power pro

[mattmishler]

i was out fishing one time and i was running power pro on our lead core and i looked over and seen that the half core rod was standing strait up in the holder. when we went over to get the borad back it was broken off at the release. the next day we were fishing out on a buddys boat who was running power pro backer like us and when we were fishing we lost two boards at the release and the same night we were talking to a doc buddy and he was running power pro on his rigger rods and to broke off at the rigger releses. i dont know if it was our fault or the bad line?????

[EdB]

Check the release for grooves, cuts or nicks. I had this happen with it breaking at the rod tip. After I inspected it, the ceramic eye was cracked and was quite sharp. It was cutting the line. After I fixed the tip, it never happened again. I use power pro as core back and I've never had it happen on a board release. Maybe yours have some groove worn into them? You can buy and replace the release clips if they are.

[fishsniffer]

i also use pp as backer and the worst ive had is cut board clips..but i use the 50lb pp as backer..i dont know if thats the difference

[1mainiac]

This is a 2 part problem first braided line does not work well in releases it tends to slip a bit and damage them over time cutting grooves in them so as you work thru the waves it slowly cuts into the release making sharp edges witch cut into the line. The second part is braided line does not stretch so all of the tension is transmitted to the release and the only flex in the setup is the rod itself not a good setup in my opinion. The only reason I know of to use braid with core is if the reel is too small I like big reels the only 30 series reel on my boat is a wire diver setup that was given to me. All of my core setups are mono backer to core then mono leader mostly 25lb backer and 20lb leader this year I started using Flouro clear for leaders and like it. If you are going to use braid for a backer you have to find a release it can't eat up like a blacks release. Then you might have to modify the board to work with them.

Tight Lines

Jim

[Priority1]

Your dock buddy's use of braid on his riggers rods, is also a no no. I don't think I'm alone when I say super braids do not belong on the riggers. Braid has little stretch so it is good for some applications and terrible for others.

I think the main reason it is used as backer for core is it's small diameter, thus allowing more line to be spooled. I know that some spool a braid backer then a piece of mono between the braid and the core. The piece of mono works well in the releases.

[1mainiac]

yep nearly all of my rods are Mono only have 2 braid poles for dipsey's and use dacron backer on them have only been past the knot a couple times and held my breath till it was back on the reel. Same setup on my wire rods 600 ft of wire with dacron backer and try to keep the knot on the reel. The other 13 rods on my boat are all based on mono my copper and core rods start with mono and end with mono and all 6 of my rigger rods are mono only. Braids are nice but I have little use for them in my trolling setups except for the dipsey's but run a snubber and mono behind them. Mono will absorb the shock of a big fish changing direction with braids and wire if the drag is set wrong something will break and fast. The one thing I see a lot of is guys using line counter reels on core I have a couple myself but they were setup for other things and had core added to them later in life save the money spent on line counters and buy a bigger reel my full core setup has 250 yds of 25 lb mono then the full core and then 20 yds of 20 lb mono on a Okuma 45 it is full. My copper rods are similar setup on Okuma 55 reels also full. Most guys are too concerned with running hi test lines I have caught huge fish on my 8 lb test Steelhead rod landed a 25 lb king in the White river 2 years ago with it what a battle. In the spring I often run really light lines I often laugh when I talk to bass guys and they try to explain why they need 50 or 60 lb braid to catch a 3 lb fish as it is about the same as us using a warn winch and 600 lb cable to catch a Salmon. Read the rod blank and try to balance your tackle accordingly you will be suprised at how much fun it is to catch fish when they are on even ground. Pretty much all rods are rated for mono line so when it says 10 to 25 lb line that is what it means if you want it to work correctly to light of line the rod action will break the line and too heavy a line will break the rod and the rods rated for 30 to 60 lb line look like pool cues with eyelets. Something to think about anyhow.

Tight Lines

Jim

[Hotdog71]

I know there will be some that don't agree with me on this post but I'm going to put it in anyway. I do not like Power Pro at all. I have used Fireline for the last five to six years for both bass fishing and backing on my salmon rods. Never had any problems with it. Cabela's had some Power Pro on sale so I bought some thinking it should be about the same. I had five break offs in one trip with the two rods I spooled. Never had a problem with the Fireline, and it was used for a year. The Power Pro was 50#, the Fireline was 30#. I haven't used it since and I've been really happy without it.

But that's my opinion.

Bob

[1mainiac]

Hotdog 71 I did not mean to imply that I don't like Power Pro it is a good line as is the Fireline. However the Fireline I have used in the past was more of a flat braid and the Power Pro is a round braid this means you have use differant knots or the Power Pro will cut itself in half as it works. I also had trouble with Power Pro till a friend showed me to use a Palamar knot or a Uni knot. Since I changed knots no more problems.

Tight Lines

Jim

[GLF]

I have been using 30lb Fireline for backing on my full cores, for the last two seasons and have not had a breakage.

