lines

[simplefish]

I could use some advice on line selection. I just bought a new rod (Fenwick) and reel (Plueger Trion, spinning) set-up for panfish, trout and the possble light smallie/walleye. The reel cam with two spools. I plan to use 6 and 8 pound line. My question is: Does anyone have any recomendations for a good line choice? I usually use Trilene but others might be good. I tried Vishion only to find out that it has A LOT of memory. I was thinking Sensation or that new spider mono LS stuff for one and Iron Silk or Spider mono XT stuff for the other. I figured that instead of wasting money on something I don't like I would ask the nice people here at FishingMinnesota.com what they thought a good line selection would be. I need something supple, low-stretch, low-memory for the 6lb. and the same + abrasion resistance for the eight pound. the suppleness doesn't matter for the 8lb. And I'm trying to stick with mono. Any suggestions would be greatly appeciated. Thanks.
-Fishin' Mike

[This message has been edited by simplefish (edited 04-17-2003).]

[Pig_sticka]

i personally like the 8# in the summer. with trout fishing, and weed fishing, i need it atleast. i just switched from 6 to 8 cuz my friend talked me into the 6. we both had troubles trout fishing and bought 8# the next day. he only lost 6 rapalas in the river lol. this is with the trilene. i usually go stren and never have a problem.

[Mr Special]

There was numerous replies when this question was raised on the Open Water Forum. But here my $0.02 I like that SpiderMono XXX vs. the LS. It is thinner and stronger, low stretch and memory. I haven't tried Ironsilk but friends that has like it. How this helps

[Seabass77]

Sensation will be part of my arsenal again this year..along with fireline.

[Ole #1]

Trilene smooth casting.

[northernpiker]

I was talking to a bass pro at Cabela's last weekend and he turned me on to Silver Thread Excalibur. I usually use Berkley trilene XL 6 lb test, but he talked me trying this line. It is stronger; has a smaller diameter; more abrasion resistant; and less memory. This is due to a copolymer coating. I swithched to 4 lb test and plan to swith all my mono reel to it in the future. I tried Berkley vanish last year but it has terrible memory.

[Big Fish Hunter247]

I have tried fireline and dont like it I fish everyweekend and I would have to replace it atleat every three weeks the stuff would "Dry rot" I wrote the makers of fire line and they said the to send the spool back and the would send me another one and that spool did the same thing so I just quit using the expensive line and went with the cheap line Shakespere or the Line the Gander Mountin has and I havent had a problem with it but thats just my 2 cents

Thanks BIGFISHHUNTER247

[Thomas]

i don't like stren. it's hard to go wrong with regular berkley, along with rapala. i also like berkley vanish. sensation is ok. from your ?, you should be using #4 lb line for sunfish/crappie. #6 line for walleye.

[Walleye Guy]

I generally use Stren XL or XT. Mostly the XL but will use the XT where there are alot of rocks.

Berkley Vanish is a great leader material. I tie all by leaders and snells with it. It does have a memory effect when stored on your spool. 20 lb. Vanish makes great leaders for tip-ups. It has the same color indice as water and it is tough enough where pike don't bite through it. I have caught a bunch of accidental walleyes on my pike rigs too.

[Guest]

"I have tried fireline and dont like it I fish everyweekend and I would have to replace it atleat every three weeks the stuff would "Dry rot""

What? I have used Fireline since the stuff first appeared and use it on most of my rods. I have never had that problem and rather doubt that you did either. Dry Rot would mean that the line got eaten through by mold and would lose all stregth, no way I don't believe it. I can generally get by with 2 seasons of use from a single spooling because UV Rays don't effect it and you just need to reverse the spool for a new season.

There is an issue with the line turning grey and slight fraying that doesn't effect the strength, but does increase line diameter and make the line more limp.

If you are using this set up for panfish I would recommend going with Fireline 4/1. That stuff is superthin and super strong. My guess is it's break strength as actually around 5.5 lbs and it's diameter is smaller than the avg. 1lb test. It's especially good if the rod is a bit slow or whippy because of the no stretch factor.

[This message has been edited by Basspastor (edited 04-18-2003).]

