Wire Diver Question - How much to spool?

[Lightbringer]

So, maybe this is a dumb question - but it's dumber not to ask at all, so here goes....

 

I have two diver reels set up now, and generally only run back 100-200 feet depending on the day - I see a ton of folks spooling a full 1000' onto their reels... it seems like 300  - 500 feet spooled on backed with braid or 30# mono with a small spro swivel in between would be more than sufficient to me... am I missing something?  (or - should I be looking to run the diver further back?)

 

Also - what would be best to back these with?  20# or 30# mono?  Looking at a 35/45 size reel application.  I've got a great lakes reel that I'm pretty sure has a burned out drag, and I want to either swap the wire over to something else, or just spool fresh and relegate it to walleye duty - seems wasteful to dump a full 1000' spool of wire onto a reel if i'm routinely only using 200-300 feet of it.

[Sk8man]

There are very good reasons for putting on 1,000 ft of wire and usually only 50 ft or so of 40-=50 lb mono under it. Most of the reasons start with the word "kings"

1) King salmon and sometimes steelhead can take out two or three hundred yards of line of any type (in addition to what you already have out)..

2) Anytime you have a connection whether tied with knot only or using a barrel swivel it is a potential weak area or link in the system so one continuous line makes sense.

3) Braid is a well known waterflea trap and probably is the more difficult of lines to clear of fleas when they are thick. Although wire accrues them too they are easier to get off.

4) the cost differential between wire and braid is pretty much irrelevant for most folks

5) Many brands of braid are adversely affected by UV rays over time from sunlight and can weaken over time, Wire can kink but it is easily solved by cutting out the affected area if not to long and with 1,000 ft you can do this a few times without problems. Mono has stretch in it and doesn't cut through the water as well as either braid or wire and is more prone to abrasions weakening it.

Putting any line on a questionable reel or one with a burned out drag is asking for problems. Most good quality 30 or 45 reels will hold 1,000 ft of wire. You want one with a good drag regardless.

Just a few things right off the top of my head early in the morning before coffee and I'm sure there are many more...

Edited August 4, 2020 by Sk8man

[Lightbringer]

Thanks!

Still new to this. Ive not had a king take more than 200 - 300 feet of line out on me at a time yet (biggest caught are a few around 20lb.). Most of the gear i have is second hand from here or ebay, so finding out about the drag was a bit of a bummer, but that one should work fine on lake erie walleye i think.

I will probably pick up a few 1000' foot spools and see how it goes.

Any reason i cant transfer wire from one reel to another? Theres some pigtailing near end, but otherwise in decent shape. Any tips on getting from reel to reel?

Sent from my SM-G950U using Lake Ontario United mobile app

[HB2]

First wire diver I had was 300 ft of 30# wire ,backed up with an Albright knot to 100 yards of 65# power pro braid and then 20# mono to fill the spool. Caught a ton of fish on it with 0 problems . 

 

But I trust my knots .

 

I feel there is more chance the wire breaks because of a kink you don't see than the knot breaking .  

[Sk8man]

I'd cut the section out with the pigtail. Loading wire on a reel is best done as a two person job for good tension  on it while loading. My wife has got the routine down real well by now including the eyerolling beforehand

 

Either use a 50 ft section of 50 lb mono to attach to the reel or if the spool on the reel has a peg tie the wire on it and then tape over it with some electrical tape. before doing either center the line guide on the reels and start from that position. Keep the wire under constant tension the whole time putting it on.

When using it for the first time either tie a weight on or use a dipsy (without any lure) slowly let the wire out and evenly reel it back in to get the proper starting tension. 

Edited August 4, 2020 by Sk8man