NC Angler Forums banner

How Long Does Your Braided Line Last?

5K views 16 replies 16 participants last post by  jeepster 
#1 ·
Obviously, it depends on the conditions you are fishing and how often you fish...but tell me your typical conditions and how long it lasts for you. Brand used would help also. Thanks
 
#2 ·
Mine lasts nearly forever as the rod that it is on stays home 75% of the time and when it does go in the boat it doesnt get used much. I pretty much only use braid with a frog or alabama rig, 2 things I dont use much. Or once in a blue moon if I see the need I might spool 20 or 30 yards on a flipping stick and it is usually only on there for one tournament.
 
#5 ·
I use Power Pro and get at least 3 years of hard use from it. I do take time to get out the twists every few trips and make sure to store my rigs out of the sun. I use some of the same gear in fresh and salt and some just fresh ... it doesn't seem to make a difference. Truth is the main reason for replacing it is due to line twists/wind knots that claim large chunks of line.

Last year I bought some sharply discounted PP off Ebay - it was junk either due to age or bad QA I don't know.
 
#8 ·
Some reels I replace once a year and others I'll get two years out of. I surf fish.
Line takes a beating and then you get to the point you've lost a 1/3 of it to break offs and reties and it starts affecting casting and reel setups.


I keep my eyes and ears open for the Power Pro sales. Neuse Sports shop will run a 50% off sometimes. I'll dive in there and let em reline some reels.
 
#15 ·
You should do some research on your mono. The news is not good. It degrades and loses significant strength (like half in the lower diameter stuff) over time even sitting on a spool on the shelf. I am cheap, but when I replace mono I replace it all. Dig around; there have been tests done that show this. Braid, OTOH, is all about use. It isn't very abrasion resistant; sand and rocks wear it out. But it can sit on a shelf for a life time.
 
#12 ·
Much like what PapaDave said, most of mine is replaced due to user error. One thing I do for extra mileage is when I have a reel that needs re-spooled, I will take another reel that is perceived to show wear and run it straight off onto another reel putting the "worn" part of the line on the center of the reel and the "unused" part of the line to the outside of the reel. If that makes any sense. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy if I think I have saved some money or recycled something.

I don't know if this is kosher but welcome comments from some of you more experienced guys.
 
#13 ·
I have some that's 5-6yrs old. I spray mine with Reel Magic also and it helps it stay supple and hold its color better and cast farther. I will spool the line from one reel to another to change ends once in awhile. I mostly use 15-20lb Powerpro and 60-80 on my big reels. One of my biggest reasons for moving to braid initially was cost over time.
 
#14 ·
It's going to ultimately depend on the type of fishing you do. Big difference between thumping catfish on a lake and bait and wait surf fishing. Whether you fish in a lot of rock or not.
High surf takes it's toll too when your line is essentially getting pile driven into a shell bed.

Sometimes I have to wind up spooling off 20 feet of line because of abrasion wear.
But it's the type of fishing I do. The cost of Power Pro is minimal compared to what gets spent on the surf.
2 New reels for next year. 700 bucks when it's all said and done.
 
#16 ·
I used to fish mono exclusively but got tired of having to respool so often. Even when not doing a whole spool, splicing fresh mono to the super small memory coils of old mono from deep in the spool is a pain in the butt. I've moved on to fluoro which seems to last longer, but the problem is that its expensive. On my T-rig rod I have this experiment going: most of the reel's spool is 30# power pro as backing. And then the true line being used for fishing is enough for about 1.5 casting distances (just an eyeball estimate looking at the line in the reel) of fluoro. The idea was to eventually cut off that short amount of fluoro and put on a fresh 1.5 cast length, that way the spool of expensive fluoro lasts longer, and the braid should last forever. I got this idea from an Aaron Martens video. He claims the braid backing improves casting, but I don't know. Its definitely been a major cost saving for me.

I didn't get to fish near as much as I would like this year, so my experiment hasn't seen the kind of use I normally would have. I put that fluoro leader on at the beginning of the summer and still haven't changed it - and that's on the T-rig/pitching/wood rod. In October I caught a real nice 6-7 lb pond bass, using this setup.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top