30 lb braided main line suggestion...???

[OG_ZILLION]

Right now...I am using 40 lb braid as a main line and than I tie a 6-10' leader of fluoro for my Jigs and Texas rigs.

I have heard and seen some guys using 30 lb braid as a main line with a leader and have NO PROBLEMS. BUT...

On the other hand...thinner braids are notorious for digging in the spool and I have also heard of guys BREAKING 30 lb braid and therefore will upgrade to 40-50 lb after experiencing a break off or to minimize line digging.

I am CONFUSED, CURIOUS and SCARED all at the same time.

I have NOT broken the 40 that I am using now. BUT...I do want to experiment and downgrade to 30 lb braid as its thinner and I believe will give me that extra bit of distance/finesse and confidence. The thing is...I am scared I might break the 30. I have a pretty aggressive hookset style/technique.

Note: I use 7.1 Daiwa Zillions for my jigs and texas rigs with medium heavy to heavy fast action rods.

So...:

1. Does anyone have problems with 30? Break offs on fish?
2. How do you guys fish 30 without line digging issues?
3. Use lighter/softer hooksets to avoid break offs right?

Thanks for the help guys.

[cndbasshunter]

my main casting line is 20-30lb sx1 braid, for bottom contact / pitching i use 50lb fx2.

[angry john]

I use 20 most of the time, and dont have a lot of issues. I use a 15 or 20 lb leader the same length of the rod. Depending on the reel you can do a PE special upgrade and increase the rate of travel on the worm drive. I use a pixy level wind on my sol for just this reason. We dont have giants here biggest fish about 10lb or less. If i were in an area with huge bass i would up my line size.

[africanbass]

30lb Sufix performance is hard to beat.As with most slick low diameter lines you will always get a degree of 'dig in' after setting the hook/fighting a fish.
Just remember to ease off the cast following the strike/battle.Peel off a couple of yards once the 'dig in ' is removed and you are good to go.If this becomes hard work,you are setting the hook too much or catching too many fish
Ease your drag off a tad just to absorb the initial shock of the strike,you can always button it down if you need to move a fish in a hurry.

[angry john]

,you are setting the hook too much or catching too many fish

Still working on having a problem like this!!!!!!

[OG_ZILLION]

Thanks for the input guys. Will give the 30 lb braid a run for its money as a braided main line. Will tell you guys how it goes and if i like it or hate it and my reviews. Will probably go 30 lb samurai or sufix performance.

[steve1206]

Barring unknown nicks, cuts, or abrasions up the mainline, your leader/knot SHOULD break before your mainline....just a sidebar

[LAGVPI99]

I've not had any break off problems with 20 or 30 PP with a leader.

I do use 50 most of the time when throwing into heavier cover.

I would not be afraid to use 30lb except in really short-line situations like flipping with a long and really stout rod.

[cst]

I've never snapped off the 30lb main line while using a leader in that 6-8' range. I have, however snapped off when tying straight 30lb and fishing in rocks. Rocks are sharp and spectra is thin I guess.

For hooksets, just do whatever works for you. With the setup you're using, you can use a softer hookset but I'm not really sure it's necessary. I would just fish normally and adjust as necessary. If you're snapping off or bending hooks when setting, then go a little bit easier.

I have used 4 different braid and leader combinations over the last few years.

65 w/ 30
50 w/ 20 - These reels get the most mileage but there's not much finesse involved
30 w/ 12-15 - I had a Sol and Curado 50 with the 30lb. I ended up stripping the Sol and switching it out with mono. Now I rarely use the Sol. The Curado 50 still has the spectra but doesn't get much use. I think I just don't like how the Curado fishes. I'm really not seeing much of a benefit of fishing spectra on reels of this size other than being able to switch between mono and fluoro without respooling. I usually end up fishing an Alphas with 10lb fluoro now.
10 w/8 - I had this on a Stradic Ci4 2500. The line was Suffix 832. I fished it for two years and hated it. The line just wouldn't cast far. Eventually I switched to 6lb Tatsu and it's so much nicer to fish this combo now. I feel like I get more bites with the 6lb fluoro too (absolutely no way to know for sure though).

I've never had major issues with line digging in. The 10lb on the spinning reel didn't give me any problems but I fish that with a light drag. I can't recall ever having the 30lb dig in either. Both of those are the Sufix 832, btw. For the 50lb setups, I've had a couple of dig-ins with the Samurai but it's never been an issue for me. I pull on a snag, the line digs in, and I just take out a few yards, reel it back in and I'm good to go.

If you're fishing a light drag, you shouldn't have a problem with dig ins. If you're fishing with a locked down drag, then having the line dig in during a fish shouldn't be an issue since you're rushing it to the boat anyway.

[Silas]

I use 20 most of the time, and dont have a lot of issues. I use a 15 or 20 lb leader the same length of the rod. Depending on the reel you can do a PE special upgrade and increase the rate of travel on the worm drive. I use a pixy level wind on my sol for just this reason. We dont have giants here biggest fish about 10lb or less. If i were in an area with huge bass i would up my line size.

Well, I learned something here! THAT might be the reason that my Daiwa SOL has line digging problems with 20# Fireline Tracer Braid, and I have NO such problem with my 2 Pixies.

Maybe I should just get the PE upgrade on the SOL!!

Thanks, Angry!!

[cndbasshunter]

i did the same to my alphas ito and no problems with the 6.8:1 gear ratio and braid.

[basskeeter1]

I use 20 most of the time, and dont have a lot of issues. I use a 15 or 20 lb leader the same length of the rod. Depending on the reel you can do a PE special upgrade and increase the rate of travel on the worm drive. I use a pixy level wind on my sol for just this reason. We dont have giants here biggest fish about 10lb or less. If i were in an area with huge bass i would up my line size.

X2

[Chode]

I've been use sufix 832 in 30lb test exclusively for a while and I've had no issues whatsoever. Hope this will ease ur fears

[BucketHunter]

Thanks for the input guys. Will give the 30 lb braid a run for its money as a braided main line. Will tell you guys how it goes and if i like it or hate it and my reviews. Will probably go 30 lb samurai or sufix performance.

Unless your leader is above the 20 lb class anyways, you aren't going to break 30lb before the leader.
The only issue I have found is that sometimes really thin braid can dig in and cut your connection knots, but this hasn't been an issue since I switched to an Albright, and that was really thin micro lines and light lb test mono/flouro.
It would cut the mono right at the connection, bringing me back my knot.

[fishingandfords]

I use a lot of 30# braid for main line and never have issues , I use pro and samurai but did have problem with sun line sx1