Power Pro Braided Line is fraying???

[Pharticus]

Put this stuff on a spincast reel and tie on a flourocarbon leader.

In almost no time flat (a barely-fished-at-all 2 weeks), the line has begun to fray like crazy. Is it the line? The reel? The rod eyes?

[MIbasser]

I don't think it's the line. I would guess the reel or the rod. I had Power Pro on a rod to 2 years and had no issues. I just finished one year on another rod and had no issues.

Take a q-tip to each guide and see if it snags on anything. The next thing would be to look into the reel.

Just wondering but where is the fray at? In the reel when you cast it? The first 5' of the rod? That might make it easier to pinpoint the snag.

[nobass]

check the eyelets on your rod. the guides are proably not made for braid and it is cutting into them this will fray your line bigtime

[dave]

There are baitcasting reels, spinning reels and spincast reels. Spincast reels are closed face reels. The spincast reels are not made for braid. Please specify the correct reel. Knowing which reel will help also.

[Pharticus]

Originally Posted by dave

There are baitcasting reels, spinning reels and spincast reels. Spincast reels are closed face reels. The spincast reels are not made for braid. Please specify the correct reel. Knowing which reel will help also.

Spincast. Zebco Delta . New reel and new pole. Too bad they aren't meant to be, because I can cast to the moon with this setup.

Originally Posted by MIbasser

Take a q-tip to each guide and see if it snags on anything.

Great idea. I'll have to give that a try.

Originally Posted by MIbasser

Just wondering but where is the fray at?

It travels much of the length of the line.

[boloson]

Highly doubt it's the line. I've never used those spincast stuff buy my guess is the line is rubbing on something inside the reel

[BigBassin144]

My guess is, if the rod matches the reel, the braid is eating into the guides. Cheap rods don't have guides that will stand up to braid. Spincast reels aren't great either...

Learn to use a baitcaster if you haven't already, you won't regret it.

BB

[Pharticus]

Originally Posted by BigBassin144

Learn to use a baitcaster if you haven't already, you won't regret it.

This reel is as close to a professional model as is made (same as the Omega sans multiple spools), insofar as spincasts go. I'm sticking with it because I have 4 sons (about to be 5) that I'm teaching right now... which means I hardly get to cast between knots, snags, lure changes, etc - and haven't the time or patience to expand my repertoire at present. Someday soon, though.

[carolina-rig-01]

Originally Posted by Pharticus

This reel is as close to a professional model as is made (same as the Omega sans multiple spools), insofar as spincasts go. I'm sticking with it because I have 4 sons (about to be 5) that I'm teaching right now... which means I hardly get to cast between knots, snags, lure changes, etc - and haven't the time or patience to expand my repertoire at present. Someday soon, though.

I can certainly understand you wanting to use the spincast reel because of your sons. I also agree that chances are, your braid is getting chewed up from the rod guides which actually are getting chewed up by the braid. If your guides are chewed up then that rod is pretty much ruined. If I were you I would replace it with a cheaper rod that can stand up to the abuse braid will dish out, I believe the Berkley Lightning Shock rod will handle braid and it's not a very expensive rod. Whatever you decide to do I suggest you replace that rod because those guides will chew up whatever line you use now. If you end up replacing it with a rod that won't stand up to braid I would spool the reel with a good mono.

[Garry2rs]

Here is an old fashion test for faulty guides.
Take a Q-Tip and run it around the tip guide...Look for cotton fibers stuck to the guide.
This indicates a crack that might be invisible to the naked eye.
If the tip is okay, try the others, but I'm betting on the tip guide.
Garry2R's

[Pharticus]

First off, thanks for the feedback so far.

For the moment, let's assume I need to upgrade my rod.

I'm running a Walmart Rhino Rod at present (because I won Rhino gear when it was first introduced in a fishing contest I won as a youth, and I'm partial to it on a nostalgic level), but I'm more than happy to return it as defective if it just cost me its worth in braided line.

Truth be told, I've never had a quality rod in my life. And while the way my kids snap tips off, bend eyes, etc (the very thought gives me pause) - perhaps it's time to start investing in something a step up from my childhood adventures.

If I were to upgrade, however, what are the most affordable GOOD, QUALITY rods out there? Bear in mind that I will be impressed by anything, as I am still running rods from my childhood and generally go buy those $7 Shakespeare rods from Walmart because my kids will thrash several each season.

I've been assembling an order from basspro for a couple of days. (And as an interesting side note, because I kept adding to my shopping cart but never purchasing, they sent me an email offering free shipping.) I fish almost exclusively for panfish and bass. Rarely pursue large bass - because the kids crave quantity over quality.

Berkely Lightning Shock was mentioned. What else should I consider?

