This Is The Best Braided Fishing Line For A Spinning Reel

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I’ve been using a braided fishing line on most of my rods for quite a while now and have tried a number of different brands. Most of them are pretty good overall but in this post, I’m going to be talking about the best braided fishing line to toss on your spinning reels.

Here is the best braided line for spinning reels:

1. Sufix 832
2. Power Pro Spectra

I almost always use braid on my reels and these are the two brands I use most. They’re priced at a good point, they cast well, and are actually able to hold the weight they claim. Let’s jump into each of them and what color/size is best for you.

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Best Fishing Line For Spinning Reels

The reason you want to use braid on your spinning reels is that it’ll cast better than mono and fluoro, and will be more sensitive as well. There are a lot of different brands to pick from, but they aren’t all created equal.

Braid is the best line to use on a spinning reel, and the best options are Sufix 832 and Power Pro Spectra. The smaller diameter and low line memory make it cast farther than mono and fluoro, it’s a lot more sensitive, and it’s going to last 3-4x longer.

I’ve compared a number of different brands out there and some of them weren’t nearly as good. There were a few that were rated for 10 lbs but actually broke at around 8 lbs. There were others that didn’t have as good abrasion resistance either.

Sufix 832

If I’m able to find Sufix 832, this is always my go-to line. It’s a bit more expensive than some and it’s not always available, but it’s one of the best I’ve found.

I don’t know if you’ve used a certain line and got a lot of tangles of wind knots. I definitely have, but that doesn’t seem to happen as often with this line.

The abrasion-resistance is good (for braid), it can actually hold the weight that’s on the box, it has low memory and comes off the reel well, and is solid for trolling.

Power Pro Spectra

If I can’t find the color/size of Sufix I’m looking for, this is the backup option for me. It’s a little bit cheaper and comes in a few more colors.

Power Pro Spectra (on Amazon) is pretty solid all around, but there are a couple of reasons I like Sufix slightly more. The first is that the color doesn’t fade as fast. The second is that wind knots were a bit more common.

Other than that, everything else was pretty on par with Sufix braid. You really can’t go wrong with either, so just get what’s available to you.

Best Color Braided Line To Use

What I’d recommend you do with braid is to tie on a fluorocarbon or monofilament leader. It’s a lot less visible than braid and that’s why the color you decide to go with doesn’t matter a whole lot.

The best color braid is dark green, white, or yellow. Dark green is the most popular color and it works well when you’re fishing a body of water that’s not clear. White is a good option for clearer water while yellow works well if you want to be able to see your line.

90% of the time I’ll use either green or yellow on my spinning reels. If you’re using a leader, the color doesn’t matter a whole lot, but anything you can do extra will help.

I like using dark green when I’m trolling or jigging in open water. It’s the least visible color in greenish or murky water. If I’m fishing clearer water then I might go with something else.

If I’m casting and retrieving and want to see where my line is, yellow is a great option. If you’ve ever done any fly fishing, most of the time the line color is a bright orange, green, or yellow. The reason is that you’ll be able to see where your line is. The same goes for braid.

Whenever you’re fishing a clear body of water, white is probably the closest thing to clear mono or fluoro. Green and yellow will be super noticeable, and might not be the best option when the bite is slow.

What Size Braid For Your Spinning Reel

The lb test line you use will all depend on what type of fishing you’re doing. I always use a leader line though so that means I can put a heavier braid on.

I normally fish in lakes for kokanee, trout, and standard-sized lake trout. In pretty much all cases, I’ll use either 10 or 20 lb braid with a mono or fluoro leader.

If I’m fishing for rainbow trout, kokanee, panfish, or bass with light lures, I’ll stick with 10 lb braid. All I have to do is change my leader based on what I’m fishing for (way easier).

If I’m fishing for bass with heavier lures or going after lake trout, I’d up the braid to 20 lbs. The extra weight and force you need to set the hook is why you want stronger line.

If I’m fishing for bigger fish or I’m in an area where I’ll get snagged a bunch, I’ll put on a 50 or 60 lb braid. It’s more visible in the water and isn’t going to cast quite as good, but I’ll lose a lot fewer lures.

