Help with what to use

[WestCoast Transplant]

Since getting back into fishing and just really starting to surf fish, I am a little lost on which line to use on what reel and for which application. Last time I was fishing on a regular basis Spyder braid was fairly new. Now that I am into vintage Penn for the surf, I Could use some guidance. 

I bought a 140 with a plastic spool last night with a custom 9' one piece surf pole. I want to use to mainly fish  for stripers. I think I can put a 30 lb braid directly on the spool. Am I wrong?

Here are some pics of the rod/reel

[Keta]

Put a few layers of Dacron on the spool then fill it with Spectra.  The Dacron keeps the Spectra from slipping on the spool.

[WestCoast Transplant]

Thank you.

[Decker]

Agreed about the slippage. Some use electrical tape.

I like Squidders. 30 lb braid might get unweildy if you are going to distance cast. It will fit easily between the spool and side plate. Most cast mono on conventional,  but if braid, heavy 50-65 lbs is more manageable. Although the strength is overkill, the diameter helps. I would use 30 lb mono personally. Oh, and braid can burn your thumb. Get it wet before making a powerful cast. I try to thumb the side of the spool for more even control.

[otownjoe]

I like 30 pound mono for casting. I find the smaller diameter lines backlash too much and are harder to get untangled. I sacrifice some distance for ease of use and strength. If I go smaller than 30 or use braid I switch to spinning reels. If I could cast braid effectively I would use it more on conventional reels. It gets expensive when you have to cut it off the reel. I do use a braid backing on all my conventional reels. It is easier and cheaper to change a mono top shot when the line gets old or low on the spool.  Joe

[ez2cdave]

I bought a 140 with a plastic spool last night with a custom 9' one piece surf pole.

I love my Squidders, too . . . However, my suggestion is to get a 29L-140 or Newell aluminum spool for your 140. I have broken many plastic spools in the past.

Tight Lines !

[Swami805]

30 lb braid would be difficult to manage as others have said plus that reel would hold a mile of it. Get use to casting it with mono. Much more user friendly

[Gfish]

I had such a problem with tryin to make 20 mono. work ona 180(plastic spool), I tried 30 mono. still a problem. In both cases the line got spool/frame caught no matter how I readjusted the spool alignment,  + I didn't like the memory/stiffness thing with mono. Went to big fat," SurfCaster" Co. squidding line--27 lb. test. with a short mono. topper. Not perfect, but best so far. The plastic spool and an aluminium modified handle/knob I added, really keeps the weight down.

[Decker]

I had such a problem with tryin to make 20 mono. work ona 180(plastic spool), I tried 30 mono. still a problem. In both cases the line got spool/frame caught no matter how I readjusted the spool alignment,  + I didn't like the memory/stiffness thing with mono. Went to big fat," SurfCaster" Co. squidding line--27 lb. test. with a short mono. topper. Not perfect, but best so far. The plastic spool and an aluminium modified handle/knob I added, really keeps the weight down.

That's interesting, Gregg. Never heard of the squidding line before.  There is a guy who I follow on YouTube who surfcasts Penn conventionals and uses very heavy braid exclusively. 

[WestCoast Transplant]

I love my Squidders, too . . . However, my suggestion is to get a 29L-140 or Newell aluminum spool for your 140. I have broken many plastic spools in the past.

Tight Lines !



I'm eying one on eBay right now.

[oc1]

I think I can put a 30 lb braid directly on the spool. Am I wrong?

A 140 filled with either 20 or 30# mono or 27# braided nylon (squidding line) was sort of a standard for surf fishing back in the day.  Like you guys say, a lot of plastic squidder spools were broken or warped because mono was put on too tight or because the mono was packed down fighting a fish.  You could also break/warp the spool with tight squidding line but it's less likely.  The mono and squidding line stretch a lot so they build up a lot of pressure if put on tightly.  The built up pressure breaks the plastic spool.

20# mono is 0.45 mm diameter and 30# mono is 0.55 mm.  80# spectra braid is 0.43 mm.  Spectra braid does not stretch.  If you match spectra and mono line diameters instead of the pound test spectra braid will not get behind the spool and a birds nest will be easy to pick out.  To be safe, you might want to use a 30# mono top shot or leader so you can still break it off when it is snagged.
-steve

[Decker]

I need to try casting heavy braid, Steve.   80lb. sounds about right according to those diameters.

I like the plastic spools for their light weight for casting, and put about 25 yds of dacron line on the spool before filling with mono.   Other than the monofilament compression, the other vulnerability of the plastic is chipping an edge when it is removed.  I gave some of the chrome spools away in exchange for plastic.

[theswimmer]

Braid will make short work of all metal guides.
Fighting a striper of any size will soon wear grooves in your guides .
I fish alot in the surf and on my old trad rigs I use exclusively mono. That applies to spinners and conventionals.
Adams Khanh just rewrapped a big Harnell spinner for me and I was lucky that he had a full set of all metal guides for us to use. Once again more of a traditional setup, and more true to how I use the gear.
Just my 2 cts...
Best ,
JT

[Decker]

Here is another thread about "braid ready" tackle.   http://alantani.com/index.php?topic=23260.0

[Hook um]

"Since getting back into fishing and just really starting to surf fish, I am a little lost on which line to use on what reel and for which application. Last time I was fishing on a regular basis Spyder braid was fairly new."

There is nothing wrong with Old School ,the Squidder was a great casting reel in the 60's & 70's,  but when you try to combine them with the technology these days is causes many differences.

Today it is all about working smarter not harder.

                                        Today                                                   Old School
                            20/30+lb braid                                                   20 lb mono
                                500/380 yds                                                      275 yds
                           20 lbs of drag                                                   12 lbs of drag
                            Weight 16 oz                                                 Weight 18 oz
                        6.0.1 retrieve rate                                           3.3.1 retrieve rate
           centrifugal and/or mag backlash control                             Thumb

When you need the extra casting distance you can almost double it with less effort with today's reels.

For under $ 150.00 shipped...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Penn-FATHOM-FTH15-Star-Drag-Full-Medal-Body-Conventional-Fishing-Reel-1238443/132416671842?epid=1111910750&hash=item1ed4a61062:g:4SoAAOSwyP5aHwk8

I've have slowly changed with the times and still have Old School reels that I could fish with, but they are not my first choice when the big ones show up:)