| Re: Braid or no braid?
I don't think you got ripped. But, I wouldn't have confidence in the rig unless I knew for sure what kind of line was on it. I would second the motion to strip it and take it in and have it respooled.
I have never handled one of those reels. Looked it up and there appear to be 3 versions of that reel. Looks like the largest is rated for 20lb. My guess would be that you could put 40lb braid on in no problem. Best bet is to take it in to Kevan at Noah's and get his thought on it.
I have several reels that I use with nothing but Spectra and a short topshot. I recently purchased an Avet MXJ. I had it spooled with 40lb Spectra, 340 yds if I remember correctly. To that I add @6ft of florocarbon, 20-40lb, depending on the situation. I took it to the rockpile and nado's last week. I used @6ft of 30lb and brought home 6 good Yellowtail. Worked like a charm. With the Spectra and floro leader I could really feel the sardine. If the sardine was starting to get exicted about something you can feel it immediatley. I like it.
I also have a couple of larger reels, various makes, that I spooled the same way for winter time bottom critters. Same thing. With straight spectra and floro leader you can really feel the bites.
If you do this there are several things that you will have to rethink. Knots/connections are one. Do a search here and you will find a lot of info.
Stretch and drag settings are another. Spectra, with a short floro topshot will give you NO stretch like your mono does. This combination does not have the shock absorbing qualities that mono does. You need to fish it accordingly. Again, do a search on spectra and you will learn a lot.
While you are searching for answers to your questions you will also learn that Spectra lasts a long time. Years. I've been running it on some of my reels for 3 yrs now. I check it regularly but have not seen a need to replace any of it yet. Washing spectra is an issue.
Most of my fishing is done from the sport boats. Spectra can be a pain in the ass on these trips. Spectra tangles are a royal pain in the ass to get undone. I have not met a deck hand yet that will own up to liking the stuff. Whoever is fishing spectra seems to get blamed for the tangle too. Be ready for that. My experience tells me that is BS. Most tangles are caused by the jackass on the other rod that does not mind their line. They will but a 50 yard belly in their line and then can not understand why they keep getting tangled. Or they don't look where they are casting and will cast over a dozen lines to get to the paddy. It is much easier to keep a tight line while flylining a sardine with spectra than it is with mono. IMO.
Search, search, and search some more. You will find the answers to your questions and a lot more.
Best of luck.
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