30lb PowerPro too light for blackfish?

[MrAC1980]

Spooling up my reels I ran out of 50lb, all I have left is 30lb, is that too light for blackfishing?

[dfish28]

I'd rather break off my leader than line, who knows where it will break, I use 40 or 50 lb fluoro for leader and either 50 or 65pp

[codbuster]

I have yet to hear of a 30 lbs tog!!! I would never use more than that !!! best to be able to feel
the bite!! However in real nasty stuff you might be better off with 50!!!!

[Fishbone]

yes

[TDaly25]

I have yet to hear of a 30 lbs tog!!! I would never use more than that !!! best to be able to feel
the bite!! However in real nasty stuff you might be better off with 50!!!!
It's not the weight of the fish you have to worry about - it's the strain of the snags. Yes, 30 lb is too light

[Liv2Fish]

if you must use braid, I'd recommend going to 50 or 65. Its not because of pound test rating, rather its more because of diameter and its easier to work with and tying top shots.

[shrimpman steve]

I have 30 pound pp on my lighter set up and 50 pound on my heavier set up. In reality 30 pound is a little light you will have to bring your top shot down to 30 as well.

[SaltLife1980]

Both of my set ups for tog have 30# power pro on them.. never had an issue.. and 40# mono as my top shot..

[jlrotary]

I once thought 30 lb was sufficient....till I came across that one fish that I never saw. Now I use 50-65 lb. You don't really need to feel all the bergal bites IMO

[SaltLife1980]

I once thought 30 lb was sufficient....till I came across that one fish that I never saw. Now I use 50-65 lb. You don't really need to feel all the bergal bites IMO


So your braid broke and not the top shot?

[bigchefguy710]

Sticky stuff will cut that as easily as you can rip a piece of paper.

[SaltLife1980]

Sounds like some of these issues are due to a fray from rubbing on the boat or bottom to cause the braid to fail..

[JBird]

Use a long top shot of heavy mono and you won't have issues with frayed braid. 30 lb braid is fine unless your reel can generate 30 lbs of drag, which it probably can't.

[HDMarc]

I bring two settups when I go for Blackfish, one with 30 lb. power pro for inshore wrecks and rocks, another with 50 lb. for deeper wrecks. I think it's a matter of personal preference as long as you have your topshot tied well and use plenty of it to avoid fraying your braid.

[dfish28]

As I was trying to say ... Subliminally, use heavier, if you want to feel the perch hit,there still there, but when big momma comes and you want to bring her up, make sure you main-line is stronger than your leader.. Been there, have trust in that!

[SaltLife1980]

Story time.... Last spring when i was working we had a customer that had some reel issues so i let him use my set up.. Mojo Inshore with a Avet Sx with 30# power pro.. He casted out and hooked up with a monster drum.. He lifted this beast off the bottom and landed a 60# Drum.. now thats on 30#... If i didnt break then its not gonna break.. the fish came off the bottom and ran back down a few times.. so i have a lot of faith.. I have yet to have a blackfish break me off.. I have had knots fail.. but not the braid by its self fail.. I know people who use 20# braid and 20# top shot and have no issues..

[AustinS]

Story time.... Last spring when i was working we had a customer that had some reel issues so i let him use my set up.. Mojo Inshore with a Avet Sx with 30# power pro.. He casted out and hooked up with a monster drum.. He lifted this beast off the bottom and landed a 60# Drum.. now thats on 30#... If i didnt break then its not gonna break.. the fish came off the bottom and ran back down a few times.. so i have a lot of faith.. I have yet to have a blackfish break me off.. I have had knots fail.. but not the braid by its self fail.. I know people who use 20# braid and 20# top shot and have no issues..

My thoughts exactly. I landed a 50 lb class bluefin on 30lb braid with a 20lb flouro leader. I get that a wreck will chew up braid but it will also fray mono when you least expect it. Worry more about your knots and working a fish properly.

[MrAC1980]

Thanks for all the reply's. I have 50 on my saltist and 30 on my avet so i should be set, now just need mr. white chin to cooperate! I typically double up the first 5-6ft giving me about a 3ft double line that i tie directly to my rigs. Yes the only issue here is having to break the rig off when it gets glued to the bottom, but i deal. I'll probably end up ordering some more 50 and replace the 30, we'll see.

[AustinS]

Thanks for all the reply's. I have 50 on my saltist and 30 on my avet so i should be set, now just mr. white chin to cooperate! I typically double up the first 5-6ft giving me about a 3ft double line that i tie directly to my rigs. Yes the only issue here is having to break the rig off when it gets glued to the bottom, but i deal. I'll probably end up ordering some more 50 and replace the 30, we'll see.


