Flathead lines

[Fozell]

Hello. I recently bought an Abu Garcia 6500 and I was wondering what kind of line I should put on it for flatheads. I've never fished for flatheads so any advice would be appreciated. Thanks

[aanderud]

I bought a 6500 last year and put on 80 lb power pro, seemed to work well enough for me. I was pretty happy with it.

You'll get lots of opinions here....suffix, power pro, mono, etc. I like not having to spool up every year, and the super braids supposedly are good for several years. My experience with mono has been that I basically change it every year due to the memory effects. Maybe this is not an issue if you buy certain brands, I don't know.

[DTro]

I like Power Pro in either 65 or 80 lb. I like the Hi-Vis variety (yellow color).

Make sure that you put some sort of backing (usually mono) on your spool so the braid doesn't slip.

Good Luck and Welcome!

[hanso612]

Make sure you pick a stiff braid. Tying a wispy braid in the dark can get tricky especially if it is windy. I like 80 over 50 for this reason. You will have 5 ounces of sinker and bait-or more pulling line off your real so casting distance isn't an issue. Power pro has a waxy coating that helps with stiffness and knot slippage.Hans

[hanson]

I like 80lb PowerPro.

[harvey lee]

All cat reels have yellow hi vis power pro in 50# plus.

[Spazzums08]

Will PowerPro work with Circle Hooks?

[DTro]

yep, ideally not the best, but I've had good luck with PP and circles

[crazyice]

 Originally Posted By: dtro

I like Power Pro in either 65 or 80 lb. I like the Hi-Vis variety (yellow color).

Make sure that you put some sort of backing (usually mono) on your spool so the braid doesn't slip.

Good Luck and Welcome!

I also use Power Pro on all of my rods, not just cats, I actually prefer to put a piece of electrical tape on the reel first and then just spool all power pro and no backing, I have also double taped it, with one piece below the first loop, and another over the knot. I haven't had a problem with slippage this way. Oh, and I do also use it with circle hooks as well, with about the same luck as non-circle hooks.

[hanson]

 Originally Posted By: crazyice

I actually prefer to put a piece of electrical tape on the reel first and then just spool all power pro and no backing, I have also double taped it, with one piece below the first loop, and another over the knot. I haven't had a problem with slippage this way.

Thats a good and perfectly acceptable way of doing it as well. If you've got a higher line capacity reel, such as a Garcia 7000, you'll want to spool backing on or you'll have $50 plus dollars of PP sitting on your reel, 2/3rds of which you'll never use.

[Larry FlatCaster]

 Originally Posted By: hanson

 Originally Posted By: crazyice

I actually prefer to put a piece of electrical tape on the reel first and then just spool all power pro and no backing, I have also double taped it, with one piece below the first loop, and another over the knot. I haven't had a problem with slippage this way.

Thats a good and perfectly acceptable way of doing it as well. If you've got a higher line capacity reel, such as a Garcia 7000, you'll want to spool backing on or you'll have $50 plus dollars of PP sitting on your reel, 2/3rds of which you'll never use.

Thats how I did it for the last 2 years ICE. This year I did the mono backing and 150yds of PP. Next year I'll reverse the PP. When I despooled and saw all the untouched 275 pluse yards of PP laying on the ground, thought it was a waste.

Not to mentioned saved about 40 bucks, between all my rods.

[Shack]

Ya, using the tape is a great idea. They brag about it in the instructions for PP, but do not supply a little bite when the new roll of line. I know they want to sell their tape, but by people using the tape, they would sell more line.

I have used 65 PP in the past and liked it. I did upgrade to the 80lb high "Vis" this year. I use a 20lb big game mono backer. I fill up bottom of spool with mono, uni to uni on the PP and spool on 150 yards.

I did split up a 300 yards spool this year. I came with in yards of splitting the spool. Lucky

[dps]

If some people are neglecting to back their reels with mono, and just taping the line and using the standard 150 yard spool... they are giving up a lot in reel/casting performance. A reel performs best by far with a full spool of line.

Im not Rockerfeller, I am not buying $60 worth of line to spool a Tekota. Mono backing is cheap, 150 yards of power pro is just about right for random line damage and loss. The spools have to be full for me or I am not happy.

[Larry FlatCaster]

 Originally Posted By: dps

If some people are neglecting to back their reels with mono, and just taping the line and using the standard 150 yard spool... they are giving up a lot in reel/casting performance. A reel performs best by far with a full spool of line.

Im not Rockerfeller, I am not buying $60 worth of line to spool a Tekota. Mono backing is cheap, 150 yards of power pro is just about right for random line damage and loss. The spools have to be full for me or I am not happy.

I'll second that on the full spool performance...

[Tyler Holm]

 Originally Posted By: dps

they are giving up a lot in reel/casting performance.

Not to mention cranking power and drag speed.

[fishn4kids]

Glad i read this forum. Just got the 8 ft king kat rod from cabelas with the abu 6600. What would a guy do without all the great info on these forums. Thank you guys very much.

Duane

[Tyler Holm]

I haven't been convinced to change from 80lb Power Pro.

[DTro]

I haven't been convinced to change 80lb

I would recommend purchasing the cheapest mono you can find at Wallyworld or whereever. I prefer a smaller diameter mono (10 or 12 lb) as it will lay a little flatter on the spool.

Hopefully you will never have to worry about it, but make sure you use a quality knot (double uni or albright) to join the mono and braid together.

You just never know when the unthinkable might happen and that mono could be the only thing between you and the fish of a lifetime.

[Shack]

Ya, I always wonder about how the knot at the spool or the double uni is going to hold up. Then I think about it, if I had a fish on thst would despool my rod, the chances of getting this fish in would be pretty hard. I would at least get video of it ripping line and feel good.

I do not know if this means much, but I used 65PP for my minow bucket rope most of the season last year. It worked great. I just replaced it yesterday with real rope. One of those things you never think about until you are at the bait store and slap you self in the forhead.

[slipperybob]

If you decide to use cheap mono...personally I wouldn't connect my braid line to cheap mono. I'll just knot the braid down on top of the mono backing.

I've used about 40-50 yrds of braid as a long lead/main line and connected that to good 20# mono with a uni to uni knot. It lets a really clear indicator of how much line you've got out. Gives you the best casting distance when you've somehow manage to just spool everyting just right and there's only a few winds of braid left on the spool, and there's no effect of line dig in. Just enough for a good run!

[crazyice]

Alot of the aformentined reasons for being careful about not getting down to your backing, is why I personally decided to do use all braid on my reels. I would rather have a few more dollars of line on my reel than loose a big fish cause it spooled me down to my backing and broke off.

[mdzika]

DTRO,

What do you mean when you say "so the braid doesn't slip"?

I have been using 65 power pro for the last two years, but have never used mono or tape on the spool.

Thanks, Marc

[Ralph Wiggum]

 Originally Posted By: mdzika

DTRO,

What do you mean when you say "so the braid doesn't slip"?

I have been using 65 power pro for the last two years, but have never used mono or tape on the spool.

Thanks, Marc

Power Pro is slippery line. If it is tied directly to the spool, it has the tendency to slip (the spool turns but the line stays put). A lot of guy think that something is wrong with their drag, but in reality, the spool is spinning inside the coil of line.

[DTro]

and in response to that, a lot of reel manufacturers have added a hole or a little stud to tie directly to.

I still like to use the mono as a filler though.

[hanson]

 Originally Posted By: dtro

I still like to use the mono as a filler though.

And even then... I like to tape the mono to the spool with electrical tape. Sort of belt, belt, AND suspenders but I don't want anything moving.