# Line capacity



## Natr (Feb 17, 2016)

Over spring break, I'm lookin to catch some Kings and maybe some cobia, will 260 yards of 12 pound test be enough, or should I out on around 300 yards of 25# braid?


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## goheel (Feb 3, 2011)

I would go with at least 20 lb line.


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## Natr (Feb 17, 2016)

goheel said:


> I would go with at least 20 lb line.


How many yards of line do I need though?


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## ThaFish (Feb 27, 2013)

Good luck finding 25# braid. You'd have to buy PE rated JDM line to get 25#ish test.


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## Natr (Feb 17, 2016)

I bought some from KastKing on Amazon


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## Hopin4aboat (Jul 5, 2009)

300yrds of 15 mono


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## reelthrill (Oct 3, 2007)

If your fishing from the pier, then 15-17 mono for kings and 25-30 mono for cobia, or 40-50 braid for cobia.


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## Natr (Feb 17, 2016)

So will around 300 yards be enough for both?


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## reelthrill (Oct 3, 2007)

Natr said:


> So will around 300 yards be enough for both?


Yes


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## weedline (Aug 20, 2011)

12 to 15 will be fine for kings if u have 250 to 300 yards mono works better off the pier as far as cobia u want a different rod stiffer holding 250 to 300 yards of 30 to 50 lb braid or 25 to 30 lb mono and dont forget a light rod holding 200 yds of 10 to 12 braid or mono for bait spanish or pompano if u only have 1 big reel use 15 and fish for kings it will land a cobia just hard to cast a jig with 15 or 20


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## FreeDiver (Jun 12, 2013)

15-17 mono.... Works wonders, don't use braid for kings, it can make free spooling difficult


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## Natr (Feb 17, 2016)

What do you mean by "free spooling"?


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## fairpoint (May 9, 2013)

You free spool a fish to let it have enough line to eat and swallow your bait, open a bail,or taken the line off of a manual bail,when you think he has gotten it down deep enough ,you close the bail/put the line on the roller and start setting the hook....
Sounds easy don't it,BUT what happens is while you are working/snobbling your bait with a tight line,then a 30lb king grabs your bait at around 20-25 mph the line gets real tight and to be able to freespool gets tricky,if your finger should get caught in the line during this period it can cut the hell out of it,with mono it can be bad,with braid it can cut you to the bone instantly....


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## Natr (Feb 17, 2016)

fairpoint said:


> You free spool a fish to let it have enough line to eat and swallow your bait, open a bail,or taken the line off of a manual bail,when you think he has gotten it down deep enough ,you close the bail/put the line on the roller and start setting the hook....
> Sounds easy don't it,BUT what happens is while you are working/snobbling your bait with a tight line,then a 30lb king grabs your bait at around 20-25 mph the line gets real tight and to be able to freespool gets tricky,if your finger should get caught in the line during this period it can cut the hell out of it,with mono it can be bad,with braid it can cut you to the bone instantly....


Ouch! That sounds painful. But my only choices are 240 yards of 12# mono (which is the full capacity) or around 300 yards of braid because the diameter is smaller. I guess the question is how much is a king worth to me.


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## reelthrill (Oct 3, 2007)

If you only have one reel and are going to be here for a short period of time then I would go with 20 mono or 30 braid. If you hang a king with braid, make sure you have a very loose drag. 20 mono is a little on the high side for kings but will work fine. It is also strong enough to land a cobia.


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## NKlamerus (Jan 4, 2016)

Why not both? I would absolutely never run a full run of braid to a wire leader. The braid doesn't have any stretch and won't allow the fish to shake without rippng the hook out of its jaw, the only way to combat that is a really lite action rod. 

OR you could run braid backing, with a 100 yards of mono top shot to the leader. Mono allows stretch (and floats) and the braid gives you all the distance you need. Plus since it's backing you can get away with using lower quality brands. I'd run 20 pound braid, 15/20/30 mono depending on situation, and then the leader. 

If your worried about knot failure in the middle, you need to learn better knots lol


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## NKlamerus (Jan 4, 2016)

ThaFish said:


> Good luck finding 25# braid. You'd have to buy PE rated JDM line to get 25#ish test.


You could always choose 50# Seagaur Kanzen braid, that stuff breaks at half what it's rated for


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## Natr (Feb 17, 2016)

NKlamerus said:


> Why not both? I would absolutely never run a full run of braid to a wire leader. The braid doesn't have any stretch and won't allow the fish to shake without rippng the hook out of its jaw, the only way to combat that is a really lite action rod.
> 
> OR you could run braid backing, with a 100 yards of mono top shot to the leader. Mono allows stretch (and floats) and the braid gives you all the distance you need. Plus since it's backing you can get away with using lower quality brands. I'd run 20 pound mono, 15/20/30 mono depending on situation, and then the leader.
> 
> If your worried about knot failure in the middle, you need to learn better knots lol


I like your idea alot. You get the best of both worlds (capacity and the benefits of mono). I usually tie a double uni-knot when connecting both of the lines.


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## kingfish501 (Oct 7, 2007)

Everyone keeps telling you to upsize your line, go to 30# braid,etc.

What size and weight rod will you be using? Rigging the reel for cobia is a waste of time if you are toting a 7' rod rated for 8-12 pound test.


