# Power Pro Break Offs?



## crackedglass (Jan 14, 2009)

I spooled up two reels this weekend for a drum fishing trip, one a 4500B with 40lb PP, the other a Spheros 6000 FA with 50lb PP. Both were backed with about 50 yds of mono, both were on new or near new rods with good guides. 
I got a run off with the 4500B, the fish was taking drag for about a minute or so fairly slowly, I got down to about 150 yds of line remaining, and it let go. The drag was set light, maybe 10-12lbs at best. A half hour later, the Spheros with the 50lb line gets a bite, the fish takes some line, I gain it back and it makes several line, getting to the boat once and making one more run, I'd guess it to have been about 60lb fish. On the last run, the fish took out about 100yds of line, and the line snapped, mid line just as the other did. Both were spooled from retail boxes by hand, both broke mid line. I finished the day using my spare spools filled with 30lb mono and boated a 60 and a 34lb fish. 
I bring this up because I had issues years ago with 50lb PP, I had given up on it for a while after a string of similar break offs. The line didn't fail at a knot, it wasn't abraded, and it hadn't seen any shock or sunlight.

Have there been any issues reported? I have to say I'm a bit leery about re-spooling again with the same stuff. I've got many reels, all but a few run PP and I've used almost nothing but for years. This is just the second time that I've had trouble with the 50lb line. (Its the first time I've run 40lb PP, they only had one 300yd box of 50lb left so I went with the 40lb).


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## Ledslacks (Jul 21, 2009)

In March, my step-brother had the same thing happen. We were catching black drum, or trying, and he had a brand new rod/reel/spool of 30 lb. PP. The line broke somewhere in the middle. No nicks, no abrasions, and the drag was not tight. I haven't seen this before in PP, and I've used it for about 8 years. In the last two years I've had 80 lb. PP break a number of times near the leader, when catching sharks. I think this is the shark's tail/skin scraping the line, or doubling back on the line and biting it. Leaders were about 4-5' long, so I'm going 7-15' for my shark leaders now.


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## greenhornet (Apr 21, 2010)

Watched a friend of mine deal with a day of line breaking but it was spiderwire. I have been using PP for years and never had this problem???? knock on wood


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## rodworks (Nov 3, 2009)

I had one older bulk spool of 50lb do that to me, the one thing I noticed was that it was more a brown color than green. It was like the whole spool was bad. It wouldn't knot, it would snap off on casts or break without warning. I finally tossed it. I had switched away from PP for a while but came back to it after realizing that it still had the most desirable qualities. I only had that one spool that acted that way and it was the older or original PP from at least 5 years ago or more. I have heard a few complaints recently though but haven't had any of the line in hand to see for myself.

I do find it odd that 50lb seems to always be the size in question though. 
Some lengths of that one spool I had wouldn't even knot, it would snap in hand real easy. I had also wondered if it had been exposed to something that damaged it? Heat? Chemicals? (The faded brown color may be a clue, but I've had other spools vary greatly in color like that as well.)


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## ATE_UP_FISHERMAN (Jun 25, 2004)

You got a bad spool of line. you need to let them know what happened and get you a new one.


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## Danny Jansen (Sep 15, 2005)

I am starting to have the same problem with 20lb. I have not had any problem in the passed years, but have had two breaks with some new PP just put on about 6 weeks ago. One break happened on a cast. My bail flipped over and the line broke in mid cast.


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## greenhornet (Apr 21, 2010)

Wonder if this has happened to anyone else? Few years back I bought a spool of PP in a box, was different than the current one. When I got home there wasn't a lick of line on that spool, no BS. I tried to return it to Roy's which everyone in Corpus just raves about...lol(guess they like giving more of their hard earned money away than they have to) and they treated me like I was trying to steal something when I went back. Oh well, I lost $13 but no telling how much they have lost since then because I share that story with anyone who will listen to it. Not the only bad experience I have had in there but that was the clincher.


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## magnumb (Apr 27, 2010)

You must have mistakenly picked up a box of their new braided fluorocarbon PP line!

Threw away a whole box.....they must have finally perfected invisible line......sorry to hear......:smile:


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## barrascuda (May 21, 2010)

I've had the same issues with the 20, 30, and to a lesser degree 50 lb pp. The 20 and 30 seemed to fray quite a bit, but like you I even had new stuff pop. Now I only use the 65 and 80 lb stuff and haven't had any issues for the last 2 years.


