# What line color?



## Teamgafftop13 (Mar 6, 2011)

So my new Daiwa sl30sh should be in the mail tomorrow, plan on loading her up with 20lb berkley big game for reds/jacks/small-medium sharks etc. now I just have to decide what line color I want (I use clear shock and leaders, so no worries about spookin fish. What do y'all think? High vis green, and electric blue had crossed my mind...


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## JOHNNYREB (Apr 20, 2006)

From the surf ? Personally, ive never seen a reason to use anything other then clear/dark green line. Just my .02


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## surfguy (May 17, 2011)

JOHNNYREB said:


> From the surf ? Personally, ive never seen a reason to use anything other then clear/dark green line. Just my .02


X2 clear on the mono topshot. I use hi vis yellow on my braid backing.


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## Teamgafftop13 (Mar 6, 2011)

It will see time on the surf, the pier and possibly the jetty, I was thinking high vis because I do occasionally fish at night and I enjoy having the extra visibility


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## lpminkaty (May 31, 2012)

I have all ways use green and I like it a lot


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## surfguy (May 17, 2011)

Teamgafftop13 said:


> It will see time on the surf, the pier and possibly the jetty, I was thinking high vis because I do occasionally fish at night and I enjoy having the extra visibility


Do you really need to see your line at night? Why not just put a piece of white tape on your rod?


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## JOHNNYREB (Apr 20, 2006)

Several of us were fishing down south of pins a few yrs back, a bud of mine was using hi-vis yellow with a clear top shot, The rest of us had regular drk green or clear mono, The smacks were thick that day and tim is the only one who had to replace his topshot 3 diff times ( lol, should of brought a back up) The rest of us knew when the smacks were coming through when timmys line would go slack....he was our fish finder of sorts on that day. The smacks were biting him off right at the knot. Your rod tip is a great Bite indicator!


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## surfguy (May 17, 2011)

JOHNNYREB said:


> Several of us were fishing down south of pins a few yrs back, a bud of mine was using hi-vis yellow with a clear top shot, The rest of us had regular drk green or clear mono, The smacks were thick that day and tim is the only one who had to replace his topshot 3 diff times ( lol, should of brought a back up) The rest of us knew when the smacks were coming through when timmys line would go slack....he was our fish finder of sorts on that day. The smacks were biting him off right at the knot. Your rod tip is a great Bite indicator!


LOL! Yeah, Tim is always good for something.


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## Teamgafftop13 (Mar 6, 2011)

I had planned on just using strait mono with no backing (it holds 300yds of 20lb) (unless someone has a reason i should) so it would just be high vis mono, not braid, I've never had a problem with it before. And it's more for being able to work out tangles in the dark rather than being able see where the line is


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## justletmein (Feb 11, 2006)

The only difference color will make will be the brighter ones getting bitten off by Smacks, even clear for whatever reason. Dull green for Big Game but my preference is a co-polymer line like p-line or cajun for abrasion resistance so lots of my stuff is red. If you're hell bent on hi-vis then the actual color won't matter, just get whatever matches your rod guide color or reel. Unless they make a line that glows I've never been able to see any fishing line at night without a flashlight anyway.


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## Teamgafftop13 (Mar 6, 2011)

I've never actually had a smack cut my line, anyone know why they do that though?


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## jagarcia10 (Mar 10, 2011)

JOHNNYREB said:


> From the surf ? Personally, ive never seen a reason to use anything other then clear/dark green line. Just my .02


x3


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## justletmein (Feb 11, 2006)

Teamgafftop13 said:


> I've never actually had a smack cut my line, anyone know why they do that though?


Light refraction, where the line meets the water it looks shiny.


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## Sharkhunter (May 22, 2004)

I like dark green or Royal blue. I have had macs cut the clear as well. Never with the dark green or blue though.


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## HuntinforTail (Mar 29, 2011)

Smacks like a lot of other fish will attack shiney objects. If your line gives off any kind of shine they will go after it. That the main reason I don't fish high vis line. I have had smacks or pup sharks or whatever the heck is cutting my line do it tons of times with clear, blue, an green line also. I think high vis would have it happen more often though.


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## [email protected] (Jan 14, 2005)

I like Monster Yellow from Andee! It can be seen well at night!


