[657550]

Be patient with my question if it is obvious. I am fairly new to this but love it like you wouldnt believe. I have never found a more relaxing satisfying hobby in my life. I found myself thinking of fishing the surf everday of the winter and cant wait for the 15th.

I have two reels I used all last season.

Always washed down with freshwater after fishing.

One has braid and seems like it started to slow down by the end of the season? I lost a good portion of it to Blues and rocks.

The second wasnt used as much...maybe 10 times all season, and has mono.

Is it too soon to change the line after only one season or is it a must?

Thanks for your time.

 

[RJCAPPY]

You should be good with the mono. What breaks down the mono is not so much the use but sunlight(UV light)and of course niks and cuts. What i do with the braid is when it gets a little old (being $BRAID$)and costs so much i flip the line, meaning i bring the part thats tied to the backing to the front so its nice and fresh! Welcome to the CLUB! Tight lines!

 

[tman1]

With Mono I'd replace annually even if only used it a couple times. If you are fishing a couple times a week would need it changed alot more often.

Braid- you should be able to get a couple seasons out of it but if you lost a good portion of it you should replace it. Not having enough line on your reel will kill your casting distance. Some people save money by only using a "top-shot" of braid from A 125-150 yard spool.

 

[657550]

Great. I was hoping I didnt have to change that braid but I did lose alot and I am still working on distance so I can't risk that. Thanks for the tips!

 

[BASSSURF]

I replace it once at the beginning of the seaon and then sometimes once more later on depending on how much it gets beat up. This is for mono. I have not done a lot of fishing with braid.

 

[LeoDA]

I use braid, I take off the old line at season end, and put new line on the beginning of the season. Won't change it during the season as long as I don't lose too much line(affects long distance casting).
I make over a hundred trips a year, easy.

This post edited by LeoDA 06:28 PM 04/02/2008

 

[hdcycles]

Your line and knots are probably the most important thing while fishing. Doesn't matter if you got a ten dollar reel or a 600 dollar reel if you have line that is cheap, old has nick's or other abrasions your going to lose fish and tackle. All reels are spooled at least once a year. If you see you have some bad spots deeper in the spool just replace it. Some plugs cost more than a spool of braid, plus your gonna kick yourself in the butt when your reeling in that giant bass and your line just breaks for ((NO REASON)).

 

[NanbayFluker]

The guys on hear who mentioned UV rays damaging the line are correct. I forget exactly why the line weakens but i believe it has something to do with the chemical make up of the line and how certain materials don't take the UV rays too well. I have kept all my reels in a dry, cool, shady area and the longest I have gone without changing the mono completely is 3 seasons (relatively unused reel.) For changing braid, I have moss green Power Pro, and when this stuff gets old and chaffed, it is clearly defined. I simply remove this piece, splice, wind on some more. Works like a charm!

NanbayFluker

 

[RichTrox]

When fishing conventional around fast moving nasty water, I will change the 50 lb Ande once a week at least. On my spinners I now use braid which I spool fresh in the spring and again in the fall. I have zero tolerance for failure, this coming from experience. Some things I just don't measure in dollars.

-Rich

 

[George1]

Short and sweet.
I change my line at the end of each season. After a day of fishing, I always peel of about 5 feet.

 

[hdcycles]

thats pretty much 150 feet a month if I did that. If theres any question about your line just change it.

 

[bass28]

every like 2-3months id say. atleast for me

 

[tiderunner70]

if u leave mono on a reel for too long and don't fish often it will retain more memory and make things fubar. it will also weaken with age when exposed to the elements. uv rays arent good for anything. the more u break braid in the further u will cast. every so often carefully inspect your braided line for knicks and scrapes. mono is definitely cheap enough to replace very often if needed. due to the price a top shot of braid is all that is ever needed. nobody casts an entire spool of braid like some think they can. lol like already stated your line, knots and hooks are of utmost importance.