# Bait Caster question



## Fish Sticks (Feb 28, 2014)

When using braid on bait casters what is the pros? Is Mono better? What is your preferred brand/type of line and lb test for baitcasters? I have 12lb suffix braid. I have a Daiwa Tatula


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## Jeffbro999#2 (Feb 17, 2014)

I've been using 30lb 832 on all my baitcasters and it works great. Very little dig in after a big fish and handles very well. In my experience the 30lb and 40lb cast better than the smaller lines. Line flows out smoother.


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## panhandleslim (Jan 11, 2013)

Great reel. I've used all weights and brands of braid on baitcasters. I like the Super Slick now.


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## Fish Sticks (Feb 28, 2014)

thanks for the input guys! where can you buy those brands at? would mono or what be better or am I doing it right with braid? :thumbup:


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## ThaFish (Feb 27, 2013)

If anyone tries to tell you that baitcasters don't "handle" braid well, or that they're suffering in casting distance because of switching to braid, or anything of that nature, they're either a.) Not good with a baitcaster in the first place, b.) Didn't spool their braid on correctly, or c.) Are just telling you things that they've heard from other people. 

I dont have a Tatula, but I have a dozen other baitcasters ranging from Quantum Energys, Abu Revos, to the Shimano Chronarch Ci4+. & a ton of round baitcasters on top of that too, including a number of Abu round reels ranging from the old school 90's BlackMax to a heavily modded 6600C4, to the Calcutta 400B & I have braid on almost all of them. Never had any issues. Sufix 832 is awesome, PowerPro Super Slick is great, & so is regular PowerPro. Most braids do the job & handle pretty well, even the insanely cheap stuff off of the bay.


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## Fish Sticks (Feb 28, 2014)

I think I may just have bad braid on. The first braid I have stuck on the reel was diamond Illusion which is really smooth line but for some reason some of the cast the line would snap randomly. Not from anything user error it would just all of the sudden. I am a big fan of suffix though and I might just try that then. Thanks. I really want to hook into a big one with a bait caster which I have yet been able to due unfortunately.


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## Jeffbro999#2 (Feb 17, 2014)

Dicks has a great sale price on 832 right now. Baitcasters handle the job of fighting big fish just fine. Just need to make sure you have enough line. This is where braid helps a lot. I mainly use a Chronarh Ci4 HG when fishing inshore and it has had no trouble catching many huge reds, jacks and striper. I moved totally away from spinning reels some time ago and couldn't be happier.


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## Tcheeks38 (Feb 11, 2013)

I also have a Type R Tatula and I love it. I don't use braid on it because the chances of untangling an accidental birds nest are much slimmer with braid. I used 165yds of 12lb P-line premium (never got spooled by big reds) when i was down there fishing the salt. Up here in Georgia I use 140yds of 15lb Seaguar Florocarbon and have pulled in a decent 6lb largemouth and a 12lb striped bass in the current at a dam while it was generating. My braid of choice on my spinners though is 15-20lb Power Pro super slick


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## Chris V (Oct 18, 2007)

Non coated braids will work best on baitcasters and prevent "stick" on the cast. My all time favorite is still Tuf Line XP


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## Fish Sticks (Feb 28, 2014)

Do you guys usually buy your braids from stores or online? If online what website?


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## Jeffbro999#2 (Feb 17, 2014)

Dicks, Academy for in store and TackleWarehouse online. No reason to buy online though unless you want to avoid tax or the store doesn't carry the line.


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## Fish Sticks (Feb 28, 2014)

Jeffbro999 said:


> Dicks, Academy for in store and TackleWarehouse online. No reason to buy online though unless you want to avoid tax or the store doesn't carry the line.


Shipping probably covers the tax huh? haha or is shipping free?