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## ssteel069 (Mar 7, 2009)

PP is the worst braid I have ever used. I will not use it again!


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## crackedglass (Jan 14, 2009)

I didn't start this thread to bash PP, but to see if others had the same issues. 
I converted to nearly nothing but super lines when Fireline came out, but they don't have a heavier line for saltwater use, so I run PP. I've not had any issues with any other weights, I surf fish with 20 and 30lb, often tossing 8oz and bait with no issues and run the larger sizes, 65lb and up on my heavier reels and for offshore use. None of those have ever been an issue. 

I find there are benefits and compromises to all the braided lines, PP just seems to have the fewest issues as far as handling and casting. It's the break offs that concern me. 
Back when I first had problems with 50lb, it was before Shimano got hold of PP, but this last spool is the latest line.

Also, all of the concerns I've had have been on spinning reels, none so far when used on baitcasting or conventional reels. I'm not sure if that is a factor or not, but then again, I have no issues with the other weight lines all used on spin reels.


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## capt mullet (Nov 15, 2008)

I have never had any midline breaks. I have caught lots of bulls and big black drum on 15 and 20 lb powerpro with light gear and that line is still on my reels 6 months later. I have 30 and 50 lb on my tarpon and shark reels and they have been on their for about 2 years and I had no problems last year. I didnt do myuch shark or tarpon fishing last year but I did go a few times with no problems. Send that spool in to powerpro I bet they give you another one.


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## Bantam1 (Jun 26, 2007)

Did the line have any signs of frays? Once the line frays it can break. Just like with mono or FC line. You also have to remember that 10-12 pounds of drag on an empty spool is probably double that on a low spool.


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## devildog2856 (Feb 15, 2009)

I have used pp since it came out in 10-100 pound test in fresh and saltwater on spinning reels,casting reels and off shore reels and I HAVE NEVER HAD A BREAK OFF!!!!! And I have had the line last 2-4 years


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## crackedglass (Jan 14, 2009)

Bantam1 said:


> Did the line have any signs of frays? Once the line frays it can break. Just like with mono or FC line. You also have to remember that 10-12 pounds of drag on an empty spool is probably double that on a low spool.


The line was new, first cast, first hit on the one outfit, I lost about 1/3rd of the line after the fish took out about 30 yards of line, I started to gain some ground on what felt like a decent fish and the line just let go. Since I lost about 90 yards of line, it wasn't at a knot, there were no kinks, and the guides are perfect. I was also fishing over flat bottom in open water about 35' deep. The fish took drag but my drag was not set anywhere near enough to snap the line. The second reel did the same thing but I lost less line, then a few casts later it broke mid line without any impact or snag. The bait and about 30 yards of line just kept sailing leaving me with about 9' of loose line hanging from the rod tip with the bail still open. I tried to knot what was left and couldn't, the line would snap in my hands. It was like trying to tie dry rotted cotton string. I took both rolls back and went elsewhere and found 65lb line which I spooled up, which seems fine so far.

I've used Power Pro for years, no other weights have ever been an issue. Maybe its coincidence but both times I've had issues with 50lb line, this time it was 40lb too, but like I've said, I've never used the 40lb before. 
I've got other reels spooled with PP, and one of the reels that had the bad line has had 50lb PP on it since it was new, and no issues with that till I bought the last two spools of line that were bad. I've probably used over 200 spools of Power Pro over the years, out of that, three had issues. I usually keep bulk spools of all PP weights on hand, I ran out of 50lb and had to buy 300yd spools locally because I wanted fresh line for that trip. 
I'd probably been better off leaving the 4 year old line on.

I have a few back up reels that see less use which have PP on them which is over 8 years old now, with no ill effects. I did also have to search a bit to find the 65lb spools I replaced the bad line with, it was sold out everywhere. They had plenty of 20 and 30lb, no 40 through 80lb.


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## o.b. (Jan 11, 2009)

Check your guides, It happened to me a couple of times. The ceramic guide was cracked and cut the braid. Just something to consider.


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## Bantam1 (Jun 26, 2007)

Send me a PM with your email and I will send you a form. This form will need to be filled out and sent in with the line. We will replace it under warranty for you.


