# Power Pro: Most Frustrating Line Ever



## GoVols (Jun 18, 2008)

After reading tons of great reviews and watching Joe Wejebe and every other modern day salt water fishing pro use Power Pro, I decided to get some 20 lb Power Pro for my spinning reel.

Within one hour I was ripping it off my reel and replacing it with 12 lb Berkley Trilene mono. I did all the research and spooled the Power Pro on my spinning reel nice and tight. I did not over spool the reel, the line was a bit under the rim of the barrel. 

This evening I decided to test it out here in TN on a completely calm evening with no wind. I hooked up a spoon and a leader just like I normally use in the surf for lady fish. I have a Penn Sargus 4000 reel and an Intercoastal 6' 6" Ugly Stik.

I was having to fix knots in my line after every three casts. Several times I had to cut the line and re tie. I retrieve a spoon just like a jerk bait for bass in freshwater. 

My conclusion is this is good stuff if you are casting it out and letting the bait sit on the bottom and reeling in a fish, but this stuff sucks if you are doing a lot of casting and using a varied retrieve and lots of rod movement.

Can somebody explain how a line that is so frustrating be so great?? I want to fish, not fix knots and cut line.


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## ZombieKiller (Jul 26, 2010)

I have no beef with PowerPro, but I'm a Suffix Braid man, myself. I love it...have never had any troubles with it, regardless of the application I was using it for.


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## GoVols (Jun 18, 2008)

I've done some reading since I posted this and some folks do not recommend using braid when fishing top water. I work a spoon very similar to top water. I'm wondering if the reason they recommend to not work topwater with braid is cause the twitching action leaves too many slack points in the spool.


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## FenderBender (Oct 2, 2007)

I use it on my spinning reels when throwing poppers and haven't had any trouble with it. How close would you say the line was to the rim of the barrel? I leave quite a bit, and never have knots.


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## GoVols (Jun 18, 2008)

FenderBender said:


> I use it on my spinning reels when throwing poppers and haven't had any trouble with it. How close would you say the line was to the rim of the barrel? I leave quite a bit, and never have knots.


Maybe a 1/16th"


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## FenderBender (Oct 2, 2007)

Leave 1/8" or maybe even 3/16" gap if you are willing to try it again, and I doubt you will have any problems. Any wasted space you feel you may have by not filling the spool completely is negated by the increased line you get by smaller diameter vs mono. Plus no stretch and being able to feel every nibble or movement of your line is a big bonus.


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## FenderBender (Oct 2, 2007)

Also, did you have any mono backing at all on your reel? Believe it or not, the line could all be slipping on the spool as you reel. If you do it again, leave some of your Berkley Trilene mono on the reel and join the power pro to it with a back to back uni knot. That way it's guaranteed not to slip. My gut feeling is that your spool was just a little too full, though.


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## GENTLE WOLF (Aug 19, 2009)

I use braid on all my inshore reels. I fish almost exclusively with artificials. Make sure to use a swivel, I tie a swivel between the braid and a length of flouro before tying on whatever lure I am using. Don't give up on it, you'll probably like it once you get the kinks worked out.


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## Brandonshobie (Aug 10, 2009)

I never have any problems with power pro. You do always need to put mono backing for it and I usally have a shop spool it on for me. Try using 30lb power pro the line is 8lbs dia and it is thicker so you don't get alot of wind knots or to many knots at all. To me 30 pounds seems the ideal size.


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## captainblack (Jul 4, 2010)

doing alot of casting on a spinning reel ive had some problems before with 20# and under, but ive ran 20# on a smaller thumb burner and it worked great but i kept a little thumb pressure while reeling in so no slack got on the line. i will say i agree about it being better for bottom fishing with natural bait, just my opinion though. but when fishing on the bottom i love the stuff, when fishing lures especially topwater i still prefer mono honestly


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## a (Oct 2, 2007)

Yada, yada, braid= too much trouble, i use mono inshore....