[simplefish]

I talked to a guy at the sporting goods store and he said that for vanish I need to trail the line out and tie it to something and give it a good yank, it needs to be stretched at first and than I would have to do it repeadedly during the season.
-Fishin' Mike

[Chev_trucks501]

Simple,

Well that may or may not have been true with the first Vanish line. They have changed the Vanish and some of it's properties. It is still invisible under water but now it acts more like regular mono. Spools better and is limper like XL. Make sure you get THIS years Vanish. As last years was unchanged.

Good Luck
Chev

[chief]

Simplefish,

If, as you say, you intend to use your new combo for "panfish, trout, and the occasional light walleye", I suggest you consider using 4# and 6# line. I'm guessing your rod leans toward the ultralight side of the scale, so smaller lures and delicate presentations seem in order. Factors of stealth, castability, and lure performance are greatly enhanced with lighter lines. Stick with good quality mono line for this outfit. Braids are wonderful tools, but you can't use slip bobbers with them, and they're too visible to effectively use in typical trout waters. You can't go wrong with Trilene XL. For a more expensive solution try Tectan (available only through Cabelas).

[EBass]

I use whatever Bill Dance uses which is Stren for my mono presentations. They make that new Stren XXX now. That's supposed to be da bomb. I haven't tried it though. But I know that's what I'm buying next.

My .02

Oh about Fireline. I love it when it's new, but as mentioned above it does dry out and becomes frail. I'm leaning towards Power Pro or Spider Wire for the next line to try.

[Maximum12]

My bit: I won't use anything but Fireline anymore, & the dry-rot bit baffles me. I got a little lazy last year & didn't change the Fireline on one of my rods at all - it'd been there for about eighteen months by fall - & didn't see any problems with it.

On the flip side, my most hated line is Spiderwire. More memory than a seventy year old elephant. I threw away the stuff I got for free.

[EBass]

Maximum12,

My fire line has dryed out and started to fray. But I thought that was just expected with braided line. It takes all year to get it that way though. I also use Real Magic to.

I'll stay away from Spiderwire as you seem pretty firm that it sucks. Nice reference of the elephant in your joke about memory

I guess I have used and still use Power Pro line. It's on my flipping rod, so it doesn't get used too much, but it's held up great. I don't think I'm buying new line for that rod this year.

For Mono I use Stren the original. But I want to try thier new XXX. For a leader I use florocarbon (spelling is off I'm sure)Either P-line or Vanish.

[Big Fish Hunter247]

Here is to a reply that I said earlier I would put it on one week and about three to four weeks later the line would be all discolored and it would be frayed really bad, I was using the 17# line on a baitcaster. The stuff is to expensive to be replacing to often. So I dont like fire line but I am trying the new Iron Silk so I am not agaist using expensive line but I just like my "cheap line" I have just had better luck with it

Big Fish Hunter247

[jwilli7122]

It's odd that someone said that spiderwire has more memory than fireline. I like spiderwire better precisely because it has hardly any memory and is limper than fireline. I suppose there are different kinds of fireline and spiderwire (regular, fusion, stealth etc) - maybe that would account for our different perceptions.

My favorite mono for jigging or lindy rigging is spiderine "super mono xxx" i think it's called. Sensation is pretty good too. I like XL for casting- but I like braided better. I haven't used rapala in the summer, but I loved it for ice fishing and I bet it's great. "rapala finesse" i think it's called.

[Maximum12]

Maybe I got the batch of Spiderwire produced late on a Friday afternoon...after a couple of pitchers went down the hatch...

What it comes down to, IMHO, is try a few things, & you'll end up with what you're comfortable with. If we all believed the same stuff was the best, there'd only be one brand of line!

But I'll make sure to snake that old Fireline off my reel before making our BWCA run for the opener & replace it with fresh stuff.

[Joe's Kid]

Chev Trucks mentioned making sure you get this years line.
I've wondered for a long time, how can you tell? It seems that half the time I get a spool home only to find that it curls up tighter than sheeps wool when I go to fill my reel. Is this because of its' memory and age? I've always assumed it was.
Do any of the manufacturers put a "freshness date" on their packaging? I suppose one could look at whatever batch code they use, and call them to find out when it was made, but that seems like a lot of work.

[EBass]

Joe's Kid,
That's a great idea of a freshness date for line. You should work for Stren's marketing division. (I just like Stren too much) Bill Dance did that to me.

Later,
EBass