Breaking Lines ?????

[Viking]

I read alot of posts about people breaking off, it puzzles me ?????. Does eveyone try for a Record trying to use light line, or is it the big one got away story ? To fish the big lake with 6 # line ? ...I caught 2 lake trout this year that had 4 or 6 lb line wrapped around them, it was into their skin. there body grew around the mono. These fish were 4 and 5 pounds. I use clear, 20 lb trilene xl or xt on my rods for lake fishing. For shore fishing I use 8, but have yet to catch one in 2 times out. I went from 17 to 20 after fishing lake Michigan a few years back. Maybe my penn's couldn't handle the screamin drag. But I don't think that is the situation. Fishing shoulder to shoulder on the north shore, do you have the space to let the fish run ????...using a light line ? Maybe I don't catch as many fish as some people. But NL can back me up. We had no break offs, and we caught fish the couple of times we went out.

[Surface Tension]

Couple reasons for the light line. The thinner dia casts further, its easier to keep out of the water and offers less drag in the surf. 6 lb really isn't that light and I'd attribute the break offs to line abrasions. Between the waves and rocks your line takes a beating on the North Shore. I can't remember the last time I broke off out there but I respool often. After just one day with the waves crashing in you can feel the nicks in your line and its not just the first few feet either.

[Quickstrike]

i ask myself the same question, i never get broken off but i see it happening to people all the time. Maybe it's bad luck, faulty line, or impatience, or a little bit of all three. I know a lot of these reports are coming from shore fishing and there is a lot that can happen between hooking a fish 50 yds out on a shore littered with sharp rocks and landing it, especially with 6 lb test.

[upnorth]

I very rarely fish over 6# line for spining rods. If you have some skill, patience and the correct rod for the line, you aren't going to break fish off just cuz of lite line. I will say that if you are using lite line you need to pay attention to the condition of you line and re-tie if you have some abrasions. But you can land some pretty larger fish on 4# line if you know what you are doing.

[Casaloma]

Great Points Quick, all 3 are suspects. I know my 1st hookup on loopers, this year, was a mix of impatience & luck. My new Maxima 8lb. line was cut on the leader by a leaping & diving fish halfway up. I think she cut the leader on a stone while I was trying to put the backbone into her too early. Fishing 'eyes all summer does not get you in the practice for superior trout. I hope to learn the lesson, or my trips to Cheq. this winter will be painful!

I should add that I was only in the water 20 min. before this fish hit. So the line wasn't beat up all day or anything. I wish I had that excuse to fall back on.

[Ainokea]

One very important overlooked factor here is the rod guides. Corrosion on metallic guides, or knicks in ceramics, even in very small amounts can spell disaster. Other factors would be old or improperly stored mono, warped drag discs, faulty bail rollers, knicked spools, excessive heat (smokers beware of stray lighters and ashes), poorly tied knots (telltale curly line part) and...I could go on forever. It's a wonder any fish are ever landed.

[cloyd]

some very good points made..great thread an question

I have been using 6# for last 20 years i bet along with a 9 foot rod..i started along with a another friend of mine long before ya seen folks using the long rods for anything other than north shore fishing

we were using them for jigs an lindy rigs on some real finicky walleyes around central minn lakes...lets face it..sensitivity is the key when using light split shot an jigs an the rods gave it to us

4# an 6# lines gaves us a better presentation...deeper running lures..cut the water better an was virtually inviz in the water(swear to this day fish can see that line an get spooked)..an we spent years noticing how fish would hit 4# but wouldnt touch the exact same set-up using 8#

we gained distance when casting both lures an light jigs

but becuase of light lines an the stretch factor of each we decided we needed desperately to compensate so we went with longer rods..8-9 footers med-light rods

this finally gave us the backbone to react to line stretch an fish shaking thier heads or flying outta the water as we all enjoy

I caught a 35# musky here in st.cloud using 6#

here is my first laker caught at the lil brule on 6#

this fish was 34 inches an the second one i caught was around 8#

fishing is a sport...its fun..an i wouldnt trade my set-up for anything..when ya can fight a 20-30 lb fish an get em in while its a 45 min fight cause ya play the fish out in an intense battle..well to me thats what it is all about

im not a bass fisherman who drags his fish kicking an screaming across te top of the water in a 10sec fight

btw...after every fish caught...line is examined an often the lure removed an retied after cutting off 6-8 inches...dont matter what kinda fish 6lb frays real easy an must be examined constantly..any doubts..retie!!

fish turn directions often raking the line from one side of the mouth to the other grating that line thru thier teeth..fraying line an if snagged on a tooth during a fight can sometimes snap the line..but id bet with 20lb line that fish never would hit that lure..action woulda changed..wouldnt have been as deep running..mighta been spooked cause the line showed up to them

natural lure presentation is everything..lighter line gives ya that...learn to haul in a hawg with light line an youll never be the same...like i was never the same after my first laker..makes my blood boil thinkin about it

[SFBOY]

we used to use 300 yards of 8 spooled up on the old daiwa silver reels for the kings on the breakwall in sturgeon bay. what a blast. problem is trying to get 40 other guys to watch out while you fight the fish. god that was fun back in the 80's when a fish of 25lbs didnt even turn heads and the fish were in close from the middle of july until they entered the canal to spawn.

I believe that fisherman skill, line wear and worn equipment is more of a factor than the weight of the line for fighting large fish. Of course it is important to realize that the heavy line will shorten the fight and that is important if you have any intentions of releasing the fish after you catch it.