Another Line Question

[Greg Duggan]

Hey all,

well i just ordered a boat load of new tackle for the up coming season. the only thing i didn't order was my line. i have always used mono on my spinning rods and P-line on my bait casters.

this year i will fishing Ts with my 11yr old. this will be his first year fishing any kind of team trail. so i am trying to take every precation to provide him with the best opportunity to not loose any fish. i really want to change over to a braided line. my past experience was not very good. i tried spider wire when it first came out. i quickly re-spooled with Trilene and have always used it since. using trilene mono does take some practice and i do loose the occasional fish.



i primarely fish with spinning rods/reels. i spend a lot of time fishing texas rigs, drop shotting and spider jigs -grubs ect ect. i have really gone a little crazy with the frogs over past 2 yrs. i just can't resist that top water bite, but i do loose fish using mono.

So with all the new lines and products out there, where do i begin? what is the best over all line or best general purpose line out there. it will have to very castable with unweighted plastics with low memmory to suite my fishing style... HELP!



Thanks for any and all input.

GregD

 

[TritonGlenn]

If you want braid, in my opinion, Power Pro is the only way to go. I would recommend 30lb test, as it has a 8lb diameter - perfect for spinning reels, and it is what I use on mine when I need braid. I've got a few spools of Shakespeares newest version - Ugly Braid, coming soon. I haven't used it yet, as I haven't been able to get my hands on it locally, but I'll make sure I put it through the test on the Potomac this year.



Trilene XL has been a long time favorite on spinning gear. I briefly switched over to other lines in recent years, but have come full circle back to Trilene XL for spinning rods. I just spooled up one of my spinning rods with Trilene's newest line - Maxx. It is supposed to be as tough as XT, with the smooth, no memory castability of XL. I haven't used it enough to make a determination yet, so I cannot recommend it yet... but it is on my reel right now.



I use a variety of lines right now, depending on the application - PLine CX Premium, Floroclear, and Evolution, Power Pro, Trilene XL and XT, Yozuri Hybrid, some leftover Shakespeare line (they don't make it anymore), etc...



There is no end-all-be-all line, but if you want toughness on a spinning reel - Power Pro 30lb is hard to beat.



All the best,

Glenn

 

[Greg Duggan]

Glen,

i agree with the trilene XL. i have used it for 20yrs.

it just doesn't stand up well in the heavy cover. that is why i am looking at some of the braids.

I was just reading about the new Trilene Max. it is going to be somthing i try this spring. as crazy as it sounds i use trilene on all 10 of my spinning rigs. i like to pick up anyone of my rods and have it ready to go and have the same feel as the one i just put down.

i feel the XL will be the best for my new partner to use, i just want to give him the best chance to land his fish this year. if there is a line with some of the same qualities as XL, but has a higher tensil strength it would be worth a try. i would hate for him to over fight a good fish and have it break off at the boat. NH smallies during the spawn can really be a blast, but loosing fish and having nothing to weigh in will only make it harder to keep him enthused about tourny fishing.



GregD

 

[Randy Walls]

Greg I use the Bass Pro Mono line Excel. Costs less and has helped me win many a tournaments over the years. I know quite a few up here that use it in all sorts of conditions. Last year I changed over to the new Spider Wire Stealth from P-line just to try it and love it. Nothing wrong with the P-line just bought the other cause it was cheaper at the time and haven't changed back. It has worked great as I also love the slop and frogs! My 11 year old caught many small mouth over 3 pounds last year with the Excel and can't remember him losing a one in the river, and we fish a lot of areas with rock and never go over 10lb. IN fact I caught an 8.4 pounder in Lake Walk in Water in Florida last year with the 10 pound and a home made spinnerbait!



Just one guys opinion that it has worked for me and don't plan to change any time soon.



Good luck with your son and enjoy the time with him, I do with mine!



Randy!

 

[Aroldo Hernandez]

Stren Super Braid 85 pound all the way, flipping, casting, carolina, texas style,....ect.