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## Jolly Roger (May 21, 2004)

High vis green seems to get hit first by smacks, and gets hit often. Clear works great only down side to clear is the birds can not see it. Dull green Big Game always seemed to be the last to get hit by smacks and birds can see it good


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## jagarcia10 (Mar 10, 2011)

Jolly Roger said:


> Clear works great only down side to clear is the birds can not see it. Dull green Big Game always seemed to be the last to get hit by smacks and birds can see it good


During Thanksgiving I thought these freakn pelicans were blind! I swear, I had half a dozen or more crash land bc they didnt see my lines.

:rotfl:


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## Teamgafftop13 (Mar 6, 2011)

So far I've heard lots of good arguments for use of dark lines rather than clear, anyone have an argument as to whether I should put braid backing or not? It will hold 300yds of 20lb line


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## jagarcia10 (Mar 10, 2011)

I use straight mono. It's cheap and has worked for me so far. Dont see a reason to change just yet. 


Daiwa Saltist 30 - 20lb plus 40lb topshot
Daiwa Sealine 50 - 30lb plus 50lb topshot
Abu Garcia 10000 - 30lb plus 50lb topshot
Penn 6/0 - 50lb no topshot
Penn 9/0 - 50lb plus 80lb topshot
Penn 12/0 - 80lb plus 100lb top shot


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## SurfRunner (May 22, 2004)

For casting baits, I use the bass proshop yellow mono. Its cheap yet good quality, and is easy to see at night when there is a little light on the piers. I wouldn't use brite lines on paddled out baits though. But, I never have had much of a problem using it for cast baits. But, I don't fish PINS that much.


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## surfguy (May 17, 2011)

WHAT said:


> I use straight mono. It's cheap and has worked for me so far. Dont see a reason to change just yet.
> 
> Daiwa Saltist 30 - 20lb plus 40lb topshot
> Daiwa Sealine 50 - 30lb plus 50lb topshot
> ...


How long is your topshot or are you calling your shock leader a topshot?

I setup most of my reels with braid backing and mono topshot to maximize
line capacity (braid backing) at the lowest cost (Mono topshot) in case you tie into an oversized fish. The fish never sees my braid backing and I've never been cut by a smack using clear mono topshot.


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## jagarcia10 (Mar 10, 2011)

surfguy said:


> How long is your topshot or are you calling your shock leader a topshot?
> 
> I setup most of my reels with braid backing and mono topshot to maximize
> line capacity (braid backing) at the lowest cost (Mono topshot) in case you tie into an oversized fish. The fish never sees my braid backing and I've never been cut by a smack using clear mono topshot.


No I dont use a shock leader. My topshots range depending on reel. My casting reels usually have 75-125 yards while my shark rods carry around 150-250 yards.


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## Sharkhunter (May 22, 2004)

[email protected] said:


> I like Monster Yellow from Andee! It can be seen well at night!


How do you like Monster Line. I'm going to order about 3K yrds of 60# soon.


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## surfguy (May 17, 2011)

WHAT said:


> No I dont use a shock leader. My topshots range depending on reel. My casting reels usually have 75-125 yards while my shark rods carry around 150-250 yards.


Same here but I see no advantage to having a bigger topshot unless it's a shock leader. I'm wondering why your topshot is higher strength than your backing? If you tie into an oversized fish, you risk getting spooled rather than losing just your topshot.


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## jagarcia10 (Mar 10, 2011)

surfguy said:


> Same here but I see no advantage to having a bigger topshot unless it's a shock leader. I'm wondering why your topshot is higher strength than your backing? If you tie into an oversized fish, you risk getting spooled rather than losing just your topshot.


I use a heavier top shot for abrasion reasons. The smaller line is used so i can get more line on the reel.

You have to keep in mind those are my casting reels which usually dont go over a 100 yards out. Which leaves me with about 250 yards to play with. Ive brought in sharks in the 5ft range with ease on these reels. Im confident that they will hold there ground against a shark up to 6ft. Anything over and I'm in for a ride.

My shark reels work the same, I use 50 and 80lb as backing to get more line on the spool and top it off with a heavier mono. Again, the heavier mono for abrasion reasons. If I ever have the pleasure of getting spooled I will adjust my gear accordingly.

