What type of line for spinning reel?

[jerseygeorge]

Friends-
Santa brought me a nice saltwater travel spinning rod to use on my many trips to the carribbean. I am going to put 10 or 12 pound test on it. Any recommendations regarding Mono, Fluoro, Spiderwire? I have not owned a spinning reel in a long time and have no idea what the best line is.

Thanks,
JG

 

[Fishidiot]

I'd keep it simple and put 12# mono (it's what I use for FL flats).
I don't like braid on spin reels for a host of reasons - one of which is their tendency to cut skin. If you haven't spin fished in awhile, a bonefish hooked with braid can be dangerous. I've seen people get skin carved in chunks out of their arm by running fish with braid.

 

[daman1277]

I used to be a big fan of braid but after getting snagged so many times and having to cut the line I went to either full flourocarbon on the reel or braid with about 18" of flourocarbon leader. Don't get me wrong I still love braid I mean heck with 10lb test braid I pulled up a 10 foot long log I was snagged on on the bottom. But doing that ruins the eyes since braid actually is strong enough to start to cut into your eyelets. So if you are going to be fishing areas where you may get snagged or fight a fish longer then 15 minutes I would go with flourocarbon. It can take a beating, has more stretch then braid but less the mono. Also doesn't damage eyelets and is smaller diameter then mono and has a lot less line memory then mono.

 

[SBecker]

I would use Seaguar fluorocarbon Tatsu. It is pricey, but is the best of the best.

 

[Tiltaxp]

Id go with a copolymer... Less memory, smooth casting... Tie in a flouro tippet/shock leader if needed

 

[pete41]

As a saltwater spinning type[live in fl.] i honestly believe that Sufix 832 advanced Superline is unquestionably state of the art for inshore fishing.
I use the 10 pd test which has the dia. 4 pd mono.this will give you about 25 % more distance than 10 mono..Important in shallow water fishing.
I use a 8ft 20 pd flouracarbon leader.
trick with braid is-assuming you are right handed-close bail with left hand after cast,then take your fingers of left hand to pull any slack from reel.Then raise rod tip to remove slack from line.Takes a while to learn to use braid correctly but once you do-its far superior.
Also don't have the drag quite as tight as there is no stretch in braid.
Don't try to save money on the braid as the 8 braided fiber is far better than the cheaper 4 braid.

 

[jerseygeorge]

Five answers, five opinions. Pretty much what I expected...

Thanks all. Also, in any situation where a leader is required, ie braid to mono of fluoro connection, is there any problem with casting and having the connection knot pass through the guides?

 

[pete41]

no-absolutely flawless-as I mentioned I use a leader longer than rod .
The knots are the tricky part-but if you use the one suggested by braid company,very small,smooth and tough knot-Forget all the mono to mono ones-won't hold.
Albright with lock[my favorite] or double uni-knot.

 

[sandfly]

I've used Ande clear on my spinning rods for years. used to be able to buy spools for 5 bucks at wally world. I still have spools from 7 years ago I still use. also makes great saltwater fly leaders..

 

[pcray1231]

I'm with Tiltax on this one. I still use spinning reels occasionally and line makes a HUGE difference. All of the ones I love are copolymers. Tectan was a very good line but I'm not sure if you can still get it. Silver Thread is excellent and you can get that from the more serious outdoor retailers. They put the Walmart brands (Stren, Berkely) to shame, we're talking casting like twice as far here, though those brands do have some variants "castability" or "extra limp" versions which might be decent.

I know it's not supposed to twist when you put it on the reel, but mine always is, and that leads to loops coming off. Don't fill it totally full, and after your done, find a field, open the bail, and run the line out. When you bring it back in, run it through your fingers, and you'll get any twists out. It helps if you do that every couple of outings too, especially if your using any sort of baitfish which tend to twist the line on retrieve.

That said, my experience has been mostly trout fishing in fresh water, so we're talking 4 or 6 lb test, and I'm not sure if salt may degrade certain materials more than others. And copolymers and mono's abrade/cut easier than fluoro, which might be a concern on toothier critters. Can always go with a leader of something else.

 

[pete41]

The bottom line is if people are doing serious amounts of inshore fishing with spinning gear nothing comes close to braid[with a leader] but it takes getting use to so the casual spinner better of with mono or co-pol... .
Braid has become so dominate its knocked most of the competition off the market.
Most of whats left is what Pat calls Walmart stuff.

 

[gulfgreyhound]

Mono is my choice. Sufix ,ande, or Momoi and flouro leaders.if you use braid I'd use a small swivel between the line and ledader. Spro makes good ones,IMO.Mono is probably more forgiving than braid if you screw up casting it and less of a hastle cutting and working with knot wise.imo GG

 

[gulfgreyhound]

Mono is my choice. Sufix ,ande, or Momoi and flouro leaders.if you use braid I'd use a small swivel between the line and ledader. Spro makes good ones,IMO.Mono is probably more forgiving than braid if you screw up casting it and less of a hastle cutting and working with knot wise.imo GG