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## ThaFish (Feb 27, 2013)

If you wanna save a lot of money, buy on the Bay. Not sure why people are saying you won't save anything. The last time I bought braid I ordered a half a dozen spools of Super Slick for $13.99 a piece with free shipping. Last time I checked that's WAY cheaper than any store around. 

Or you can just get a job at a sporting goods store that sells 832 & get it for wholesale cost. That's why I have 832 on a bunch of reels as well.


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## Fish Sticks (Feb 28, 2014)

ThaFish said:


> If you wanna save a lot of money, but on the Bay. Not sure why people are saying you won't save anything. The last time I bought braid I ordered a half a dozen spools of Super Slick for $13.99 a piece with free shipping. Last time I checked that's WAY cheaper than any store around.
> 
> Or you can just get a job at a sporting goods store that sells 832 & get it for wholesale cost. That's why I have 832 on a bunch of reels as well.


I have applied at dicks, academy, gander mountain so much it is ridiculous but I just dont get a call back.


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## 49913 (Apr 18, 2014)

Fish Sticks said:


> When using braid on bait casters what is the pros? Is Mono better? What is your preferred brand/type of line and lb test for baitcasters? I have 12lb suffix braid. I have a Daiwa Tatula


 I use Power Pro 20# on my Lew's baitcasters. The 20 and 15 definitely casts farther and easier than the 30, at least for me, and I've never run into an Inshore Redfish that the 20 and a good baitcaster can't handle. I usually buy mine on ebay, and have had no problems, but my new favorite source is the big fall sale at Outcast. I cleaned up this year and should be easily good to go until next Fall.


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## Desert Eagle (Apr 25, 2012)

I use baitcasters exclusively for inshore applications. Both large round spool and low profile. Some very new and some very old. I use braid on ALL of then except a very old round spool Abu Garcia 6000C/USA in gold. That particular reel with an elongated level wind mechanism causes the braid to hang up in the worm gear because of line "flap" during the cast. I use 30 & 50 lb braid and Sufix 832 Superline is best for me and I purchase that line in 300 yd spools from Bass Pro in Destin. The larger braid (50#) provides better line management IN CASE OF A BACKLASH! It untangles better than the smaller size. I purchase 300 yd spools since I own a 60 Series Abu Garcia Revo NaCl (salt) and that's a low profile that will take practically the entire spool. I also use Power Pro braid. I use Sufix Elite mono in 17-20# where I can't use braid.


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## Jeffbro999#2 (Feb 17, 2014)

ThaFish said:


> If you wanna save a lot of money, but on the Bay. Not sure why people are saying you won't save anything. The last time I bought braid I ordered a half a dozen spools of Super Slick for $13.99 a piece with free shipping. Last time I checked that's WAY cheaper than any store around.
> 
> Or you can just get a job at a sporting goods store that sells 832 & get it for wholesale cost. That's why I have 832 on a bunch of reels as well.


Just left Dicks and the 832 was on sale for $14.99 plus an additional 20% off for 150yds. 300yds was $29.99 plus 20% off. Don't think you can find it cheaper than that anywhere. Plus you don't wait on it to ship.


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## ThaFish (Feb 27, 2013)

Jeffbro999 said:


> Just left Dicks and the 832 was on sale for $14.99 plus an additional 20% off for 150yds. 300yds was $29.99 plus 20% off. Don't think you can find it cheaper than that anywhere. Plus you don't wait on it to ship.


Yup, that's a killer deal!


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## Jeffbro999#2 (Feb 17, 2014)

Fish Sticks said:


> Shipping probably covers the tax huh? haha or is shipping free?


Most places do free shipping if you spend more than $40-$50. Less than that is usually around $6 on average. Cheaper to pay $1 or so in tax for sure.