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## edex (Jul 18, 2008)

I've got a couple of diawa xsha 20's and 30's spooled with 50lb green power pro and about 25yds of 50lb wind on leader. Now I'll admit, I haven't used them in about a year. When I used them last week for drum and red fishing, I could tell the line was fraying and breaking up. I could see the little fibers sticking out. I lost two fish that day, line broke mid way, and the lines on the spool constantly kept diggin in. 


I've had this happen on some smaller sahara 2500 reels i use for inshore as well, though it was 30lb green. I bought all these lines at bass pro off the shelf, retail price, about a year ago.


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## edex (Jul 18, 2008)

Btw, it wasn't my guides (all stainless guides, no inserts) or my drag.


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## wedington (Dec 19, 2007)

I have never had a single problem with Power Pro, it is hands down my favorite braid on the market and I have tried all of them.


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## Bantam1 (Jun 26, 2007)

I think everyone forgets it is still fishing line. It does wear out from friction, abrasion, heat, etc;


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## crackedglass (Jan 14, 2009)

Bantam1 said:


> Send me a PM with your email and I will send you a form. This form will need to be filled out and sent in with the line. We will replace it under warranty for you.


I appreciate the offer but I have already returned it to the store where I bought it, they took it back with no questions. They took it back even though a good portion was missing. I put a not in the box describing the issue, anyone that handles it can see the problem, the line will snap fairly easily in hand, even without a knot being tied in some sections, not others. In other words there were weak spots and stronger spots along the length of the spool. There was no abrasion but the line looked more brown in color than it did green. I've got other reels spooled with the same weight line here with no issues, some older PP some are the newer or improved PP.



Bantam1 said:


> I think everyone forgets it is still fishing line. It does wear out from friction, abrasion, heat, etc;


In my case the line was only hours old and broke within a few casts, the line guides are fine, the line I put on after held up fine with no issues. It wasn't PP but mostly because they didn't have anything else in the weight I wanted when I was at the store. The one rod is new, the other just had all new guides.

When the one line broke during a cast, it didn't go snap or pop, the other end of the line just was gone when I went to reel up the slack in the line after the cast. The end where it broke looked like it broke apart in layers, not frayed, but with some long and short fibers remaining leaving the end of the line looking sort of tapered when wet.


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## wannaBfishin (Dec 6, 2009)

BE careful, I just saw some China made 'look alike' PowerPro on eBay. I bet that's some good stuff (ha-ha) Knock-off fishing line!!!!!!!!!!


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## BIG Flat Skiff (May 25, 2004)

I have had the same PP 20 on my reels for three years now with no problems.


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## crackedglass (Jan 14, 2009)

BIG Flat Skiff said:


> I have had the same PP 20 on my reels for three years now with no problems.


I've got a surf reel with 30lb on it for over 8 years, it gets fished 4 months out of the year about 10 times a week, and not a single issue. I've own over 100 rods and reels, about 90% of them have PP on them. 
For those that insist that it's guides, mine are fine, it's not a guide problem when 50lb line will break by hand with little effort. Good 50lb braid would more than likely cut you before being able to snap it bare handed, the line I returned would break that easy.

The odd part was that I had no issues knotting it when I put it on, plus I load test all my knots and connections to be safe. I didn't have the top end portion that was on the spool, that's the part that's out in the bay somewhere now, the part with the issues was what was in the middle of the 300 yd spool of PP. It knotted just fine to a length of mono down on the spool, and that knot was strong. The line that was at the breaking point was like rotted cotton. I could snap off short sections.

A few questions about PP braid for Bantam:
If PP is stressed to it's rated limit, can it be damaged over the entire length?
Does sunlight or age affect PP? (Without wear being a factor)
Does any particular chemical attach PP? Oil? CRC? WD40? Fish attractants? etc...
(I've got a buddy that soaks his line in WD40, both mono and braid, he swears it attracts more fish and prevents salt corrosion, and swears he has never had an issue).

