[Bigwater]

Ok It's time to spool my 9/0. Brand new. The 12/0 ain't quite ready yet. Heres what I've learned from reading the shark board. Correct me if I;m wrong please. I'm gonna load 25 yards of 80 lb. mono for backing. To this using an Albright knot/w lock. ( I've been practicing this mind you) I will tie and load 50lb. Power pro. I,m just knot sure how much. I'm thinking around 400 yards. I have to leave enough room for 200 yards of 80 lb. mono for the topshot. Am I right and does anyone have a good feel for how much power pro?

My leader will have 10 ft. of 400 lb. mono correctly attatched as I learned here to about 4 ft. of 400lb. stranded cable. 20/0 circle. It will have coastlock clip for the weight witch will be heavier than my bait. I will make it similar to a casting rig but it will be taken out by jetski.

Thanks in advance for the willingness to help us newbies,
Bigwater

 

[SkipJack]

Hey BigWater, Go with 150# test power pro. You will be able to fill a 9/0 with 750 yards of 150# test power pro with room for a top shot. The 150# test power pro is equivalent to 30# mono. If you spool up 50# power pro the reel will look a little under spooled.

900 yards of line is plenty. You should be able to land anything with that combo. I wouldn't recommened yakking out a 20# jackfish on it, but, You could land anything up to 10 feet.

I have a line capacity calculator that I programmed. Maybe this can help you out. Click on the link below.

http://www.gulfcoastrednecks.com/linecapacity.htm

 

[gundoctor]

Hey BigWater, Go with 150# test power pro. You will be able to fill a 9/0 with 750 yards of 150# test power pro with room for a top shot. The 150# test power pro is equivalent to 30# mono. If you spool up 50# power pro the reel will look a little under spooled.

900 yards of line is plenty. You should be able to land anything with that combo. I wouldn't recommened yakking out a 20# jackfish on it, but, You could land anything up to 10 feet.

I have a line capacity calculator that I programmed. Maybe this can help you out. Click on the link below.

http://www.gulfcoastrednecks.com/linecapacity.htm

I just love people that think they can make a 9/0 into a 16/0 just by filling it up with 150# Power Pro. The reel is built to deal with 50# line. Any heavier and you are wasting money. There have been a lot of fish lost due to Power Pro abrading, so I think you are much better served with a topshot of heavy mono.
The best way to set up a 9/0 IMHO, is with 50 yds of dacron as a cushion followed by 750-800 yds of 50# mono and a 100-150 yd topshot of 80# mono. That setup will give about the most bang for the buck you are going to get out of a 9/0.
My leader consists of 10 foot of 480# stainless cable with a 350# swivel at the top and a loop at the bottom. I use one or more 2 ft bite leaders that have a loop in the top and a 20/0 circle hook at the bottom. The loops at the top of the bite leaders are attached to the loop at the bottom of the main leader by a 1/16 inch stainless quick link. The swivel at the top of the main leader is tied directly to my topshot. All cable connections are made with backbraided loops that are then crimped with double barrel copper crimps. There is a sliding coast lock snap on the main leader to attach a weight to.

 

[SkipJack]

I agree, GD, I fill my 9/0 with 50# mono and then top shot it with 80# mono. I said the 150# power pro cause the abrasion resistance of 150# is more than the 50# power pro. If the guy wants the extra line cpacity I just suggested the heavier pound braid so that his reel can get filled. It's really just for the pure strength anyways, The 80# knot to the 150# will snap way before the braid has a chance to work. But, I was just saying go with the heavier stuff since he has alot of room on his reel.

If it were me I wouldn't put any braid on that reel. Its best suited with 50# mono and an 80# topshot. Which is the case for my 6/0 wide and 9/0.

 

[Ernest]

The top shot will break around 90lb. The Power Pro will break real close to 55 lb.'s. Thus, if you have to button down the drag on a big fish with a bunch of line out and it breaks off, you will likely lose both the expensive spectra and the top shot.

IMHO, the breaking point of the top shot (not the leader) should always be less than the spectra backing. Not what is written on the spool, but what the stuff really breaks at.

At the same time, GunDr. is right. Irrespective of the line, fish it like its only got 50. If you are in fact going to fish it like 50, why spend the cash on spectra? You save a couple bucks a year by not having to replace all the mono, but it will take a few years for you to even break even.

 

[Bigwater]

Man, guys that sure helps a lot. Thanks for all the input. I was about to screw up. You guys talking about it sure helps me understand everything better. Skipjack I understand your answer and I also see what Gun dr. is saying. Now that I'm further along with ya'lls help I'm gonna knot put Braid on this one. I'll use the briad for the 12/0 when I get the right rod. On this one I'll put 50lb. Dacron backing to 50 lb. mono 400 yards, and 150 yards of 80 lb. topshot. Simple as that.