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## jcallaham (Dec 13, 2009)

ThaFish said:


> If anyone tries to tell you that baitcasters don't "handle" braid well, or that they're suffering in casting distance because of switching to braid, or anything of that nature, they're either a.) Not good with a baitcaster in the first place, b.) Didn't spool their braid on correctly, or c.) Are just telling you things that they've heard from other people.
> 
> I dont have a Tatula, but I have a dozen other baitcasters ranging from Quantum Energys, Abu Revos, to the Shimano Chronarch Ci4+. & a ton of round baitcasters on top of that too, including a number of Abu round reels ranging from the old school 90's BlackMax to a heavily modded 6600C4, to the Calcutta 400B & I have braid on almost all of them. Never had any issues. Sufix 832 is awesome, PowerPro Super Slick is great, & so is regular PowerPro. Most braids do the job & handle pretty well, even the insanely cheap stuff off of the bay.


you are correct when talking about the type of fishing you do. a short cast from a boat or a drop from a pier. take one of those reels put it on a powerful 12'ft rod and try to launch a 4oz weight into deep water from the beach you will probably see things a little differently. the thing that got me away from baitcasters and braid was the fact that 30lb test was necessary to keep the line under control. does not make sense when I am fishing for a 2lb fish, pomps. sure I might hook a red fish once in while, but they are just an over grown croaker ,do not need 30lb test for that.


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## ThaFish (Feb 27, 2013)

jcallaham said:


> you are correct when talking about the type of fishing you do. a short cast from a boat or *a drop from a pier*. take one of those reels put it on a powerful 12'ft rod and try to launch a 4oz weight into deep water from the beach you will probably see things a little differently. the thing that got me away from baitcasters and braid was the fact that 30lb test was necessary to keep the line under control. does not make sense when I am fishing for a 2lb fish, pomps. sure I might hook a red fish once in while, but they are just an over grown croaker ,do not need 30lb test for that.


I don't mean any disrespect, but I think it's worth noting that I don't do any "dropping" from any piers. The only pier I fish is Sykes. It's a 20 yard cast to the light strip & I generally try to place my lure (or my bottom rig, depending on how I'm fishing at the time) a minimum of 10 to 15 yards out into it. It's also 15ish feet above the water, so it's a lot different from just dropping baits. 

I also use braid on my Abu 7000C3i & on my Calcutta 400B, both of which I use for surf casting. 

It doesn't matter though, you are correct in saying that mono is more manageable when distance-casting with baitcasters in the surf.


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## TeaSea (Sep 28, 2013)

The only beef I have with braid is the knot to the fluoro or mono leader thumping through the guides when I cast


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## Desert Eagle (Apr 25, 2012)

I'll get slaughtered with this, but I DON'T USE ANY TYPE OF LEADER MATERIAL, unless I'm targeting Kings, etc. Leaders create more work and generate more weak points. Having said that - I'm certain that those who use leaders catch much MORE fish than I.


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## Pompano Joe (Jan 28, 2009)

Great thread Fish Sticks! Got some of my saltwater heros to respond.

The big "pros" with braid are line memory and line capacity. No line memory means the line comes off the spool easier for potentially longer casts. I was a big braid user when I fished spinning reels in the surf for that reason. 

I prefer mono on baitcasters for the reasons jcallahan mentioned above, but wind 100 yards of braid on bottom (as jim taught me) to increase line capacity on smaller reels. I guess it comes down to personal preference. But when your chunkin' lead from the beach, all it takes is a thumb slip to destroy a spool of braid. Same happens with mono, but it's a little easier to salvage.


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## 49913 (Apr 18, 2014)

*J Knot*



TeaSea said:


> The only beef I have with braid is the knot to the fluoro or mono leader thumping through the guides when I cast


 Know what you mean. If you haven't tried it, give this knot a try. Very strong knot and the thump is much less obnoxious.
http://www.netknots.com/fishing_knots/j-knot/


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## Ocean Master (May 20, 2008)

I'm just learning and still can't cast comfortably to use everyday. I was told to pull out the line needed for what I'm casting and put a piece of tape on the spool. That way when I have a birds nets as I do it's easy to get out.


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