If you’re going to be fishing with braid I’d recommend you use a mono or fluoro leader (2-4 feet should do the job). Either of those is going to be harder for the fish to see and you’ll catch more.

We did a test to see how visible braid, mono, and fluoro were underwater (check that out here). If you’re fishing super dirty water and there are a lot of snag spots, you can use straight braid.

Why Braid Is Good For Spinning Reels

There are a number of different reasons why I put braid on my spinning rods (most of my rods actually). It’s come a long way over the past few years, but in the past, it wasn’t always the best.

It was really stiff and hard to deal with and that’s why a lot of people still don’t use it. They’ve made it a lot better though and more and more people are switching to it.

The first reason I use braid is that it casts a longer distance. We did a test comparing how far braid, mono, and fluoro would cast which you can check out here.

I was pretty surprised by how much of a difference it made and it was a big deal for me because I’m mostly casting with my spinning rod. More distance equals more water covered.

The next reason I prefer braid is that it’s stronger than mono and fluoro (of the same diameter). 20 lb braid is the same thickness as 6 lb mono.

If you have to put 20 lb mono on your reel it’ll be a lot thicker and it’s not going to cast as far. Since it’s thinner, you can also toss on 50 or 60 lb braid, have the strength, and cast no problem.

The third reason I like braid is that it’s more sensitive. It has no stretch to it (mono and fluoro do) so you’ll be able to feel the smaller bites a lot easier. You’ll also be able to get a better hookset in.

One of the biggest differences between cheap and expensive rods is how sensitive they are. If you use a cheap rod with fluoro or mono, it’ll be tough sometimes to feel the bite.

If you use braid instead, your rod will feel a lot more expensive.

The final benefit of braid is that you can fit more line on your reel. If you want to put 20 lb mono on your reel, you might only be able to fit 80 yards of line on (depending on your reel).

You could use 20 lb braid and put well over 150 yards on. If you’re just casting from the shore, this won’t matter, but it can be a big deal if you’re trolling or dropping down deep.

How Many Yards Of Braid On A Spinning Reel

The amount of braid you’ll put on your reel will depend on your reel size. That’s part of the reason why I wouldn’t give a specific number (in terms of yards).

A lot of people don’t put enough line on their reels and the main reason would be something along the lines of “if there’s too much it’ll backlash” or “I want to save money”.

The good news is that there’s a solution to both. When you’re putting fishing line on a spinning reel, you should have them quite full. With a spinning reel, you should fill it right up so there’s a 1/8-1/16 inch gap in the spool.

Obviously, you’ll want to leave a small gap so your line doesn’t slip off but having it full will perform the best.

One thing you’ll want to do is put some mono on the spool first and then the braid. Mono will grip the spool better since braid is pretty slippery.

Just do a few wraps around the spool so it’s completely covered. This will also save you some money, so it’s a win-win.

Best Way To Spool Braid On A Spinning Reel

There are a number of different ways you can spool a spinning reel but I’m going to be showing you what I do. I’ve never had any issues and it should work for you as well.

The first thing you’ll want to do is put some monofilament on your spool. Mono will grip your spool a lot better and you won’t get as much slippage.

You could put some electrical tape on instead of mono but I prefer using fishing line. Tie your mono onto the spool using whatever knot you want and do a few wraps so the spool is covered.

The next thing you’ll want to do is attach your braided line to the end of the mono. You can use the Double Uni knot (or whatever else you want to use).

Make sure your line is going through the first eyelet and start wrapping. Be sure to put tension on the line as you’re reeling it in and put enough on so there are around 1/8 inches (or a bit less) of spool left.

After that, you’ll want to tie on your leader. This is a little bit of fluoro or mono (2-4 feet) that goes onto the end of your line. It’s harder for the fish to see so they won’t get spooked by the braid.

The length and strength will depend on the fish you’re after but you’ll want to keep it as light as you can get away with. Here’s a post on how to connect braid to a leader.

The final thing I like to do (can’t always do it) is to go out in a boat and let a good amount of line out. While the boat is moving, I’ll put out 75-100 yards of line, let it sit there for a minute or two, and then reel it back in.

It’ll get rid of problems and make sure you’re line is spooled right. You don’t have to do it but I think it helps.