Diawa BG and rod question

Normal- its really a subjective term. If I were going to use mono on the 4000 I would probably not use anything heavier than 15 lb. More likely I would use 10 or 12 lb and just plan on casting 1.5 oz or less. You'll sacrifice some line capacity that way but it should work just fine.
As far as using braid goes, if you're doing a lot of casting with anything heavier than 1.5 oz you're going to need to tighten your drag before casting, then loosen it before the retrieve, and or use a glove to protect your finger. Some braid will cut you much more easily than others. I love fire line fused braid, I use it (14 lb) on one of my salt striker inshore 4000 reels. I've been sliced by it a few times but only when casting 1.5 oz spoons. When I stay with 1 oz or less I haven't had a problem. Fire line is more of a flat braid. When I use a heavier braid (30-40 lb) in a round profile I haven't been cut even while using up to 2 oz lures. I've had it burn me a few times though and you still need to remember to keep a tighter drag while casting to avoid the line slipping over your finger. I've also seen people use medical tape on their index finger where they hold the braid while casting. There's also a device (cast cannon?) That holds your line for you while you cast, but I'm not familiar with it and have never used it.

Braid has its pros and cons if you're careful, the extra casting distance and increased strength and sensitivity can be a huge plus. Downsides are that it has less abrasion resistance than mono, the worry about being cut or burned, expense, and that it doesn't absorb shock like mono does (so use a mono leader).
Mono is cheap, but has memory. The heavier mono you use the more casting distance and line capacity you give up.
It all boils down to what you prefer for a given situation. If I'm surf or tailrace fishing I'll usually be using braid. If I'm on the pier and its crowded I'll be using mono almost exclusively. Braid and mono tangled together make an awful mess.

Hope this helps.

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Originally Posted by fordguy

Normal- its really a subjective term. If I were going to use mono on the 4000 I would probably not use anything heavier than 15 lb. More likely I would use 10 or 12 lb and just plan on casting 1.5 oz or less. You'll sacrifice some line capacity that way but it should work just fine.
As far as using braid goes, if you're doing a lot of casting with anything heavier than 1.5 oz you're going to need to tighten your drag before casting, then loosen it before the retrieve, and or use a glove to protect your finger. Some braid will cut you much more easily than others. I love fire line fused braid, I use it (14 lb) on one of my salt striker inshore 4000 reels. I've been sliced by it a few times but only when casting 1.5 oz spoons. When I stay with 1 oz or less I haven't had a problem. Fire line is more of a flat braid. When I use a heavier braid (30-40 lb) in a round profile I haven't been cut even while using up to 2 oz lures. I've had it burn me a few times though and you still need to remember to keep a tighter drag while casting to avoid the line slipping over your finger. I've also seen people use medical tape on their index finger where they hold the braid while casting. There's also a device (cast cannon?) That holds your line for you while you cast, but I'm not familiar with it and have never used it.

Braid has its pros and cons if you're careful, the extra casting distance and increased strength and sensitivity can be a huge plus. Downsides are that it has less abrasion resistance than mono, the worry about being cut or burned, expense, and that it doesn't absorb shock like mono does (so use a mono leader).
Mono is cheap, but has memory. The heavier mono you use the more casting distance and line capacity you give up.
It all boils down to what you prefer for a given situation. If I'm surf or tailrace fishing I'll usually be using braid. If I'm on the pier and its crowded I'll be using mono almost exclusively. Braid and mono tangled together make an awful mess.

Hope this helps.

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Thanks. very helpful. I always lock down the drag when I'm casting the big rod with the 20# mono because my hands are always wet, I'm in chest deep water with a 10' rod and I'm throwing a 4oz (sometimes even a 4oz pyramid and 1oz add on). I've had it go wrong enough times to know that without that drag locked down I'd be in a world of hurt, even with mono.

Generally I've used a fluro leader with my mono set up, due to the increased test limit and invisibility factor. So I could either do that or switch to a mono leader if going with braid.

I'm leaning towards using a heavy test braid so that it's thicker and maybe more forgiving. The reality is that the kind of fishing we tend to do in the surf directly out front of our rental house is chuck a sliding 4oz weight with a 3 foot fluoro leader with a circle hook with a piece of fresh dead shrimp on it. And that is probably what this new BG reel would end up doing 70% of the time, but I would like to have the option of throwing bucktails and spoons and lures if possible. Seems like a round profile braid of 30# test or higher might be the ticket.

Any thoughts on J-Braid? i see that talked about a lot. Last time I bought braid it was Suffix 832 and was for my stradic 3000fj, so totally different use. that braid has been awesome and i can cast a country mile with a 7' inshore rod and that reel.

I'm not sure I'd like throwing that much weight(4 oz plus) with my 4000 bg, I'd probably my want to step up at least to the 4500, but that means a manual bail (no big deal) and a significant increase in size and weight. On the up side, the 4500 has a stronger drag and more line capacity.
I've never used j braid, but I know people who use it and like it. The best bang for your buck with a round braid that I've found was kast king Fortis (gasp! Lol. I know a lot of people don't have good things to say about the brand). They don't make it anymore unfortunately. I bought several 500 yard spools when places were trying to get rid of it. I'm still using it on several of my heavier reels in 30 and 40 lb and I have a 3000 daiwa lexa spinner with 15 lb that I caught a fat 5 lb hybrid on last week. There may still be some of the fortis braid floating around for sale somewhere. I got mine for around 10$ a spool. Power pro is middle of the line braid from my experience. When I use less than 30 lb I seem to end up with a lot of wind knots. When I use 30-40 lb it works pretty well. Haven't used the suffix braid either.
I've used both mono and fluoro leaders and haven't noticed a significant difference between the two other than price. Worth mentioning though that most of the species I'm fishing for aren't particularly line shy.