I used to always get cut off even with a topshot. But when I got the rack and started using a float I rarely get cut off now.


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## surfguy (May 17, 2011)

WHAT said:


> I use a heavier top shot for abrasion reasons. The smaller line is used so i can get more line on the reel.
> 
> You have to keep in mind those are my casting reels which usually dont go over a 100 yards out. Which leaves me with about 250 yards to play with. Ive brought in sharks in the 5ft range with ease on these reels. Im confident that they will hold there ground against a shark up to 6ft. Anything over and I'm in for a ride.
> 
> ...


I understand. Thanks for your explanation. I do find it interesting that a lot of people have abrasions problems. I don't seem to have that issue for some reason. Maybe it has to do with where you fish on shell.


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## justletmein (Feb 11, 2006)

I don't run "top shots" because I don't really have issues with abrasion with the copolymer lines unless I happen upon some structure and a fish drags me across it, so just straight out to the end unless it's a big casting rig in which case it gets a shock leader so I don't kill somebody with a spider weight. The Big Game/mono I do sometimes have abrasion issues so have phased it out on just about everything except for my trout rods and my 4/wides because I have like 4 big spools of that 40# line left I need to burn through.



Teamgafftop13 said:


> So far I've heard lots of good arguments for use of dark lines rather than clear, anyone have an argument as to whether I should put braid backing or not? It will hold 300yds of 20lb line


You can go years without changing it out, that's why I use it. I put 300 yards of power pro underneath everything I have, pretty much except for small spinning bait rods. Even on smaller reels like my 525 mag, it's got 300 yards of PP and maybe 75 yards of copolymer mono on top. The braid never seems to age so I just change out 75 yards of line whenever I want fresh line instead of 300 yards or whatever. It also gives me that extra line capacity in case I hook into something I'm not supposed to or if I break off on structure I don't HAVE to respool it because I've got plenty of line still on the reel with the braid.


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## surfguy (May 17, 2011)

justletmein said:


> I don't run "top shots" because I don't really have issues with abrasion with the copolymer lines unless I happen upon some structure and a fish drags me across it, so just straight out to the end unless it's a big casting rig in which case it gets a shock leader so I don't kill somebody with a spider weight. The Big Game/mono I do sometimes have abrasion issues so have phased it out on just about everything except for my trout rods and my 4/wides because I have like 4 big spools of that 40# line left I need to burn through.
> 
> Yep, got to use it.
> 
> You can go years without changing it out, that's why I use it. I put 300 yards of power pro underneath everything I have, pretty much except for small spinning bait rods. Even on smaller reels like my 525 mag, it's got 300 yards of PP and maybe 75 yards of copolymer mono on top. The braid never seems to age so I just change out 75 yards of line whenever I want fresh line instead of 300 yards or whatever. It also gives me that extra line capacity in case I hook into something I'm not supposed to or if I break off on structure I don't HAVE to respool it because I've got plenty of line still on the reel with the braid.


X2!! Exactly. I learned my lesson when I got spooled last year on my spinner with 30# braid backing and 30# mono topshot. That's why I converted all my reels to braid backing that is 2-3x higher rating than the mono topshot. The extra line capacity might have given me a chance to run the fish out and turn it before running out of line. Worst case, I would have only lost my weaker mono topshot when I locked down the drag.


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## justletmein (Feb 11, 2006)

surfguy said:


> X2!! Exactly. I learned my lesson when I got spooled last year on my spinner with 30# braid backing and 30# mono topshot. That's why I converted all my reels to braid backing that is 2-3x higher rating than the mono topshot. The extra line capacity might have given me a chance to run the fish out and turn it before running out of line. Worst case, I would have only lost my weaker mono topshot when I locked down the drag.


Yep, all mine the braid is rated higher than the mono, if it breaks on a big feech I'm not out all my braid.


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## JOHNNYREB (Apr 20, 2006)

I think some of yall are comparing catching kittycats to lions! With 30-50lb class line you can probably get away that line combo....for what your gonna catch. WHAT, like many of us is after the MONSTER! If you try that lighter mono to your mainline theory....it will fail!