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## NKlamerus (Jan 4, 2016)

Natr said:


> I like your idea alot. You get the best of both worlds (capacity and the benefits of mono). I usually tie a double uni-knot when connecting both of the lines.


That's exactly what I tie with flouro leaders to braid, usually the flouro snaps mid leader before the knot will.


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## reelthrill (Oct 3, 2007)

Im certainly not trying to be negative here, but if you have very little cobia experience off the piers on our Gulf Coast, then I would concentrate more on catching king mackerel. I have pier fished for cobia for over 40 years and 98% of the cobia are caught by 2% of the fishermen. I do wish you the best though.


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## weedline (Aug 20, 2011)

reelthrill said:


> Im certainly not trying to be negative here, but if you have very little cobia experience off the piers on our Gulf Coast, then I would concentrate more on catching king mackerel. I have pier fished for cobia for over 40 years and 98% of the cobia are caught by 2% of the fishermen. I do wish you the best though.


i agree u are more likely to get lucky and have a cobia pick up your king bait than fighting with the regulars sight fishing


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## welldoya (Oct 5, 2007)

What rod and reel are you using? Sounds like maybe you need a bigger one so you won't be so limited.


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## weedline (Aug 20, 2011)

he probobly does but i need a bigger boat larger house and a new truck to do what i want but i make due with what i have u cant always drop 300 on a nice rod and reel for a week i say load it up with the most yards u can braid mono or both bring a few smaller rods 8 to 10 lb setups just go fishing worst case u hook a giant u cant handle and remember it for years


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## Natr (Feb 17, 2016)

I have this

Okuma ABF-40 Avenger Baitfeeder Spinning Reel (10lb/290yd) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000LGEYMI/ref=cm_sw_r_other_awd_EBq1wb3YTGH4Q

I did my research with this reel and didn't want overkill with the size of the reel. I am kind of regretting that at this point. It has 14 pounds of drag. I have it on a 7 foot medium-heavy action ugly stik. It is a baitfeeder and that is always nice for fishing the surf.


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## kingfish501 (Oct 7, 2007)

If it was an Ugly Stick Tiger rod, I'd say you were in business for a king....but if it has the standard soft Ugly Stick tip, you might want to think of Spanish fishing. Hard to get a good hookset on a king with the soft tip.....and a cobia has enough haw strength to nd a cobia jig in its lips and not get hooked on some hooksets .


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## kingfish501 (Oct 7, 2007)

There is a guy in the tackle for sale that has a Penn 8500SS on a cobia rod at a good price. Big enough rig for kings and cobia.


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## Natr (Feb 17, 2016)

It is the tiger rod


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## kingfish501 (Oct 7, 2007)

Decent rod for kings, but don't throw cobia jigs with it.


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## BeachinSharks (Jan 15, 2016)

I pack on 550 yrds of 65 braid on my 8000 size reel and never have had a problem and it fishes great. Cobia, tarpon, and kings.


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## andrewsa43 (Mar 1, 2015)

I would also say if you are not real experienced with pier fishing you should stick with mono. Braid can make a mess (and enemies) on a pretty very fast. Although I think you could hey away with mono backing in order to up your line yardage.


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## andrewsa43 (Mar 1, 2015)

Braid backing


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## Fish_On (Feb 7, 2015)

300 yards of 50lb super slick is what i use.. On top of 30 lb mono backing (enough to fill spool once 300 yards of braid is applied)


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## MrFish (Aug 21, 2009)

Fish_On said:


> 300lbs of 50lb super slick is what i use


That's a BIG reel....


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## Fish_On (Feb 7, 2015)

Not really
I prefer at vs200


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## tp.hodgins (Mar 7, 2016)

Fish_On said:


> 300lbs of 50lb super slick is what i use


Same here but I use 470 yards of power pro super slick

Sent from my SM-T330NU using Tapatalk


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## kingfish501 (Oct 7, 2007)

Fish On.......what he was getting is that a VS will not hold 300 pounds of any size braid.


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## FreeDiver (Jun 12, 2013)

Man o man....


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## T-Boy (Jun 15, 2009)

weedline said:


> i agree u are more likely to get lucky and have a cobia pick up your king bait than fighting with the regulars sight fishing


Times 2 on this. Rig you at least 250 yards on 15 to 20lb test mono and fish for kings. Been on the pier for spring fishing for about 10 years now and have been the first to spot a cobia about 3 times. I got to where I didn't even bring my cobia rod the last few years. If I get him on my king rod fine.

Just saw you have a 40 size Okuma. I would change that to 15lb braid and you will be lucky to get 200 yards on it. Still can catch a small king and spanish


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## Fish_On (Feb 7, 2015)

kingfish501 said:


> Fish On.......what he was getting is that a VS will not hold 300 pounds of any size braid.


I just read what I posted I'm dying laughing right now... 

A LITTLE COMMON SENSE GUYS
Obbbbviously I meant 300 yards of 50lb super slick not 300 lbs of 50lb super-slick ,,, oh I'm dying... Man I goofed that post up lmao... Damn u autocorrect, damn u to the darkest depths of the sea


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## Fish_On (Feb 7, 2015)

P.S.

Is that a white whale ?? Move AHAB, " F I R S T S H O T !!! "


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## FreeDiver (Jun 12, 2013)

Kill everything that swims! 


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## kingfish501 (Oct 7, 2007)

Fish, we knew what you meant.....but that was too good to pass up.


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