JB Hollow Core Casting Test

[pametfisher]

There have been a lot of reports about the performance of Jerry Brown hollow core line on spinning reels. Although there are many people who use hollow core on spinning reels, for some, the jury is still out. The concerns I'd read about centered around: line twist (wind knots), casting distance, and line capacity.

There are performance benefits of hollow core: no knots and therefore greater strength, and smoother casting through the guides; and easier repair by line to line splicing. So I decided to load up a couple spools and take the risks of the problems others had mentioned.

JB hollow core line with an actual breaking strength above 102 pounds (this would be equivalent to PE8) was loaded onto the Stella 20000 spools by BHP Tackle under 10 pounds of tension. Two spools were loaded, each spool took 450 yards. The spools are deliberately very full, see photo.

Since the spools were loaded by a rotating machine, I used the Hybrid method described in Spooling for Minimum Twist to reset the top 100 yards.

Yesterday was a windy day (what better day to test for "Wind" Knots) and I spent an hour casting these spools with 2 oz., 3 oz. and 4oz. weights. The rods were fairly stiff 7 footers (St. Croix SWS70MHF). I have previously tested casting distance for this rod with 30# Cabela Ripcord (don't ask why I ever used that, it came free on another reel) and usually got 80 to 85 yards with 4 oz.

"Wind" Knots
The spooling technique used resulted in smooth casting with no twists, threats of twists, or curly-Qs about to become "wind" knots. I am now confident that correct spooling of any line keeps the twists out and hence the dreaded "wind" knots. There are many things that can introduce twists to any line but in tuna fishing, hundreds of yards pulled off spinning reels against the drag with the bail closed, and then wound back on are a big culprit. Therefore I plan to reset the line after each trip where I've fought (or hopefully caught) fish.

Casting distance (measure by grid on the field)
2 oz.: 65 into the wind, 75 with
3 oz.: 70 - 80
4 oz.: 75 - 85

Research
The Handbook of Fibre Rope Technology (borrowed) says that hollow core Spectra weave, when loaded, requires no more volume than solid braided. It also states that although 16 carrier and above (number of fibers woven) can flatten, 12 carrier and below does not. I have chosen one of the JB 12 carrier hollow braids.

[kidflex]

you would think you would get alot more distance with the 30# ripcord. that 80# hollow jb must cast well.

i havent tried hollow core line but have read that many dont like using it for jigging because the line catches current more and slows the fall of the jig. any thoughts on this?

[pametfisher]

Originally Posted by kidflex

you would think you would get alot more distance with the 30# ripcord. that 80# hollow jb must cast well.

i havent tried hollow core line but have read that many dont like using it for jigging because the line catches current more and slows the fall of the jig. any thoughts on this?

I believe that with all fishing line there is a lot of marketing going on. Whether mono, fluoro, or spectra ... it's diameter, strength, stretch, etc. ... are all related to how much material they use in making the line.

Therefore, if you could make an exact apples to apples comparison you would find the same performance when dropping a jig. In fact, this hollow core I used is labeled 60# but clearly tests to over 100# and uses the same amount of space on the spool as PE8 ... go figure.

[d-a]

Pamet

As a control, did you cast with the same rods, and same size reels on the same day? There was a little confusion in your above post about that.

Yesterday was a windy day (what better day to test for "Wind" Knots) and I spent an hour casting these spools with 2 oz., 3 oz. and 4oz. weights. The rods were fairly stiff 7 footers (St. Croix SWS70MHF). I have previously tested casting distance for this rod with 30# Cabela Ripcord (don't ask why I ever used that, it came free on another reel) and usually got 80 to 85 yards with 4 oz.

d-a

[rtran]

that is alot of line on the stella. I usually never fill it that full

[John_Madison CT]

Great thread Pametfisher !! You really do your research and testing.

[pametfisher]

Originally Posted by rtran

that is alot of line on the stella. I usually never fill it that full

The spool came back from Basil fuller than I had expected. Since I know that is a worst case situation for so-called "wind" (twist) knots, I'm leaving it that way. It cast great.

[pametfisher]

Originally Posted by d-a

Pamet

As a control, did you cast with the same rods, and same size reels on the same day? There was a little confusion in your above post about that.



d-a

Fair questions. The rods were the same. St. Croix SWS70MHF, 7 foot, Medium Heavy, Fast Action--kind of stiff rods. The caster was the same, me. The temperatures were colder for the JB test, meaning the air was denser, harder to get distance, although maybe I'm more energetic in colder air.

In both cases I did upwind and downwind tests and averaged them. The JB reels were Stellas with a full spool diameter of 2.8 inches. The 30# tests were Penn 950 ssm reels, full spool diameter of 2.75 inches.

In truth, I think I'm the biggest variable in the equation. I just can't seem to get any configuration of these stiff 7 foot rods (2 oz., 3 oz., 4 oz. weights) to cast 100 yards.

(I also tried casting these configurations with long 80# mono leaders 25' and saw a significant fall off in distance. There was a lot of line slap to the rod.)

[jerrybarnes13]

I tried to log on to that link spooling for min. Twist . would not work. Where can I find this elsewhere ?

[pametfisher]

Originally Posted by jerrybarnes13

I tried to log on to that link spooling for min. Twist . would not work. Where can I find this elsewhere ?

Hollow Spectra Techniques: How to Load Spinning Reels with Spectra