Line for Saltiga Expedition 5500H

[Benjamin Fabia]

Guys,

Got a new saltiga expedition 5500H for an upcoming trip for GT in Musandam, Oman and I would like to ask your inputs which would be better: 270m of PE6 or 200m of PE8?

Line is Varivas Avani Max Power casting PE.

This will be paired with a JM GT monster 2 PE6-10 7'8" rod.

[Craig Maree]

PE6 in Soutnern Oman could be a case of taking a knife to a gunfight, if you intend targeting the monster GT's.

I would suggest reading all the trip reports on SO for the various setups used and recommended.

[Mark Harris]

Benjamin, I would strongly advise you to speak to the operator you are using about this and follow their recommendation.

As a general point, unless you are an experienced GT angler, line as light as PE6 for GT fishing is not the best idea in many locations.  In others, it is little short of plain madness

[Benjamin Fabia]

Thanks for your inputs. Jon from Ocean Active recommends PE8

[Felix Lux]

Guys,

Got a new saltiga expedition 5500H for an upcoming trip for GT in Musandam, Oman and I would like to ask your inputs which would be better: 270m of PE6 or 200m of PE8?

Line is Varivas Avani Max Power casting PE.

This will be paired with a JM GT monster 2 PE6-10 7'8" rod.

The reel should hold a touch more line. Go for something thin like 100lb JB solid or 100lb SAS braid (Tasline) if the rod can handle it and you'll get around the 240m mark. Maybe about 220m with Tasline and 240m JB solid. If you want to risk a wind knot you might get an extra 15-20m on. Both in reality break at 130lb or just over that. Same as Varivas Aviani GT Max pe10 except it's a lot thicker.

Same applies for JB Solid 80 or SAS 85lb as an equivalent of PE8 where you'll get a little more capacity.

Now these lines might not be of the same quality as Varivas Aviani GT Max (although at least in the case of SAS my opinion is, that it's just as good), but tested properly these lines break at the same pressure and both are very smooth for good casting abilities.
These test however did not test shock load capabilities. As far as SAS goes, in ever had any shock load breakages with it, unlike with other lines, such as cheap power pro.

[Mahmoud Salem]

I would second the JB Hollow 100lb; it will give you more capacity than pe8 while having comparable BS, hollow has very good shock absorbing characteristics, last but not least if you get cut, you can easily splice to top off without throwing the remaining line as it will be useless

[Benjamin Fabia]

Thank you so much for the inputs, right now i am leaning towards getting the JB hollow 80lb.

[Mahmoud Salem]

JB hollow 80lb is actually thicker and stronger than JB 100 Hollow

[Chris Dennis]

Benji,

Jon is bang on the money with PE8 for Mussandam, JB Hollow 100 is a good alternative (I think OA are using this on their charter gear)

Craig,

Mussandam is Northern Oman, rugged but not quite as fearsome as the Halinyats (Southern Oman)

[Benjamin Fabia]

JB hollow 80lb is actually thicker and stronger than JB 100 Hollow

This is quite odd. Thanks Mahmoud 

Chris,

Will try my best to drop by on Friday morning to sort this out.

To everyone, I really appreciate all the help 

[Craig Maree]

I think 100lbs is a far better option for either NO or SO.

Good luck for your trip, I hope you put a monster on the deck.

[Benjamin Fabia]

Finally got the JB Hollow 80lb and we manage to put 220m of it on the 5500 spool.

Trip is 4 days from now, hope the weather gets better and the trip pushes thru as the forecast does not seem good.