I was going to upgrade two for my 50 wides to 80 wides for this season but thinking about the amount of time I will be trolling lures this up coming season due to work commitments, I was wondering what you guys thought of 50 wides loaded with 80 lb braid backing and probably 250m-300m of 24kg or 37kg mono top shot

IGFA legal but not for Nationals.
FG or PR knot are good or put a bimimi in both braid and mono and use a loop to loop connection

Dacron mate 

I find 80 class braid uncomfortable to handle/levelwind under the kind of load that may be placed upon it by a 50 or 80 class outfit and don't trust my ability to tie a solid knot in it either (bimini doesn't seem as reliable in braid as in dacron or mono and I can't figure out how to start some of those jigging or giant trevally knots, let alone tie them). Dacron, imo leaves you with too little line if you're using a 50W (may be OK for pitching if you get after the fish quickly but not trolling) and has enough water drag to be a right pain when having to crank lots of it back onto a 50W.  I'd use heavier braid but I don't need to be IGFA compliant with my fishing.  It's a lot easier to catch a blue on a 50W with heavy line than it is with 50 lb test, but any 50W outfit is pretty sporty if you're hooked to a 400 or bigger. 

I would normally do about 40-45 turns in superbraid, but have seen a Melton representative post on the net that 12 turns is stronger than 20 turns.  I'd like to do some destruction tests to compare the two but don't have a scale that will read into the 80 to 100 lb class.  How do you think jigging knots like the FG knot (?) compare to the good old bimini?  I personally prefer a longer topshot say about 175 to 200 yards - mainly because it helps get back onto the mono a little quicker so the braid-mono connection doesn't need to be pulled on really hard and partly because it lets me cut back a few times before junking the topshot.  

Dustin I do 20 to 30 turn Bimini's depending on how many beers I have had I am 100% confident in my braid to mono connections due to the fact I spent years in NZ testing my knot's at full drag on kingfish then followed it up in Mexico on Cow Tuna. I don't know how to tie/never tried the FG knot but PG and sig knots or catspaw have worked a treat for us if splicing hollow braid isn't an option. 

You can get a washer kit for the penns to upgrade the drag too.
Moss I also do 30 turns and trust mine to be over 100%. The main line will break first.

swordfishsteve wrote: Where have you guys been for the last 5 years?? , we have been using  600yds of 80lb hollow JB spectra braid backing , then 400yds of  80lb pre test momoi mono on top to fill 50W Penns or Tiagras , or even what I use now is 300yds 37kg mono then splice 600yds JB braid then splice 100yds of 37kg Momoi on top shot, ok the JB hollow braid 80lb test around 110lb so any IGFA records would be in the 130lb  class, ok the NZ nationals do not allow braided line so what! I do not fish the Nationals and one day the NZBFC will wake up and accept braid! one day! All braid to mono splices are 100% strong and easy to do, so no worries! so why would you need 80W reels anyway? once the drags are tuned for 80lb settings you can fish with confidence in your gear for Blues, Stripies and Swordfish, pm me for more info or call 021 975 471, cheers steve

swordfishsteve wrote: Where have you guys been for the last 5 years?? , we have been using  600yds of 80lb hollow JB spectra braid backing , then 400yds of  80lb pre test momoi mono on top to fill 50W Penns or Tiagras , or even what I use now is 300yds 37kg mono then splice 600yds JB braid then splice 100yds of 37kg Momoi on top shot, ok the JB hollow braid 80lb test around 110lb so any IGFA records would be in the 130lb  class, ok the NZ nationals do not allow braided line so what! I do not fish the Nationals and one day the NZBFC will wake up and accept braid! one day! All braid to mono splices are 100% strong and easy to do, so no worries! so why would you need 80W reels anyway? once the drags are tuned for 80lb settings you can fish with confidence in your gear for Blues, Stripies and Swordfish, pm me for more info or call 021 975 471, cheers steve

you tell em Steve, they agree to backing on a fly reel which can be way heavier than the tip-it....
so why not a game reel, the lighter line is always going to break first regardless of how much heavier the breaking strain of the backing....