Both rolls that had the issue, both now and several years ago, were brown in color, are these faded or just a dye variation? (I ask this because I bought a roll of PP 50lb line today and it's far more a brown color than dark green as some PP I've gotten has been. This is a 1500 yd spool which I ordered online. I've got a roll of 65lb which is a very dark green, which easily marks your fingers when spooling it. 
I've also seen quite a few rolls of PP that look oily or wet, my first impression was that something had spilled on them but I've gotten the same thing from several sources now. 
(Each of the bad spools I've had came from retail stores, in 300yd rolls, all were brown or faded in color, they looked more the color of straw than moss green to me).
I spooled up my Thunnus 6000 with new PP 50 today, we'll see on Monday how it works. I only hope that the two spools I had were a rare occasion, but these too are pale in color compared to my other moss green line.


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## Bantam1 (Jun 26, 2007)

If PP is stressed to it's rated limit, can it be damaged over the entire length?

Not really. It will separate at the failure point. You may see a few small fibers that are longer than others where it failed. Just trim an extra inch or two off before tying on again. 

Does sunlight or age affect PP? (Without wear being a factor)

Time will lead to wear. The fibers can be damaged by high heat and friction. Sunlight or UV does not affect the line in any way. 

Does any particular chemical attach PP? Oil? CRC? WD40? Fish attractants? etc...
(I've got a buddy that soaks his line in WD40, both mono and braid, he swears it attracts more fish and prevents salt corrosion, and swears he has never had an issue).

I am not 100% sure about this one. I'm sure there are some chemicals that will damage the line. The ones you listed should not cause any issues. Although I would not spray WD40 on the line. You are now placing chemicals in the water that you fish. 

The line color can vary slightly. Spectra fibers can't be permanately dyed. The dye may have to be applied several times for the line to take color. You might find that the line deeper on the spool will be the correct color. If you are not happy with it then you can certainly return it for warranty replacement.


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## PasadenaMan (Dec 5, 2007)

barrascuda said:


> I've had the same issues with the 20, 30, and to a lesser degree 50 lb pp. The 20 and 30 seemed to fray quite a bit, but like you I even had new stuff pop. Now I only use the 65 and 80 lb stuff and haven't had any issues for the last 2 years.


I have my offshore rod riggled with 150# power pro and 50-100yds of mono. Never had a problem. For the bay i use 70# and had no break offs, just frays when fishing close to rocks but I just use a my trout tod setup with mono for that.


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## crackedglass (Jan 14, 2009)

Bantam1 said:


> If PP is stressed to it's rated limit, can it be damaged over the entire length?
> 
> Not really. It will separate at the failure point. You may see a few small fibers that are longer than others where it failed. Just trim an extra inch or two off before tying on again.


The reason I brought this up is that several years back when I had the issue then with break offs, I had gotten a few super hard hits and had a pretty hard fight with a huge shark, that spit the hook after about 20 minutes, after that, the line wouldn't hold a knot and broke easily. It wasn't abraded anywhere, but it looked flat or twisted along it's whole length. As if some of the fibers had maybe given way at various points along the entire length. 50lb line after that would snap at about 15lbs or so regardless of the knot or where in the line. The line still on the spool, not payed out during the fight was fine. 
The drag on the reel wasn't too tight, being a spinning reel, back then, I doubt it could produce enough drag to break the line. What I found odd then was that the fish on never broke the line, I got back the hook and half the bait. It was the next hit, and then the next one that I had break offs and finally realized the line had lost all it's strength.

Of course, the latest two spools with issues never had any stress on them.

Thanks for the reply!


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## waterwolf (Mar 6, 2005)

HAD PP (30lb)SPOOLED ON 3 DIFFERENT REELS FOR PAST "2 YEARS" WITH NO PROBLEM...LOVE THAT STUFF,,,,NO MORE RE-SPOOLING AFTER EVERY 2 FISHING TRIPS,,,,trilene only for backing now....Love the solid hookset it gives you


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## crackedglass (Jan 14, 2009)

I've had 30lb on several other reels with no issues myself, and can say that even with some damage or fraying, it still retains much of it's strength. It was just those few spools of 50lb that were a problem.


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## hockley (Feb 14, 2006)

I had problems with PP last summer, can't remember what size it was. It was new line and would break mid spool with no kinks etc. I ended up throwing the rest of the line away went and bought Suffix and haven't had a problem since. It ruined two fishing trips for me where I had to watch others catch fish while I was always re-rigging....


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