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## GoVols (Jun 18, 2008)

I forgot to mention but I did back the spool up with mono before spooling on the Power Pro. I will do another test run this evening with some 30 lb and try not to spool it too close to the rim of the barrel.


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## GoVols (Jun 18, 2008)

This was a PM sent from a fellow PFF member...it's got some good points.


I see you are having some problems with your braid situation. If you are willing to do things a little differently you may find that
braid is the best thing since sliced bread. But after so much frustration I can understand your hesitation to try again. I have been using braid for about 10 years now and every rod I have from my 4 year olds blue gill rod to my surf gear, inshore gear, bottom bumping and trolling gear all have braid (Power Pro) from 10 to 100 lbs. My 7year old son sometimes has problems while working artificials because of rod tip wrap but that is a technique issue we are working through. Other than that the problems that I have overcome are mostly rigging related. The number one key is to start each new spool with the correct backing. Mono is a great way to start, some people have suggested using a few wraps with a heavy rubber band, and most recently reel manufactures have started making spools with built in bubber seats so that you can just start with braid right off the bat. I have always used several yards of mono to cover the spool from top to bottom and a little more then a uni to uni knot and then start reeling the braid with a good amount of resistance. I believe that is key to not allowing any bunching or cinching. Some of the best discoveries come from experience. And as this is new to you there will be a lot of new experiences and "lights" turning on as you realize the benefits/pros/cons of using braid. As mentioned you can use 20 lb pp braid and it will have the same dia as 8lb mono. So the amount of line to fit on a spool is astronomical. There really is no need to fill too much. You could literally only fill an inshore spinning reel halfway and have years worth of line in differing situations. If you are spec/redfishing this is a loong time of line. If by chance you hook a Jack Cravelle or a tarpon and don't have good drag control you'll wish you had a full spool to chase him down. But a penn Sargus 4000 will fit 200 yards of 10 lb mono. That is roughly the same diameter as what, 30-50 lb braid? Thats a lot of line! In line choices a heavier line is easier to learn with, as 8 - 10 lb can create some knots for the less experienced, especially when working a top water like a top dog, that takes some practice but to me, by far superior to the old days of mono. In that you will feel every little bump and ready yourself for the next hit. My hook up ratio on top water vs mono is way up since I have used mono. Another point for me is NO swivels. I see some have suggested this already and it may work for them but I learned to do it with just a neatly trimmed uni/uni knot straight to like a 10 lb flouro creates no pendulum effect as you would have with the added weight of a swivel. PLUS I used to use a swivel with a spoon on mono because of line twist, man that was brutal if you didn't use one. But there is no line twist with braid, so actually no need for a swivel at all. 

So key points here are use a good tight backing, when initially spooling make sure you have good resistance to keep it on tight. When using topwaters no swivel needed. I do use one on my bottom bumping reel but that is really just as a transfer so I can tie on my mono leader and weights. A swivel there is great to keep the weight from getting too close to the hook.

If at some point you feel the line is loose on the spool you can get a cast with a heavy weight and just unload that reel with a loooong cast. Then pinch that line as you reel it all back in to create the desired line tension. Another way is, if on a boat, drop the un tied end on the line in the water while cruising, DO NOT GET IN PROP THIS WILL RUIN YOUR DAY, while running boat watch line till almost empty, then just simply reel it in using the pinch technique.

As you can see it does take a bit of practice to get it down but hopefully you have cut the learning curve some. This stuff works great for me and going back to mono would be like going back to dial up. Good luck with it.


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## Inn Deep (Oct 3, 2007)

The pm you recived was awesome!! Sounds like the sender knew his business. But more importantly he took a huge amount of time explaining / teaching some valuable information. I love it that there are some really good people here that are willing to take the time to share thier knowlege with others. High 5's to whomever spent that amout of time to help you that much!!!


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## GoVols (Jun 18, 2008)

I'm giving Power Pro another try today. I stopped by my local Academy Sports and had a guy I trust spool me up on the line spooling machine. He got it nice and tight and did not over fill it. We put the tape that comes with the line on the spool before filling it up. He recommended I try not to cast too hard.


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