I'm gonna practice doing a leader like Doctor is mentioning. It looks like theres a lot of different ways to rig up and you guys now have narrowed it down to some workable solutions.

I was really surprised at the Albright knot. I tied some 50 lb. Powerpro to some 80 lb. mono. Tied one end of it to my belt and the other end to my front hooks on the Z71. Headed out for Mexico and the Braided line broke about 3/8 inch back from the knot. I new then that the knot was pretty darn good.

The 50lb. powerpro I had I spooled my 9500 Penn with. Topshot of 80 lb. mono. Hope it is right.

Thanks again for the help, I'll keep askin when I run into a snag.

Bigwater

 

[gundoctor]

Beach fishermen use a top shot for a different reason than boat fishermen do.
Off the beach, abrasion on the bottom is one of the major problems we have. Adding 100-150 yds of much heavier mono is a good way to maintain enough line strength due to the nicks and scrapes that the last few yards of line take.
If I get a nick that weakens the 80# topshot down to 50#, I still have enough line strength to use the full force of the 50# main line. On my 12/0, I use 150 yds of 130# tied to the 80# main. The top shot is changed fairly often also.
Boat fishermen generally use topshots because they want some shock resistance from the mono and they use spectra so they can get enough line on the smaller lighter reels they are using. (At least that is how I understand it)

 

[gundoctor]

Man, guys that sure helps a lot. Thanks for all the input. I was about to screw up. You guys talking about it sure helps me understand everything better. Skipjack I understand your answer and I also see what Gun dr. is saying. Now that I'm further along with ya'lls help I'm gonna knot put Braid on this one. I'll use the briad for the 12/0 when I get the right rod. On this one I'll put 50lb. Dacron backing to 50 lb. mono 400 yards, and 150 yards of 80 lb. topshot. Simple as that.

I'm gonna practice doing a leader like Doctor is mentioning. It looks like theres a lot of different ways to rig up and you guys now have narrowed it down to some workable solutions.

I was really surprised at the Albright knot. I tied some 50 lb. Powerpro to some 80 lb. mono. Tied one end of it to my belt and the other end to my front hooks on the Z71. Headed out for Mexico and the Braided line broke about 3/8 inch back from the knot. I new then that the knot was pretty darn good.

The 50lb. powerpro I had I spooled my 9500 Penn with. Topshot of 80 lb. mono. Hope it is right.

Thanks again for the help, I'll keep askin when I run into a snag.

Bigwater

May I make a suggestion. Leave the braid to spinning reels and maybe one reel like a 555 or Jigmaster to fish cast baits in the weed when nothing else will stay out.
Big reels like a 12/0, hold plenty of 80# mono (over 1000yds) to fight any thing you are going to handle from the beach without a fighting chair. If you want to get the fighting chair and go for 130#, then get a 14/0 or even a 16/0. With standup gear, 80# line is all you can handle unless you are an unusually large person.
What I'm saying is, a 200-250# man harnessed up to a 130# class rig with no fighting chair, against a big enough fish, is either going to back off the drag or go water skiing. With some sort of fighting chair, a 100# person can use all the drag of a 130# class rig. I ain't sure I can use all the drag on my 12/0 with 80# with out a chair.
BTW a 12/0 is a 80# class reel.

 

[Ernest]

I don't know anything about "boat fishermen," but the principle is the same as are the risks.

If the "topshot," to use your terminology, is not weakened by nicks, and you have a decent fish, decreasing spool diameter (multiply initial drag setting by 2x or 3x, maybe more), the added drag created by the line running through the water, a star drag (with its inaccurate adjustments), its easy to break a fish off. The fish will then be dragging around 150 yards or so of heavy mono and some unknown amount of the main line/backing. To me thats a dead fish 99% of the time. Just my opinion.

To avoid that, whether in a boat, beach or bay, I think the top shot (not the leader) needs to break before the main line/backing. Again, just my opinion.

 

[Bigwater]

Gundoc,
Understood. It sure will be easier without braid. I'm gonna go that way. Ernest thanks for the tips also. Without braid it'll be a heck of a lot cheaper too. By next fall I should have all my gear ready. Maybe I can assemble a small team for that rodeo. I can't hit the beach as much as some of you but it would be fun to be in it and compete. Identifying all the different sharks will be a good learning experience too. OK I've got a better way to string the 9/0 thanks to ya'll.

Bigwater

 

[Jolly Roger]

A point that is very often over looked is breaking you weights. On a 9/0 you will want to fish a larger bait. I fish 80lb on my 9/0 reels not for the fish but the weights. Makes it a little easiser to break my weights. My 9/0s are rigged with a backing of some kind, 500yrds of 100lb power pro and the rest 80lb mono. The PP is in case of a freight train. The 12/0 will be the same just move up in class. 130# PP and 100lb mono. I am no expert, just another opion.