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Originally Posted by fordguy

I'm not sure I'd like throwing that much weight(4 oz plus) with my 4000 bg, I'd probably my want to step up at least to the 4500, but that means a manual bail (no big deal) and a significant increase in size and weight. On the up side, the 4500 has a stronger drag and more line capacity.
I've never used j braid, but I know people who use it and like it. The best bang for your buck with a round braid that I've found was kast king Fortis (gasp! Lol. I know a lot of people don't have good things to say about the brand). They don't make it anymore unfortunately. I bought several 500 yard spools when places were trying to get rid of it. I'm still using it on several of my heavier reels in 30 and 40 lb and I have a 3000 daiwa lexa spinner with 15 lb that I caught a fat 5 lb hybrid on last week. There may still be some of the fortis braid floating around for sale somewhere. I got mine for around 10$ a spool. Power pro is middle of the line braid from my experience. When I use less than 30 lb I seem to end up with a lot of wind knots. When I use 30-40 lb it works pretty well. Haven't used the suffix braid either.
I've used both mono and fluoro leaders and haven't noticed a significant difference between the two other than price. Worth mentioning though that most of the species I'm fishing for aren't particularly line shy.

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Sorry for delayed response. I didn't see you had replied. I never gave a ton of thought to the 4oz on the 4000 situation, but seems worth considering. The situation I'm in is trying to find the lightest reel that has enough power to surf in the gulf side of Ft. Morgan peninsula. Clearly the penn 7500ss has more than enough umph to get the job done, but it weighs 27 ounces and with a 10' rod, will wear you out fast if trying to do anything more than just chucking pomp rigs with 4oz pyramid sinkers.

I was hoping that the BG 4000 paired with the 9' ugly stik elite would allow me to do the same, but also lighten the load and give me a good long casting plugging/gotcha/large bucktail type of set up. But that isn't how I fish 80% of the time.

I don't mind the manual bail at all (i treat my stradic like a manual in order to avoid braid complications). It's the size and weight that I was hoping to keep to a minimum. But if if 4000 can't handle a 4oz sinker on a pomp rig, that's probably not good for me. Do you think the 4000 could handle it, but wouldn't be your preference, or do you think it would really put the reel to a point that reeling it in against current or with seaweed on the line and a fish and a sinker would just be too much?

Considering that the BG is a fairly stout reel and it's held up to some much larger fish than the mid-sized stripers that I intended to use it for, I bet it would do what you're wanting it to do. The question is how long you want it to last. The tension and stress put on the reel components slinging 5 oz (4 oz lead plus bait) is considerable. Since I've never tried to throw that much weight with it, I'm really just guessing. If you were only going to sling weight and bait with it once in a while and would primarily use if for 1-2 oz bucktails, plugs, etc. I'd be more likely to give it my endorsement. When I fish for pomps I generally use 2 oz weight plus some small shrimp pieces or fishbites (if I'm not casting a looney jig for them, which can be a lot of fun). When Daiwa puts together combos for retailers to sell with this reel they pair it with a MH inshore 7' rod. I haven't seen a listing for the rating on the rod/combo but i'm guessing that it doesn't come close to 5 oz total weight. Again, this doesn't mean that it won't do it- and I wish I could be more helpful but I seldom use more than 2 oz in the surf. Call me a fair weather surf fisherman. lol It's a case where it might be tough to find a reel that will be great for both of your applications and still keep the weight as low as you want it. Same thing with rods. The ugly stik 9' x-heavy rod is rated 3/4-3 0z and while I'm sure it could be used for both of your types of fishing I'm not sure it's the best for slinging that much weight either. I've never tried casting that much weight with it. It does great with plugs, poppers and jigs in the 1-2 oz range though.

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Originally Posted by fordguy

Considering that the BG is a fairly stout reel and it's held up to some much larger fish than the mid-sized stripers that I intended to use it for, I bet it would do what you're wanting it to do. The question is how long you want it to last. The tension and stress put on the reel components slinging 5 oz (4 oz lead plus bait) is considerable. Since I've never tried to throw that much weight with it, I'm really just guessing. If you were only going to sling weight and bait with it once in a while and would primarily use if for 1-2 oz bucktails, plugs, etc. I'd be more likely to give it my endorsement. When I fish for pomps I generally use 2 oz weight plus some small shrimp pieces or fishbites (if I'm not casting a looney jig for them, which can be a lot of fun). When Daiwa puts together combos for retailers to sell with this reel they pair it with a MH inshore 7' rod. I haven't seen a listing for the rating on the rod/combo but i'm guessing that it doesn't come close to 5 oz total weight. Again, this doesn't mean that it won't do it- and I wish I could be more helpful but I seldom use more than 2 oz in the surf. Call me a fair weather surf fisherman. lol It's a case where it might be tough to find a reel that will be great for both of your applications and still keep the weight as low as you want it. Same thing with rods. The ugly stik 9' x-heavy rod is rated 3/4-3 0z and while I'm sure it could be used for both of your types of fishing I'm not sure it's the best for slinging that much weight either. I've never tried casting that much weight with it. It does great with plugs, poppers and jigs in the 1-2 oz range though.

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Definitely appreciate all your considerations. I ended up going with the 4000 and I'm going to try and keep the weight a bit lower (maybe try to use 3oz pyramid to hold bottom with braid) vs the 4oz I normally use. it will be an experiment. if it all blows up in my face, it will have cost me $100 for the reel on slamazon with free 1 day delivery AND i will get to make a trip to J&M while I'm in town.

next up, rod and line selection. Ugly stik Elite as you suggested is definitely in the mix. Ideally looking for 9' that is rated up to 25# line and 4oz lure, but not too heavy on the bottom end of the lure rating so that I can still toss 1oz without it feeling all wrong.