    Alan thanks for letting me know the reel could handle the load, after reading your rebuild of the 50 is what made me want this reel so bad.

[SoCalAngler]

I think you have it right with your last post. Go with hollow which leaves more splicing options and is much cleaner if you need to say replace some of the spectra but not all. You can always tie the hollow just like solid, but I like to put a bimini in the spectra then tie the albrite.

[Norcal Pescador]

......... Go with hollow which leaves more splicing options and is much cleaner if you need to say replace some of the spectra but not all. You can always tie the hollow just like solid, ............

Absolutely!

[Bryan Young]

This is what I do to add more solid spectra. 

[day0ne]

Like has been said, the 100 mono should fit into 130 hollow. If there are any problems, you can splice a length of heavier hollow braid onto the 130. This helps with abrasion also. However if it was me, I would use a loop to loop connection. It's a whole lot easier to change a topshot that way. If you use solid braid, you can still splice a length of hollow to the end and have the benifits of hollow braid. I do this on a lot of my reels. Personally, I think knots  in heavy mono suck, and don't use them if I can help it. Testing has proved that there are no easily tied 90% knots. If I had to connect mono to spectra with a knot, I would use a Page Ranking Knot but it isn't an easily tied knot, especialy in a boat