As simple as it may seem, there is an art to freeing yourself from a snag. The harder you pull the further your hook digs in or your sinker gets wedged. Light jiggles work best. With that said I've donated my share of lead to the local rough spots

[MrAC1980]

Yupp... that is what I meant when I said "I deal" ;)

[Islander II]

30 lb braid = 8 lb mono
50 lb braid = 12 lb mono
Why wouldn't you use 50 lb? Then you can use 50 lb top shot. There is no loss on sensitivity between the two. How much more braid do you want to put on your reel? 30 lb top shot for blacks is a little light in my opinion, especially in the very sticky stuff.
This season we had several big blacks to 16+ lbs using 50lb. We also broke off several big fish using 50 lb. I don't think these fish would have ever made it to the boat on 30 lb when they were peeling drag to get back to their snag and you have to put the brakes on.
Better safe then sorry if you ask me!

[bigal427]

I use 30 and have no problems had 50 but can be a real pain to break when your stuck in the wreck

[njboarder]

Although not PP (suffix), I too, use 30# braid on my tog outfit and have had no problems.

[Dollar Bill]

On my Avet SX I have 30 lb PP and use a 40 lb topshot. Always thought about using heavier pp but stuck with the 30 as I use that reel for fluke also. Fish never broke the pp and even on an impossible snag usually the top shot was where the break off happened.

[Capt. Debbie]

What Am I missing here? A snag is a snag. 30# or 65# PP - it aint coming back.

And top shots get tied how often while blackfishing? If you're losing them on fish, then the knot used is suspect. I'm in my late 50's and tying 20# PP uniknots and such are not a problem. Get down around 10-12# braid then I have eye-hand feel issues.

Aside from more current drag with thicker 65#PP, you do have less feel too on what 10-15 lb monster pool winner. And how much drag does your reel even have... 12-15lbs? Put your thumb on the spool to lock it up?

So it's a macho thing then? Like guzzling beer and smoking cigars while pissing over the rail while burping the alphabet. LMAO

[MrAC1980]

OK as funny as this has become, let me nip this off in the butt. If you read my first comment, which is the purpose of this thread, I said I ran out of 50lb and only have 30lb at the moment and since I'm fishing tomorrow I was just wondering if I could get away with the 30lb. Seems like the census has spoken and yes I'll be fine but in the future the 50lb might be a better option once I replenish my supply! Hey what about 40lb being a happy medium? Surprised no one has mentioned that, lol.

[JBird]

30lb is fine. Go with that.

[SaltyAngler]

I use 30, only because as stated earlier, 50lb can be a real pain to break off.

Haven't had many disasters with 30+30 (especially since I regularly inspect my lines for fray)

[AustinS]

OK as funny as this has become, let me nip this off in the butt.

The expression is nip this in the bud ..... Lol

[Ol Pedro]

Anyone still use straight mono for the Wiley Sea Carp ?

[irishc]

30 is ok. Like others said, tie a longer top shot and the braid won't get nicked as easily. You can even use 40 lb mono for the top shot and believe it or not, when you get snaged if your knot is good and the braid is in good shape the mono top shot will usually break first, even though it is a heavier lb test. Also, something to consider... what usually gets hung up is the sinker, not the hook. That said, attach your sinker to the top shot using a lighter mono like 10-15 lb and you won't have to retie as many rigs.

[SaltLife1980]

http://www.powerpro.com/publish/content/global_fish/en/us/power_pro_v2/info/using_powerpro/specs.image.-mainParsys-000100-image.dash.jpeg

30# power pro is the same diameter as 8# mono.. But not the same tension strength..

Here is a chart for 20#

20-POUND BRAIDED-LINE TENSILE STRENGTHS

Manufacturer Line Color Actual Break (Lbs.) % Rated Strength Variance
Berkley Fireline black & flo-green 54.5 273% H
Triple FishBully Braid Moss green 46.3 232% L
Cortland Master Braid Emerald green 41.6 208% L
Cortland Spectron white 41.3 207% L
SpiderWire Stealth green 39.7 199% L
Stren Super Braid hi-vis gold 37.6 188% L
SpiderWire Spiderline Moss green 35.7 179% L
Ande Braidfluoresc yellow 34.6 173% L
Western Filament Tuf Line black & white 34.5 173% L
Western Filament Tuf Line XP green 33.8 169% L
PowerPro Superline Moss green 33.0 165% L
Platypus ****** Braid pink 31.5 158% L
Izorline Spectra green 30.5 153% L
Offshore Angler Magibraid green 30.0 150% M
Cabela's Ripcord Si Plus green 27.6 138% L
Sufix Performance Braid lo-vis green 23.4 117% L

Standard deviation: 0-3 = L (low), 3+-6 = M (moderate), 6+ = H (high)


So 20# power pro broke at 33#'s


Ill say it again.. a lot of these lost big fish are due to a fray or damaged braid... Or a knot failing not the braid its self breaking..

[MrAC1980]

The expression is nip this in the bud ..... Lol

LOL I like my way better... :D