[MIbasser]

I would even look at an Ugly Stick. I had one as a kid and it worked great. You could also look at a Berkley Lightning rod. Or, a 3rd option would be go to a Gander Mtn and see if you can find a combo on sale for $40-$50. For panfish that is more then what you would need.

[Raul]

Check the guides, run a stocking and if the stocking runs then the guide is the culprit.

Check the line pick up inside the reel, it has the tendency to wear and thus fray the line.

[Garry2rs]

At the low end of the price scale, the brand doesn't mean much...They're all being made somewhere in the Orient.
You are looking for the most for your money...IM6 graphite would be nice...Look at the guides...you want ceramic vs metal, and as a rule of thumb, the more guides the better.
Cork grips instead of foam would be a nice touch too.
Test the action by pushing the tip against the floor...Some low end rods are so soft they bend from the tip to the middle. These are okay for lobbing bait but have no snap to throw small lures.
Garry2R's

[Frogman20]

The rod for sure, probably the eyes in the rod more than likely at the top. I found a little splinter in the eye and it was trashing my line.

[Pharticus]

UPDATE: Tested the eyes of the rod with q-tips and found no issues. Upon closer inspection, I watched the reel in action and am convinced that it's the aggressive angle that the line pickups are grabbing it at.

Either way, I peeled all the braided line off and went back to mono. Nowhere near the same sensitivity, but life goes on.

Thanks.

[dave]

Check to make sure the line pick ups inside the reel aren't torn up. The braid tears them up and then they tear up the braid.

[islandbass]

Looks like you beat me to the punch. I was going to suggest the line pick up as the culprit. I saw it happen with my daughter barbie reel. Actually it damaged any line it picked up.

You mention your kids being five. My daughter learned to use a spinning reel at that age and a bc reel at 6 1/2. I realize the convenience of spincasters at their age, but there is a warming joy seeing kids wield spinning and casting reels (at least for me) that age.

[Pharticus]

Originally Posted by islandbass

You mention your kids being five.

Close. I'm almost to 5 kids. I have 4 boys: 11, 9, 8, and 5... with son #5 due in about 2.5 weeks.

So, though I WANT them to advance, last season was their first consistent summer of fishing... and, well, I'd like to see JOB try to teach them all to use more complicated equipment at once!

[DVT Mike]

A damaged guide is a likely culprit here but it may very well be the reel. The design of a spin-cast reel makes them an inappropriate application for braided line. This is due to the line pick up mentioned above.

[islandbass]

Originally Posted by Pharticus

Close. I'm almost to 5 kids. I have 4 boys: 11, 9, 8, and 5... with son #5 due in about 2.5 weeks.

So, though I WANT them to advance, last season was their first consistent summer of fishing... and, well, I'd like to see JOB try to teach them all to use more complicated equipment at once!

Ahh, I see. Now that would be a challenge! Congrats on the coming of your new son!

[chet_long]

Originally Posted by Pharticus

UPDATE: Tested the eyes of the rod with q-tips and found no issues. Upon closer inspection, I watched the reel in action and am convinced that it's the aggressive angle that the line pickups are grabbing it at.

Either way, I peeled all the braided line off and went back to mono. Nowhere near the same sensitivity, but life goes on.

Thanks.

Try some flourocarbon. That should help with your sensitivity concerns.

[IowaBasser]

My guess is the problem with the line fraying was the type of reel. Like dave said, "spin-cast reels are not made for braid." The line rubs against the top of the spool similar to a spinning reel, but also rubs against the line pick-up (usually a little metal pin inside the reel), and also the inside of the case that covers the spool at the little hole where the line comes out. It would be my guess that the braid has chewed up that little hole. The line changes direction at least 3 times in a spin-cast reel and there are lots of places (besides the eyes on your rod) for the line to rub which probably weren't meant for braid; thus your line begins to fray. Braid is not very forgiving when it comes to cutting into things... (that's why the better rods have ceramic guides) just ask anyone who has sliced their finger on braid!

If you want to stay with spin-cast reels, I think you made a wise decision in switching back to mono. Until the kids get old enough to use a spinning reel or bait-caster, I don't think the difference in sensativity from braided line is going to make that much difference considering their experience and equipment.

I'd also like to throw a reccomendation out there for the Diawa Gold-Cast spin-casting reel. Those things are the cadillac of spin-casters in my opinion - they hold up very well, compared to other spin-casting reels. They are a little more expensive, in the $55-$60 range last time I looked which was a couple years ago.

I had a Diawa "Under-Cast" that I used to teach my niece and nephew with ...same concept as a spin-cast with a closed spool and trigger for casting, only it hangs under the rod like a spinning reel, so the kids can cast easily while learning to hold the rod in their right hand and reel with their left like you would a spinning reel. I think they only came in very light-weight models? But they were less expensive too, like $35.