Need Help - loading an Intl 20 (older model) w/line

[Barometric]

I have about 200 ft of 200lb powepro, and i was told to load the reel halfway with mono, then top off with the powerpro. The PP is 50lb diameter.

Question: should i load it with 20, 30, 50 lb mono, does it matter? Also, is this size powerpro too heavy? I'll mainly be using for trolling and dropping down for grouper. Any help is appreciated - Baro

[John_Madison CT]

200lb PPro is way too heavy for that reel, but it would work if that's all you have. You'll never need line that heavy with the drag capacity of a Penn 20.

[fatcat14]

I'd use the 200lb for backing and then put 60lb on top of that. If you plan to primarily troll, I would stick with mono. It's very easy to lose a finger trolling with braid. We only use braid on the down lines. I have heard stories about braid wrapped around a finger and a fish hits the line. If you intend to use it for bottom fishing I would think about getting something with more drag. Penn baja, avet, tyrnos. When using braid to live bait it tangles easily.

good luck

[Prop Blast]

Barometric,

You might want to rethink things -- or at least how you want to use the reel. Bottomfishing and trolling are two completely different things. It really requires a reel to be set up differently.

Bottomfishing with braid is okay; especially if the water is deep and/or there is a current. The thinner diameter of braid will help get your bait down and minimize the stretch factor in deep water that you'd get with mono. In that case, fill the reel 1/2 way with 30lb mono and top it off with 80lbs, no more than 100lbs braid.
Why the lighter braid? Because 80lb braid has the equivalent diameter of 20lb mono, 200lbs braid has the equivalent of about 50lb, which mitigates the braid's advantage to deal with the depth/current problem.

For trolling, braid's advantage comes from increased line capacity for a given reel and line test. The "downside" is braid's lack of stretch -- braid just doesn't have enough. When you're trolling at 7-10 knots and a fish hits your bait/lure at 10-20knots, WHAAAM, the lack of stretch is going to result in a lot of pulled hooks.
In this situation, fill the reel with 80lbs braid 1/2 way and then use 30lbs mono the remainder. That mono is between the reel and the lure and provides the "give". Just make sure to initially wrap 30-50yds of mono around the spool's shaft to keep the braid from slipping.

I wouldn't use PP for this. PP has a coating that comes off rather quickly and gets inside a reel's inner working and can gum it up (especially on conventional reels). The best braid I've found for reel backing is Jerry Brown's Line One Spectra. It's not coated.

Tightlines,

PB

[Barometric]

hmmm....interesting feedback, thanks much. Hows about this - i just load the entire reel with 20lb mono (red cajun fire)? That way i can just it for trolling and grouper digging, and not use the 200lb pp for anything, maybe leader line?

[Barometric]

btw - if i do load it w/mono, the correct knot to tie it to the spool is an arbor knot, correct?