So I need to respool my reels for spring. Some are low one is blown up lol. I fished braid, mono and flouro this year and loved them all. Flouro is just so hard for me because ya are one mistake away form a $20 mistake lol. I love braid for the hookset ( sometimes it’s too aggressive on small fish) my options are 

15 pound big game 

40 pound power pro 

15 pound seaguar invizx

 

i just don’t know what to do lol. I hate deciding 

Hard to say for sure without knowing what setups these are going on and what you are using them for but here are some thoughts:

1. 40lb braid - I use 30lb braid with a small leader for topwater and use 50lb braid on my frog / flipping & pitching setup, but I've thought about just spooling 1 reel with 40lb braid and using it for both. My thinking is the gear ratio would be higher for both anyway since I like usually throw a walking bait or a popper if I'm fishing topwater. But even if you go with more than 1 reel those are what I'd use that braid for.

2. 15lb fluoro - Good for bottom contact stuff or baits like a deep diving crankbait or a jerkbait where depth is a thing. Agree it can be expensive but I still prefer fluoro for most of my casting setups although I have found myself considering mono recently.

3. 15lb big game - In my case I started thinking about switching over to mono on at least one of my setups...I use a 7'6" flipping stick for a 6" magdraft freestyle (or daingerous unloaded) and was thinking about going with a mono line instead of fluoro (the one I'm leaning towards is 17lb sufix advance which is technically a copoly) but I like the idea because it would provide a little more give on this setup and I don't think the thicker line or the fact that it doesn't sink would come into play as much with something like a larger swimbait. Having said that if you want to save some money I'm betting you could use it for other lures like that as well (eg. smaller swimbaits, spinnerbaits, bladed jigs, underspins, etc.).

 

 

I go straight FC on all Casting rigs. Usually 15 or 12 lb (not pictured)

Braid (8, 10, 15 or 20 lb) to FC or Mono leader ( usually 6, 8, 11, 13, lb ) on all Spinning Rigs.

 

A-Jay

Well I can simplify how I do it. 12-15lb big game for all baitcasting reels. If fishing around grass it’s straight braid. Lb test is personal preference but I prefer 30 for most with the exception of 50 for frogging

40# 832. Good to go until it runs too low.

Thanks for the advice so far everyone!!!

I have returned to using fluorocarbon on almost all of my setups.  I buy it by the 1000 yard spools and can refill often.  Buying that amount can reduce the cost significantly.  

I keep it simple….. 12 mono Big Game, low-vis green on almost everything.  50# Berkeley 9X on my two rigs I fish the ruff stuff with.

I use Tripolymer, FC, and Braid/FC depends on my setups.

1 hour ago, GRiver said:

I keep it simple….. 12 mono Big Game, low-vis green on almost everything.  50# Berkeley 9X on my two rigs I fish the ruff stuff with.

That is probably the route I will go. I have a spool of 12 pound big game also actually. It just feels so spongy to me? Is the best way to put it. The only thing I tried it on though as some top water poppers. 

I use 30 lb. braid in the weeds, but prefer 8-12 lb. mono for open water. However, I'm going to be using hard jerkbaits this spring and am thinking of using 6 lb. mono for them. 

 

I've tried fluoro, but don't understand its appeal. It's stiff and knots can unravel. Yes, I know you can treat the line, but I'm Thoreau. I'm looking to simplify, not complicate. Thus, I also don't tie leaders. I don't need yet another one more thing to do.

Frog, punch, big spook rods get braid, I run a short leader of 20lb big game on the spook.

 

All other casters are fluoro or copoly, just depends if I want to fish top water with them.

 

Braid to leader for spinning always.

I take mine to Cabelas every March for re spooling. They have a tornado line winder and they do not charge for it. They also do not charge for mono backing under the braid. Been doing it for 15 years. I drop off a bunch and go shop for a while.

20 minutes ago, gim said:

I take mine to Cabelas every March for re spooling. They have a tornado line winder and they do not charge for it. They also do not charge for mono backing under the braid. Been doing it for 15 years. I drop off a bunch and go shop for a while.

I assume you supply the line, correct? I know, dumb question LOL

4 hours ago, Swamp Girl said:

I use 30 lb. braid in the weeds, but prefer 8-12 lb. mono for open water. However, I'm going to be using hard jerkbaits this spring and am thinking of using 6 lb. mono for them. 

 

I've tried fluoro, but don't understand its appeal. It's stiff and knots can unravel. Yes, I know you can treat the line, but I'm Thoreau. I'm looking to simplify, not complicate. Thus, I also don't tie leaders. I don't need yet another one more thing to do.

I have a spool of 12 pound also. Maybe I need to revisit it. I agree I don’t wana over complicate anything 

1 hour ago, Joedodge said:

I have a spool of 12 pound also. Maybe I need to revisit it. I agree I don’t wana over complicate anything 

 

It works well for me, Joe. We're the keep-it-simple crew.

@Jigfishn10 yes I supply the line. If you don’t have what you need you can obviously pick out whatever you want and have it spooled up with that too.

 

I know a product specialist there so I have him do it. I’ve never experienced a line spooling problem using them.

@gim, I like this idea. I spool my own but I won’t kid you, I’d rather get a root canal than spool reels, 😂

It takes only takes them a few minutes per reel.

 

Advice: Remove your old line in advance.

I run braid to leader on ALL my spinning reels.  I run straight braid on one flip and punch combo and two frog rods.  Two topwater combos get braid to a short mono leader.  Two topwater combos(poppers) get straight mono.  All the rest get quality Florocarbon  from 8 to 22 lb. tests.  This has worked really well for me.  It’s winter.🤪

I enjoy spooling my own reels so that’s no issue. I fished leaders for years in salt water. Braid  to flouro. But I just don’t care for it in freshwater applications. Looking like I’m gonna be running a reel with braid and some with mono and just keep it simple this year 

@Joedodge  Given the options you provided:

InvizX is your jack-of-all trades, all-purpose line.  You can use it for just about anything except heavy cover and topwater, which brings me to....

 

PowerPro - braid shines in heavy vegetation and techniques like flipping/pitching.  It does well around woody cover too, such as flooded bushes.

 

Big Game - mono is best for topwater lures because it floats, plus it has some stretch, which is a good thing for lures with treble hooks (it helps keep fish pinned).  The floating characteristic helps with lure presentations.  For example, popping baits work better because the line isn't pulling the bait under water.

 

So use InvizX on all of your outfits except dedicated topwater and flipping (jig/worm) setups.

 

Hope that helps!

Thanks for all the great advice everyone!!

my wife is hanging with friends today.   I'm taking the opportunity to respool a few reels to start chasing my cold water bass and move into spring.  it happens pretty quick around here.  

 

I got into bigger bass starting Feb 2025 and this year, I am starting NOW.  

5 minutes ago, Darth-Baiter said:

my wife is hanging with friends today.   I'm taking the opportunity to respool a few reels to start chasing my cold water bass and move into spring.  it happens pretty quick around here.  

 

I got into bigger bass starting Feb 2025 and this year, I am starting NOW.  

Very nice! If it’s like last year about mid march I’ll start catching. But it’s a slow game. April will get good tho