Test Your Braided Line, Don't Assume Its Strength

[pametfisher]

Lately I've been helping people set up their Spinning reels for wind-on leaders, and I got a spool in the mail the other day that was loaded with 70# Daiwa Boat Braid. Daiwa makes a good line and the line on this spool was in very good condition. It's a nice, smooth, thin, 8-carrier line. The line is metered and it is a pleasure to fish with. I would not hesitate to recommend Daiwa Boat Braid.

However, what Daiwa calls 70# test (PE5 line), PowerPro and many others would call 50# test line. I know this because last year, I tested hundreds of knots in 50# Powerpro. Every regular knot I tied in the 50# PP broke in the 30 to 35 lb. range. So that brings me to the spool I got in the mail.

The 70# PE5 Daiwa Boat Braid was in like new condition. I tied some knots and started breaking them. They all broke between 32.5 and 37.5 lbs. I have to admit, I was mildly surprised. In fact I was so sure that the line would hold 45 lb. knots that I tried that weight with the first knot and ... POP! It took 3 or 4 knots for me to believe that I wasn't doing something wrong.

Next, I tested the unknotted strength of the 70# line. I could lift 62.5 lbs. but the line broke with 65 lbs. I'd say that the Actual Breaking Strength is 64 lbs. (With many 50# lines, I have been able to lift 60 to 65 lbs. In fact, with a sample of Daiwa 55# PE4 line, I have lifted 57.5 lbs.) This particular sample of line on this particular spool, is probably undertesting a little bit.

So my advice is, consider the number on the box of line that you're buying as an ADVISORY number. It is not a number that you can take to the bank--in my case Stellwagen Bank. If you can't test the strength of the line (it can be hard to rig unknotted line for testing), tie a Uni or Surgeon's Loop knot to a swivel, wrap 10-15 turns of line around a 1" dowel, put on leather gloves and safety glasses and pull the swivel against a scale and see where the line/knot breaks--be cautious as you do this, it can be dangerous.

When you find out where your knot breaks, multiply by 1.4. That will roughly be the breaking strength of the line without knots.

Just to close the loop--for big Spinning reels I suggest that you take the initial drag you set, say 20 lbs., and multiply by 3. That is the peak drag your line will ever see as you get to the bottom of the spool (unless you wrap the line around your hand and yank). So if you start at 20 lbs. then your knots and line should be able to hold 60 lbs. or you run the risk of a break off.

BTW, I spliced 10 yards of JB 60# hollow on top of the 70# Boat Braid. The strength of the 60# JB I'm using is over 90lbs. so spliced End Loops are better than 90 lbs. and knots in it are 65 lbs. So this spool is now set for the peak drag it might see, without replacing the line.

[Sea Draggin]

Good info. I also would not hesitate to recommend boat braid. I mostly use 80lb.

I do know of some bad samuri and also saw some power pro break this weekend that was very questionable.

Have you tried vertical jigging with the 60lb hollow core yet, or only casting?

[Ponce]

Not long ago I had some bad Samuri PE-6 breaking in the mid 20s-low 30s. The shop I got it from respooled both my reels with boat braid for free.

[proteus_x3]

pametfisher ,

Great info and thanks for sharing,I learn something new every time I read one of your posts. Rich

[pametfisher]

I had a few more reels come in this week to have Streamline leaders added and had the time to break some more lines. One reel had 80# PowerPro and I added 80# JB hollow on top using a Solid/Hollow splice. The other reel was a Stella 20000 SW with 60# Jerry Brown hollow. (The Cortland rep called me last week so I'll be testing 12-carrier Cortland Masterbraid hollow-weave soon.)

The 80# PowerPro broke between 95 and 100 lbs; and a Surgeon's Loop broke between 60 and 62.5 lbs. The 60# Jerry Brown hollow-weave broke between 105 and 110 lbs.

I'm only making a few tests per line so these should be considered "ballpark" results--that said, I have seen fairly good consistency from sample to sample and test to test. Here is the current table of results (ABS is Actual Breaking Strength; SL is Surgeon's Loop which will be similar to other knots):

50# PowerPro: ABS 61 lbs.; SL 34 lbs.
65# PowerPro: ABS 78 lbs.; SL 44 lbs.
80# PowerPro: ABS 98 lbs.; SL 61 lbs.

55# Daiwa Boat Braid: ABS 58 lbs.; 32lbs.
70# Daiwa Boat Braid: ABS 64 lbs.; 35 lbs.

60# Jerry Brown (hollow): ABS 107 lbs. (3 samples this year)
80# Jerry Brown (hollow): ABS >110 lbs. (110 lbs. is my current maximum)

80# Cortland C16 (hollow): ABS >110 lbs.

My reason for testing a Surgeon's Loop is that it is one of the choices for adding a loop to solid-weave mainline for Wind-On leaders. The other choice would be a Bimini Twist which would break up near the ABS. A third choice is the Solid/Hollow splice method I've described before which would break at the ABS of the line.

I plan to update this table as other lines and samples come in.

[John from Madison CT]

Roger: Have you ever tried different #'s of turn on the Surgeon's loop? Curious if you've tested 3 vs. 4 vs 5 etc etc...

[fishduck]

From my experience the Bimini twist is weak when tied in braid. I have had much better luck with the Palomar for attaching terminal tackle and the 30 turn albright for attaching mono or flor leader.
Power Pro has always over tested for me except with the palomar it test a little under.
Berkley Fire line test a lot higher then the ratting but does not come in the higher test that we use offshore.

Fishduck

[pametfisher]

Roger: Have you ever tried different #'s of turn on the Surgeon's loop? Curious if you've tested 3 vs. 4 vs 5 etc etc...

Hi John,

I have tried it with different numbers of turns and the results come out the same.

In a Surgeon's Loop, what the knot does, is attach the tag to the mainline with a sort of Uni. Three turns is enough to keep it from slipping, so more doesn't make it stronger. Three is enough because the tension inside the loop is half the tension of the mainline (Surgeon's Loop is a line doubler).

After breaking a few dozen Surgeon's Loops now, the weak point is where the mainline makes it's directional reversal at the bottom of the knot. There, the stress concentration is high and it breaks at around 60% of the ABS (actual breaking strength) of the line.

If you can get a very thin cyanoacrylate (superglue) to fully penetrate the knot, the stress concentration gets reduced and the knot is stronger. In the field, that's hard to do when the line is wet, salty, etc.

The strong way to make a loop is to use hollow-weave line and slice an End Loop, that's 100% strong.

[eppefour]

Thanks for the info. I had some dacron I was using as backining- 30# Cabella- decided to test it . It broke at 22# every time with no knot. I will check everything. No more assuming the # is right

[pametfisher]

Thanks for the info. I had some dacron I was using as backining- 30# Cabella- decided to test it . It broke at 22# every time with no knot. I will check everything. No more assuming the # is right

Interesting, isn't it?

The challenge is figuring out how to put a load on the line without tying a knot. I'm guessing you spliced end-loops in each end so you had a way to hold the line?