Striper Talk Striped Bass Fishing, Surfcasting, Boating - View Single Post

Saltheart · 02-22-2001, 10:00 AM

I like the Cortland Spectron cause its so tough. As Ed said , on a 6500 size reel , the 35 lb is the best choice. For that a 30 LB mono leader works well. You got to size the leader so its the weak point in a very strong system. At the Ditch we get snagged several times a night on the bottom. You have to break off. You don't want to break off in the Spectron so the leader must be properly sized. For a 7000 size reel like the BG7000CL , I like 50 lb Spectron and a 50 LB Ande leader. For some reason , the 50 lb Spectron is stronger than 50 LB Ande and so it breaks off in the leader where you want it to.

I'm no fan of Whiplash. Its thinner so you can go to 65 pound test and still get a lot on the reel. My complaint is that if you are throwing heavy stuff like 3 -5 OZ Jigs or 4 OZ pencil poppers , an overrun is a disaster. Where the line crosses itself during the overrun , the whiplash develops a weak spot. So next cast it often just parts right at the kink left by the previous backlash.
The other good thing about the spectron is it will last for more than a season. Its expensive compared to mono but over its useful life , I think you'll find that its economical to use the spectron as well as for getting a performance increase. I like it for jigging. On a boat or from the shore , anything touches the jig and you will feel it with the spectron.

When using the overly strong braids , its important to adjust the drag based on the max stress you are willing to put on your rod. You can't really set the drag based on the line strength cause the braids are so strong , you might break the rod if you did. I set mine on my eeling rod so a fish about 10 pounds can take no drag but a 20-30 pound fish can. That's about right for the rod I use and the 35 pound spectron I use on it (my eeling rod is a Loomis 1266 with a BG6500CL and 35 LB Spectron and 30 LB Berkley BG leader) For my canal rod , I use a Loomis 108-30 (just like a Loomis 1087) with a BG7000CL and a 50 LB Ande leader. That drag is set heavier than the 35 lb rig but still not too much. I play the spool with my thumb when I get a reel big one that needs extra drag pressure.

One real trick is to try to break off from a bottom snag with the 50 LB Spectron. Sometimes you want to go back to the parking lot to get the pickup to break that line. I found the best way is to wrap the line around my forarm which is covered with a thick sweatshirt or a jacket sleave. Quick jerk pulls will get the line to break. Never try to grab spectron with a bare hand or around your bare forarm. The stuff will cut you easy. I use to stick my finger in the reel to lock the spool and braek off with the rod unbent pointing right at the snag. That got me a broken finger last year so now I wrap it around my protected forearm and yank hard. Once you've gone through the difficult task of breaking off from a bottom snag and find out just how tough it is to break the spectron , you'll fish it with a lot of confidence. Tough stuff. One last comment is that in my opinion , spectron is not good on a spinning reel.

02-22-2001, 10:00 AM	#8
Saltheart Registered User iTrader: (1) Join Date: May 2000 Location: Cumberland,RI Posts: 8,555	I like the Cortland Spectron cause its so tough. As Ed said , on a 6500 size reel , the 35 lb is the best choice. For that a 30 LB mono leader works well. You got to size the leader so its the weak point in a very strong system. At the Ditch we get snagged several times a night on the bottom. You have to break off. You don't want to break off in the Spectron so the leader must be properly sized. For a 7000 size reel like the BG7000CL , I like 50 lb Spectron and a 50 LB Ande leader. For some reason , the 50 lb Spectron is stronger than 50 LB Ande and so it breaks off in the leader where you want it to. I'm no fan of Whiplash. Its thinner so you can go to 65 pound test and still get a lot on the reel. My complaint is that if you are throwing heavy stuff like 3 -5 OZ Jigs or 4 OZ pencil poppers , an overrun is a disaster. Where the line crosses itself during the overrun , the whiplash develops a weak spot. So next cast it often just parts right at the kink left by the previous backlash. The other good thing about the spectron is it will last for more than a season. Its expensive compared to mono but over its useful life , I think you'll find that its economical to use the spectron as well as for getting a performance increase. I like it for jigging. On a boat or from the shore , anything touches the jig and you will feel it with the spectron. When using the overly strong braids , its important to adjust the drag based on the max stress you are willing to put on your rod. You can't really set the drag based on the line strength cause the braids are so strong , you might break the rod if you did. I set mine on my eeling rod so a fish about 10 pounds can take no drag but a 20-30 pound fish can. That's about right for the rod I use and the 35 pound spectron I use on it (my eeling rod is a Loomis 1266 with a BG6500CL and 35 LB Spectron and 30 LB Berkley BG leader) For my canal rod , I use a Loomis 108-30 (just like a Loomis 1087) with a BG7000CL and a 50 LB Ande leader. That drag is set heavier than the 35 lb rig but still not too much. I play the spool with my thumb when I get a reel big one that needs extra drag pressure. One real trick is to try to break off from a bottom snag with the 50 LB Spectron. Sometimes you want to go back to the parking lot to get the pickup to break that line. I found the best way is to wrap the line around my forarm which is covered with a thick sweatshirt or a jacket sleave. Quick jerk pulls will get the line to break. Never try to grab spectron with a bare hand or around your bare forarm. The stuff will cut you easy. I use to stick my finger in the reel to lock the spool and braek off with the rod unbent pointing right at the snag. That got me a broken finger last year so now I wrap it around my protected forearm and yank hard. Once you've gone through the difficult task of breaking off from a bottom snag and find out just how tough it is to break the spectron , you'll fish it with a lot of confidence. Tough stuff. One last comment is that in my opinion , spectron is not good on a spinning reel.