Hey, just baught two new trolling rod and reel combos. I was wondering what was the best way to spool the reels. Going to spool it with 15 pound mono for backing and 15 pound braid for the main line. Looking to use around 150 ft of braid on each rod. Thanks.
perfect
I’m sure you will get all kinds of opinions on this. Personally I just use Trilene Big Game 10 lb Mono on my pair of trolling rods.
Assuming you have one 300 yard spool. What I do is walk the line out across the yard, around a tree that is about 150 yards out and then back. Once divided evenly, clip the line off at the center and spool each rod. I don’t rely on the line counter to be exact when spooling up.
-J.
If you’re going with braid I’d go 20-30lb minimum. Remember, you’re dragging the fish in while the boat is moving. Those head shakes become 10x more powerful when you’re moving.
Add planer boards or snap weights and you’ve only compounded the potential problem.
Personally, if you are going to run leader… I go with heavier braid like 30# (off brand). Skip the backing and just fill the spool up to your leader. No down side to it. If worried about the braid slipping on the spool, use some tape on the knot and first couple wraps, then fill er up.
Keep in mind if pulling boards, you may need to consider what snaps you are using to attach to braid. It sucks dropping a board and having to go get it in rough water with a number of lines out.
My walleye only smaller reel rods have 12# Big Game mono on them top to bottom. I’ve used these for everything… walleye to coho salmon.
Other rods w braid, I have used off brand braid (fraction of the cost) 30# for every use…. be it inland or Erie walleye or salmon on the big pond. No need to use light braid in my mind. Example, no one I’ve ever talked to on any Erie thread runs light braid either.
150′ isn’t enough….. say you have a crank 80 behind a board, out 70 from the boat – doesn’t leave you anything on the spool.
If you’re using line counter reels, which I’d recommend for trolling, I find that spooling my reels with 10/4 braid works very well for me simply because 10/4 braid is used in most of the published dive curves. 10/4 makes it very easy to look at a dive curve of a particular crank bait and let out the exact amount of line needed to get it to a known depth. The knowledge of how deep your crank bait is running is extremely important where I troll and I have yet to break off 10/4 braid on any walleye I’ve caught since I first started using 10/4 braid which must be over 5 years ago or more. I also use snap weights regularly and the only change I made was switching from Fireline to Power Pro because Fireline had a tendency to fray where I snapped my weights but 10/4 is more than strong enough for walleyes. Although I prefer Power Pro, any braid with 4 lb. equivalent diameter should be the same as 10/4 Fireline as far as the dive curve depths.
30# braid 
Ive never broken #10 fireline on a fish.. Even pulling boards on Erie. Power Pro works great too.
Your rod and drag are for shock absorption from the head shakes and surges from the waves with the boards, Not your line. Yes the boat is moving a pretty good clip, but its not like you have the line tied to your boat cleat. Your rod will give and so will your drag if you have it set properly.. even on the biggest of fish.
Most trolling reels only have 15-20 lbs max of drag.. so Im not sure what the advantage of 30# braid would be……but to each his own.
I use 30# because of the amount an average spool will hold and amount I want to be able to run… not just breaking strength. But having that strength never hurts on snags… 
Clips hold it better on boards in rough water, it is easier to tie and it comes off the spool better than a really thin line that can wind into itself. I don’t see the huge interest in going “light” on a trolling rod. Nice thing is also, if you get the chance to fish in Superior or Lake Michigan, you can be more confident in it as well.
Most 30# braid is roughly 8-10# mono diameter so you are close on those dive curves, and rough estimates for filling a spool. Plenty of options out there, some of the thought should be driven by what size reels you have and any future, expanded uses.
so Im not sure what the advantage of 30# braid would be
Durability. A lot more margin for error. Better knot strength. There aren’t any professional fisherman that use my rods so errors are going to happen.
I would ask the same question about going lighter. The only thing I can see is what was stated before. Dive curves are made for the 10/4 fireline. I simply use the mono dive chart and make adjustments.
All of the dive charts are made for 2.0 mph but if you limit yourself to 2.0 mph you’re missing out on a lot of fish.
Dive charts are for reference only. You need to adjust every single hour you’re on the water. Trolling shouldn’t be a relaxing activity. You should be reeling in a fish or adjusting every rod every 10-15 minutes. That is if you’re out there to catch fish.
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