Braided line provides anglers with a very direct connection to the fish. No stretch, high strength and small diameter are just a few of the qualities it provides. This quality, however, comes at a price, and for some premium braided lines, those prices can be very high.
I want to help you save your money with a tip that works very well for me. It’s simple, never fill your spool completely with braided line. Build a foundation of a less expensive monofilament and fill the remaining portion of the spool with your expensive braid.
Fill about 1/3 of your spool with your foundation line. Now attach your braid to the mono with a quality Albright Special knot and check and double-check this knot before continuing on to fill the spool. Now fill the remaining portion of the spool with the braid.
Here, I’m spooling up a Penn Fierce II 3000 with 30 lb. test Power Pro braid, using 15 lb. Berkley Big Game mono for the foundation. Big Game is a quality mono and buying in bulk I save, and I use it for plenty of other fishing applications. Choose a line size for your foundation that is no more than twice in size to the diameter of the braid you’re using.
This Penn 3000 reel holds 130 yards of 30 lb. braid, but using this foundation, I actually loaded about 100 yards. I’ll be casting a lot of top-water plugs with this outfit but I will probably troll for kings with it too. In the event I hook a big fish, I’m confident my foundation knot will hold if tested. This was a small savings on a small reel but using many reels big and small, my savings become significant.
As a guide, I use a lot of line so I buy in bulk…this is an additional way to save if you’re an avid fisherman. I’ve found that when I buy small spools, I end up with 25- to 50-yards left over and wasted.
~ CAPT. RANDY CNOTA