Line preference.

[Stratosman]

I have two rods, one with 80lb Ande's mono and another spooled with 80 P.P. In my limited cat experience I have found that I get more bites when using the mono as compared to the P.P. I'm not sure why that would be and maybe it is simply a coincidence.... anyway, what seems to be the line of choice? I like the castability of the P.P though.

[Ralph Wiggum]

80lb mono? Holy dump, how can you cast that? Most guys I know use the 80lb Power Pro me included). The problem with it is it doesn't have much in terms of abrasion resistance, so if it rubs against a sharp rock, you'll have problems.

I also have one reel spooled with 25lb Trilene Big Game. I don't think you have to go nearly as heavy with mono because of the natural tendency to stretch and act like a shock absorber.

[Stratosman]

On the right reel it casts fine... think about it, 3-4 oz. weight and a 8" sucker, easily cast 30 yards or far enough to kill your bait. Plenty far for the spots I fish I guess.

[Ralph Wiggum]

What kind of reel? I imagine that 80lb mono is extremely thick and stiff.

[Stratosman]

Yeah it's plenty thick...not too stiff. Ande's makes a good mono, used primarily offshore applications I believe, maybe overkill, I dunno, I just know I'd hate to have the state record break me off. And I know she's there, my buddy caught and released her last year. And the abrasion resistance which you touched upon was another reason to go heavy mono, snags and rocks, who the hell knows whats down there, I do know that there are plenty of things in a catfish's bedroom that could screw you up in a hurry. The 80lb is actually spooled on a Penn 209. Not a casting reel I know, but with that kind of weight it does the job, and those reels last forever. I have another 209 I use for trolling lead core for walleyes and have used it as well for trolling steel wire for lakers. And you can pick one up on hsolist for under 30 bucks typically.

[Guest]

And what are you useing for hooks stratosman??

80# mono would not fit through a 10/0 gamakatsu hook eye. There is no way your casting 30 yards with 80# mono with 3 oz let alone 4 oz of weight and an 8" sucker. That is not enough weight on the line for the line to spool tightly when you reel it in which is going to result in all kinds of problems.

Your not going to use 80# mono effectively unless you have the reel the size of a penn International.. you know the ones that you can strap yourself to while sitting in a fighting chair catching marlin.

If that spool of line says 80#.. its a typo. 50# mono comes with its share fo problems and barely cast.. 80# mono and efficiently casting it with a feather weight bait(for that line).. not going to happen.

[stam34]

I use 50lb big game berkely it works great all the time with most every hook and cast rather easily with abu c3 7000.

[Stratosman]

Okay I'm lying then.....?

It does fit through the eye of a 10/0 Owner SSW and is does cast as far as I need it to and it does spool up just fine as previously stated. Believe it or not, that is up to you.