[DIRTY DOG]

i also yous 30 lb. fireline and the only problems with breaking was with a bad tip on the rod that was cuting the line as i was trolling

[mattmishler]

ok i think that we might put in on the rest or the cores. after the whole every thing they all went to tiger braid. i dont like the mono on the backing i dont thing that the board pops off as easy. when we put in on there it will be fireline

[1mainiac]

I have been using 30lb Fireline for backing on my full cores, for the last two seasons and have not had a breakage.

True Mike and I have used Power Pro for 3 seasons on my dipsey rods with no issues since I changed knots. But weren't you having problems with your board pins having excessive wear this summer? My point is using mono for a backer on core works and solves nearly all of the release problems. I think way to often guys start with to small of a reel and use braid to make up the size differance. I have yet to meet the fish that can't be caught on 20 or 25 lb test mono on Lake MI. I have however seen several times when you run out of line cause you chose a small reel and had to run less line to get it to fit. Not much sucks worse then having a fish run and seeing the spool become empty. Oh I forgot to mention my Power Pro is backed with 25 lb mono. What can I say I love mono it works and it is forgiving.

[GLF]

True Mike and I have used Power Pro for 3 seasons on my dipsey rods with no issues since I changed knots. But weren't you having problems with your board pins having excessive wear this summer? My point is using mono for a backer on core works and solves nearly all of the release problems. I think way to often guys start with to small of a reel and use braid to make up the size differance. I have yet to meet the fish that can't be caught on 20 or 25 lb test mono on Lake MI. I have however seen several times when you run out of line cause you chose a small reel and had to run less line to get it to fit. Not much sucks worse then having a fish run and seeing the spool become empty. Oh I forgot to mention my Power Pro is backed with 25 lb mono. What can I say I love mono it works and it is forgiving.

The excessive wear was caused by the front release releasing, and the board sliding down the lead core. The friction of the core on the pin wears a groove in the pin. I have since replaced the front releases and replaced the pins with stainless steel pins.

I am running my full cores on Okuma 45's. There is not enough room on a spool for a full core and a mono backing. Some say to put a piece of mono in between the core and the braid. Well......I do not always clip on the board after the core is out. Sometimes I will run an extra 100' + of backing out to get the max depth out of the core.

[1mainiac]

Ok Mike I never let that much out on my full cores between the core and the board. So you are right there by the time you got it all out you would have nearly nothing left with mono. I forgot that you use the sliding board setup just remembered you had trouble with wear on the board. I would rather use 55 series reels for my full core setup but had the 45's so have made them work. I have never been spooled with them but have been close a few times. Perhaps I should consider going to braid but I most likely will stick with mono. It works for me and honestly I am considering going way down on poundage and plan on running 14 lb on my rigger poles this year. I have plenty of 14 lb Stren hi Vis green if anyone needs any. I have a huge spool left roughly 33 miles still left on it and want to use it up.

[Paulywood]

I changed my spoon rigger rods over to 15# last year and didn't see any problem. I didn't fish my own equipment enough to know if it made a difference or not. I keep a couple of rods spooled up with 20# to run flashers off the riggers. I also have a rod setup with 12# that I run spoons on during the day. It's fun catching 15-20# fish on that setup.

[1mainiac]

Kinda what I was thinking Nick I have 4 rigger poles to re line this year as 3 seasons is enough on the line. Since I have the big spool of 14 lb I figured I would save a few bucks and run it I always used to run 14 early and 25 late in the season. But the last 2 years I just left the line on I think I did better in the spring with the lighter line.

[GLF]

I have 8 rods spooled up with 15lb. These are on 8' medium light action rods. I start the day off with the other rods with 20lb test. When the sun gets up, I usually switch over to the lighter lined rods on my riggers.

To me....it seems like most of the fish caught out of Lake Michigan are in the 12-14lb range. The 15lb test in the open water is plenty strong enough for these fish. You can not horse a fish around at the back of the boat with the lighter set up!

[mattmishler]

i think that the 12 pound rod that we run on our boat makes a difference on clear blue days but i thing that you can get away with 20 on the clouldy days. i like the 12 pound test and a king taking 100 feet out on a run. it gives a whole new challange

[Toxic]

To feed off of EdBs response. Here is a tip for finding cracks in your guides. Use a Q-tip and run it around your rod eyes. If there is a crack, the cotton fibers will stick to it.

[DIRTY DOG]

ive been running 15 lb maxima on all my rigger rods and lead core leaders for close to 10 years, and i think i can count all the break offs ive had since ive been yousing it on both hands

[Priority1]

For years I ran 17# Trilene XT on my rigger rods. Lately I have run 25# Pink Ande, because I had a spool given to me. I don't fish Salmon as much as I used to, because of the limited numbers in Lake Huron. I mostly fish in the dark or low light, and haven't noticed any difference in the # of hook ups. It is nice to have the beef to help control the fish when they come in green. Even with the heavy line I like to keep the drag on the loose side to let them make some runs. If I have 400 -500 ft of line out I'll tighten the drag. Don't you just hate it when they release and come at the boat? SOG