My wife and i are headed to Destin in mid-September and are planning to charter a boat for a 5 hour trip. We'll be fishing for snapper, amberjack, triggerfish, mahi mahi, grouper etc. I know they supply the tackle but I have a Penn Levelline 350 from my Dad who passed away when i was 4 (I'm 52 now). I've disassembled it, cleaned it and relubed it. I want to use it on the trip to at least catch a few fish with it. Please give me some line recommendations. I'm thinking monofilament in the 40-60 lb test but honestly I have no idea, I could be way off. Thanks in advance!

My wife and I have fished party boats from the east coast to the west coast, including many years of fishing in Destin. Most of the party boats use 50 pound test mono. My wife does not like a heavy drag and she uses 30 pound line big game mono on a Abu 9000i. I use a variety of line sizes depending on what I am after. In Destin you will be after 2 main sizes of fish. They will be fishing for mainly small snapper, grouper, and grunts. Amberjack are the main large size fish. For the smaller fish 25 to 50 pound is fine. If you want an amberjack then I would go with 50 pound. You can always come across other species. I caught a wahoo on 25 pound test off a party boat on one of my last trips to Destin.

Good luck and let us know how you do.

Thank You @Osbornfishing . I'm leaning towards clear Sufix Superior in 50# test. Appreciate the input! I will update after the trip. Much Appreciated!

You probably won't get too much 50# on that reel. It's only rated for 300 yds of 30#

Thank you @Dayone. Maybe 50-60# braid would be a better option??

Definitely! Go with 60 ... I use Momoi Diamond Blue.

Be sure to add a top shot of mono to the braid. That can be anywhere from 25' to 100 yards. Connect it to your braid with something like an SG knot. One that's a little easier to tie is the Crazy Alberto.

What size on the mono? My guess is I'll be using it for bottom fishing so snapper, maybe some grouper, bonito maybe some jacks etc. The boat is supplying everything including all the other tackle. I just want to take the opportunity to fish with this reel at least once! If we do any mackerel or mahi or whatever else I'm more than happy to use their stuff

I use 50# .... but that's just me

20# mono to a swivel with 5' of flouro in 30#. If you hook a king, you will want the extra line.

And if you hook a 60# Ling kiss it all goodbye.

AND a good story to tell anyway!

I'm pretty sure charters use mono because it's wayyyyy cheaper than braid. If you're spooling your own gear ( I recently rebuilt a 60's era penn longbeach for similar reasons), go with a 50# braid and call it good. Your drag should prevent any rod damage and your line from snapping unless the leader is too short for shark or your fish is dragging the line against coral. All the charters I've been on use 40 to 80# mono because of price and abrasion, not because of the fish size. ( 1 day charters our of Texas for snapper, ling/cobia, Kingfish, blackfin tuna, amberjack, and the occasional sup 6ft shark.) For big stuff, I have no idea.

I spoke w the boat Captain who told me he doesn't allow braid on his boat. I didn't clearly understand (mumbling) why he doesn't, it's hard on something (maybe rod guides??). He recommended 30-40# Mono so I went with 40# Sufix in Smoke Blue. My reel is from the 60's and was rated then for 300 yards of 30# line. I can't imagine with the advances in line technology that todays 40# isn't the same or even smaller diameter than 1960's 30# mono. The spool is 370 yards so I'm hoping the majority will fit on the spool. Just under 4 weeks for these storms to clear the Florida area so I can get down to some good fishing!

Some boats won't let you use it because of the mess it makes when lines get tangled. Tangled mono-to-mono is a lot easier to deal with than tangled braid-to-braid or braid-to-mono. Braid on short trips that typically have a lot of inexperienced fishermen on board can cause lots of frustration.

Thanks for the info @tsspencer2887 ! Makes perfect sense!