WHAT fishes the same areas that i do and many others, we have all experienced the same issues....coincedence....hardly. Some of us are dropping baits hundreds of yards, 30 lb baits, 30 ' leaders, with bars that are LOADED with shell, in strong currents...They are brutal conditions and will absolutely eat up line, Not even 130lb topshot is safe.

Like what mentioned, getting your lines up on a rack and the use of floats help, but if the time comes and one does get hooked up on the big fish...that top shot has to run the gauntlet yet again. May be just me, but whether its casted baits or large shark fishing, personally im all about " Eliminating the possibility of failure" 

As far as getting spooled, again....experience comes into play.

What....keep on keeping on....you GET it! Adios!


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## jagarcia10 (Mar 10, 2011)

What type of knot do yall tie to connect the braid to mono? Do yall spool your own reels or have them done?



JOHNNYREB said:


> I think some of yall are comparing catching kittycats to lions! With 30-50lb class line you can probably get away that line combo....for what your gonna catch. WHAT, like many of us is after the MONSTER! If you try that lighter mono to your mainline theory....it will fail!
> 
> WHAT fishes the same areas that i do and many others, we have all experienced the same issues....coincedence....hardly. Some of us are dropping baits hundreds of yards, 30 lb baits, 30 ' leaders, with bars that are LOADED with shell, in strong currents...They are brutal conditions and will absolutely eat up line, Not even 130lb topshot is safe.
> 
> ...


:cheers:


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## JOHNNYREB (Apr 20, 2006)

Ive always used the uni to uni...not saying its the best knot out there because its the only one ive ever used... But has yet to fail.


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## justletmein (Feb 11, 2006)

JOHNNYREB said:


> I think some of yall are comparing catching kittycats to lions! With 30-50lb class line you can probably get away that line combo....for what your gonna catch. WHAT, like many of us is after the MONSTER! If you try that lighter mono to your mainline theory....it will fail!
> 
> WHAT fishes the same areas that i do and many others, we have all experienced the same issues....coincedence....hardly. Some of us are dropping baits hundreds of yards, 30 lb baits, 30 ' leaders, with bars that are LOADED with shell, in strong currents...They are brutal conditions and will absolutely eat up line, Not even 130lb topshot is safe.
> 
> ...


OP is spooling up an SLX 30sha so I'm trying to keep it in context of smallish rigs. My slightly larger stuff will still have 80lb braid topped with 50lb mainline though (or 65/40, etc), so theoretically that main line will break first. I sold all my BIG rigs though, since I mainly always fish with the wife and kids I hardly ever deployed the big stuff anyway. I've never had any abrasion/bar rub problems with the 50lb-80lb Cajun line though, but I've had plenty of rub-offs (ahem) with Big Game while fighting fish and it's quite annoying.



JOHNNYREB said:


> Ive always used the uni to uni...not saying its the best knot out there because its the only one ive ever used... But has yet to fail.


Yep, uni-to-uni is the knot I use on all my line splices big and small.


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## Sharkhunter (May 22, 2004)

I use a fig 8 to uni and have never had it fail. fig 8 on the big line.


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## JOHNNYREB (Apr 20, 2006)

Gotcha jj...my rant wasnt pointed at you directly, yeah the post was definatly heading off track, but! lol....WHAT just posted what he runs as a topshot on his big rigs....some folks question why....it happens alot....thats the only reason for the mid morning meltdown 

Not all areas of the beach are the same, what you can get away with on one part of the beach...could fail 10 miles south. 

Now back to the daiwa 30 ?


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## Jolly Roger (May 21, 2004)

WHAT said:


> What type of knot do yall tie to connect the braid to mono? Do yall spool your own reels or have them done?
> 
> :cheers:


try a Stren Knot,

http://www.angling-adventures.net/knots/knots.htm

STREN KNOT
The Stren Knot also excels in the connection of thin diameter braids/superlines to varying sizes of nylon monofilament or fluorocarbon, provided that the "Uni" portion of the knot is tied in the mono or fluorocarbon. The resulting "Stren Knot" is exponentially stronger than the traditional "Uni-to-Uni" knot.