 

[Michael Meier]

Izorline has a XXX super co-polymer line that you may want to try. Once you have used it, not to much else compares in the mono catagory. I have been using it for a few years and have most all my reels spooled up with it. We use this product on all of the larger saltwater reels. Go to the link below to order.



Here is where you can get some additional line info: http://www.izorline.com
http://www.izorlineeast.com

 

[Greg Duggan]

thanks for the input guys, i always like to hear what everyones opinions.





GregD

 

[TritonGlenn]

Izorline is one that I forgot to mention. I was using Izorline Platinum on my spinning reels. Super strength for the diameter. I used it a while back, and although I liked it's strength and abrasion resistant characteristics, it had a lot of memory. For the first time out with it, it flowed smooth. After that - line memory pretty bad. I had to spray it periodically with Blakemores Reel Magic to keep it usable. I was told at this years Bassmasters Classic that Izorline has a new line out that supposedly has much less memory but still has the characteristics I liked. I was supposed to get a spool from a young lady after the Classic was over, but missed seeing her to get it. I might order some of the new stuff to try it out.

All the best,

Glenn

 

[al cannia]

A great line for spinning reels is GAMA copolymer.Has all the good characteristics of mono,soft,supple and not as much memory,and 8 lb test breaks atabout 15 or more.Has good abraision(way better than mono) but not as good as fluorocarbon lines.I run 6-10 on my spinning reels and up to 20 lb on my baitcasters.When it sits for a few weeks it may have some memory,but after a few casts it works most of it out.I change my line every tourney,so memory is not an issue.

 

[Jim B]

Greg,

Another line to look at is the Sufix Elite. It has a lot of the same properties as the XL you use now but is much better in the rocks. I used the Elite and Siege(even better in cover but stiffer) all last year and its my go to line now. I really like it alot. I also like the BPS excel, its very tough stuff and cast well. The only thing i dont like about excel is its a little stretchy.

 

[Greg Meyer]

Bass and Walleye Boats magazine did a small sample line abrasion and break strength test. It is available on line in their archives.



I have been using Sufix Elite and Siege for three years now. For my 2-4-6-8-10 lb Mono needs spooled on spinning reels it is Elite. I have been using the 10lb Siege as "leader" material on my jigging rods (4' tied to 8lb Fireline in Smoke). And, I use Siege as my long leader (10-15-20-30') for handlining.



I also used 10lb Elite on my walleye Slip Bobber setups.



Still using Trilene XL 10lb on most of my open water trolling reels. But, am going to try a few others on one or two reels throughout the season.



I use PowerPro on a lot of my river trolling reels for threeways.



Can't say that there are one or two lines that are "perfect" for all of my applications. And, I don't know how much of what I do for walleyes translates to bass fishing. Since I do little of that I can only comment that I use Seagaur Flourocarbon for Drop Shotting (it is the same brand that I use to tie crawler/spinner harnesses). 14-20lb Fireline for baitcasters for casting crankbaits, tubes, and bass jigs. I use Fireline with a 3-4' Sufix Siege leader for Carolina rigs. ANd, I have a reel spooled up with Crystal Firline (8lb) for pitching and casting under docks.



After re-reading this I have determined that the line manufacturers probaly love me.

 

[Berry Lindley]

If you fish around heavy rocks and are not concerned about maximum casting distance take a look at Trilene Big Game. I use it for stripers and walleye fishing in rocky tailwater. It's some really really tough stuff...it's pretty cheap too.

 

[William H. (Bill) Barham]

For a long, long, long time I was a Stren line guy all the way.. Then last winter I got the chance to try out Izorline Platinum Co-Polymer Mono and Izorline XXX Super Co-Polymer. This past December, for the Not-So-Memorial fishing get together, I used both those kind of Izorline. At first, I loved it and was casting a country mile. Later in the day I had to play around trying to keep the twists and kinks out of it, ridiculously so... So, it's try something else for me..



Uncle Billy

 

[Greg Duggan]

thanks again for the replys,, i will have some new line to this spring.



GregD