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## HuntinforTail (Mar 29, 2011)

WHAT said:


> What type of knot do yall tie to connect the braid to mono? Do yall spool your own reels or have them done?
> 
> :cheers:


For small diameter mono and braid, (20 lb mono or less) I use a uni to uni. On my shark rods with larger diameter mono I use an albright. Very very low profile, strong knot.

I spool all my reels that are 9/0 or smaller. The 9/0 is pain in the butt.


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## JOHNNYREB (Apr 20, 2006)

We spool all our stuff....a 12 pk and a comfy chair....beats watching tv!:brew:


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## justletmein (Feb 11, 2006)

JOHNNYREB said:


> We spool all our stuff....a 12 pk and a comfy chair....beats watching tv!:brew:


I just hold the line and make the kids crank the big reels. LMAO they hate it. Sometimes when they're not paying attention I start fighting them like a fish is on. :cheers:


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## HuntinforTail (Mar 29, 2011)

Spooling braid is a pain in the butt since you have to make sure to put it on as tight as you can. 500 yards on the 9/0 is heck when you are trying to get it really tight.


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## surfguy (May 17, 2011)

justletmein said:


> OP is spooling up an SLX 30sha so I'm trying to keep it in context of smallish rigs. My slightly larger stuff will still have 80lb braid topped with 50lb mainline though (or 65/40, etc), so theoretically that main line will break first. I sold all my BIG rigs though, since I mainly always fish with the wife and kids I hardly ever deployed the big stuff anyway. I've never had any abrasion/bar rub problems with the 50lb-80lb Cajun line though, but I've had plenty of rub-offs (ahem) with Big Game while fighting fish and it's quite annoying.
> 
> Yep, uni-to-uni is the knot I use on all my line splices big and small.


My bad guys for getting off track from the original topic and my apologies to WHAT if I was a little too direct. Like JJ said, I was referring to the lower class reels, not Shark class reels. I did acknowledge there is more than one way to do things depending on where you fish and the different conditions encountered such as abrasion. I was simply curious why he used a heavier topshot in hopes of learning something new, which I did.

So now that this discussion has turned to connecting knots, take a look at this video by Mark at Charkbait that describes how they connect hollow core super braid WITHOUT A KNOT. This is how I got my AVET 50W spooled. 2Cool if you ask me.


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## Teamgafftop13 (Mar 6, 2011)

Haha wow this got off track.....for the record the reel came in yesterday I immediately disassembled it and cleaned it. Everything is in great shape (some very minor salt corrosion on the handle) went ahead and just spooked it with strait 20lb high vis green BBG (it's what I had available) this way I can get used to the reel while I work on getting some Suffix Tri+ for it.


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## Teamgafftop13 (Mar 6, 2011)

Oh and as for my 6/0 it's got 200yds 50lb braid, 400+yds, 50lb bbg, and 50yds 80lb bbg, never had an issue


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## HuntinforTail (Mar 29, 2011)

You'll be just fine with that setup. When you start making long drops with a kayak and letting baits soak for hours, you'll start to notice problems with jacks and pup sharks cutting you off and you may want to switch to a different color. 

I never had problems with cut offs until I started seriously shark fishing. Took me a while to figure out what the heck was going on. 

I remember one night we had 4 rods out all over 300 yards with prime baits. Right around 9pm the furthest one on the left goes "thump, thump, slack" 30 seconds later the next one does the same, 30 seconds later the next, and then finally they got the last one before we could reel it in. Probably lost over 50$ in tackle in about 5 minutes!


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## Teamgafftop13 (Mar 6, 2011)

Yikes haha, that sucks....my 6/0 is all clear line with dark green braid, but I don't drop nearly that far, I usually do 150-200yds max


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## CoastalOutfitters (Aug 20, 2004)

you can't beat hi vis line on the beach or offshore,


it helps for watching the lines in the air, picking the line out of seaweed and tying knots ......................and the fish don't care.


big game hi-vis or suffix hi vis , 2 of the tuffest out there and break at well over rated test


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## kneekap (Nov 13, 2012)

For my regular long surf rigs, I switched to green fluorescent line years
ago to keep from catching pelicans. That was the year I caught six
pelicans! They can see it better than the clear or green. When the
smacks come in, I pull my lines.


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