Lines choices - how to decide?

[yukonjack2]

ok guys - thought I would start a thread on everyones line choices - there are now so many brands within braid, mono, and fluoro, plus the hybrids - not looking for any bashing here, but if you have had success and loyal to  a brand and lb test for different fishing situations, lets hear it -

for example - spinning for tubes, grubs, jerk baits, dock skipping, senko's,drop shot ... etc

casting for carolina rigs, spinner baits, frogs/buzzbaits, cranks, tubes, jerk baits,...

I know there are multiple variables that dictate - but not being sponsored by a line company makes it all that more difficult - trying to find a compromise to buy bulk spools that I can use in multiple applications and not have to spend a fortune in filler spools.

Frog/flipping stuff I am leaning toward 65lb powerpro braid - tried fireline and stren braid, and found it wind looped around the rod tip too much with 50 lb test, so going up to the next size.

[MBell]

One recent thing is that Stren was bought by berkley,  a lot of the lines out there are made by berkley.  I believe wal-mart only carries berkley lines now.  I'm going to try a few brands this spring, going to take a look at a few of the new p-line monos.  Be careful on the bulk spools, sometimes you the line is old and not up to par, I threw away a $60 spool this spring.
-Matt

[McCarter]

I have played with different lines for the past few years.  I really like stren mono and braid.  I like the BPS XPS Floro as well as PLine Floro.

I am gonna try some more of PLines stuff this year, as far as there copolomyrs and I know Ken Miller will be expecting to see me with at least one spoll of McCoy.

PoorBoy himself

[Cheetam]

I'm a big advocate of braid.  I use either Stren or Power Pro and like both equally (30 through 65lb depending on the rod and application).  In clear water situations I throw on a Flouro leader when necessary.  Before I switched all of my rods over to braid, I used PLine products quite a bit, and really liked the CXX for spinnerbaiting and crankbaiting.  This year however, since it is ok to dropshot on most waters, I will probably have one spinning reel spooled up with some 6lb flouro (more than likely PLine or Seaguar).  Once I realize I'm no good at it, I'll switch back to braid (I'm a creature of habit...).

[dhuff]

I am a big fan of P-Line.  Although I do alot of the Berkley XT.  This year I am going to go to alot of the Bass Pro XPS Flourocarbon.  I have heard a lot of good things about it.

[Revtro]

Floro:? For? 3 years now I've been working with many different lines for 1 to 3 months each to really get a feel for the pros and cons.? I haven't yet tried them all, but I have to say that I love BPS Floro.? After working with P-line (which I also like), Cabela's floro, Berkley Vanish & Transitions, I have to say that the BPS stays on the spool (spinning) better than the rest and seems to be limper and more abraision resistant.? After using another brand for the whole season last year, I couldn't believe how many lures I broke off (on new line!)? This hasn't been the case with the BPS floro for some reason.? But I have also had good luck with the P-line and it would have to be my 2nd choice for sure in a floro.

By the way, regarding floro...? When fishing the bottom with plastics or dropshotting, has anyone had any adverse effects bumping up to a heavier weight floro?? I figure since the line is invisible for most intents and purposes, why not go to a heavier line?? Does this sound logical??? You hear a lot about light line fishing, but why not take advantage of floro's invisibility and fish heavier line that's not as likely to break?

Braid:? I'm not a big fan of the fused microfiber type of superlines.? I just personally haven't had great luck with them and I don't really like the fraying you get with these types of lines.? I've fished Spiderwire braid (original) quite a bit and have had pretty good luck with it, but again, I don't like the way it tends to flatten out and fray.? Then they introduced Stealth and I love it.? I don't get the flattening or the fraying.? I used it for half a season last year and fell in love with the way it casts and I have yet to break off with 30lb test.? I'm excited to try the new Stren braid that boasts the same kind of technology and properties as the Spiderwire Stealth.? It just seems like lines that flatten out dig in on a reel and that makes casting tough sometimes.?

Mono:? Since I don't want to slam any company, I won't mention the mono that I had such bad luck with this year.? It casts great, but had too much stretch and broke off way, way, way too easily.? That being said, I'm going to go back to Trilene XL or XT for cranking.? Floro breaks off too easily when a big fish slams your spinnerbait or crankbait.?

I don't claim to be an expert on this stuff yet... it's just my opinion.? I too am trying to get this figured out so that I can start being more consistent.

[Bulletproof]

For me, for many applications it's Berkley XT or Big Game.  Just switch line sizes for diff applications.

For cranks and such I use my steelhead line-Tectan, a German made mono that has unbelievable strength for it's diameter, which is nice to get that extra foot or 2 with such a small diameter. Its kinda like P-Line but IMO better.


There a few situations were I definitely use flouro and my favorite through many steelhead and bass seasons has got to go to Seaguar.

Although I'm not much of a braid guy and probably should be if i had a reel spooled with it it would probably be Power Pro.

So many lines out there.  There are many I haven't tried but would like to.

Whats your experience with these brands if you've tried them cause I haven't:

Cajun Red Lines?
Suffix?
Yo-Zuri?
Gamma?
Ande?

Tight Lines......Bob

[MBell]

Tom,
I know the brand of flouro you are talking about, I actually heard a pro say don't even use lighter than 14lb test cause it just breaks.  Also, flourocarbon is not invisible, just closer to being invisable than mono.  The larger diameter will also produce bigger vibrations that the fish can feel, but who knows if they care.  With flouro, I'd be more worried about how the heavier line effects you lure than if they can see it.  I don't use it on fast moving baits or top waters because of it' lack of stretch and the fact that it sinks. 
-Matt

[Revtro]

I totally agree about using floro with topwaters and such.? It sinks, so it messes up the depth the lures are supposed to run at and it goofs up the action sometimes on topwaters.? In fact, when I've tried using floro on topwater (walking style baits), the line gets caught in the front treble hook a lot because it sinks and the lure rides over the top of it.? I'm mainly wondering about plastics worked on the bottom where action from the line really isn't as much of a factor.? Has anyone's catch rate gone up dramatically using lighter diamater floro in these situations?? I'd be interested to know if line vibration really is an issue.? Matt may be right, the fish may not care.?

Bulletproof, how do I answer your question about brands without sounding like I'm slamming a company?...? ?Not sure.? I'll put it this way, I love the way Suffix casts.? It's true what they say about the smoothness of this line.? However, it has a TON of stretch and I broke off a TON of lures and fish on it this past year.? Mostly 14lb and 17lb test.? But to be fair to Suffix, it may have a lot to do with my hookset technique and the fact that I don't like stretchy line from any manufacturer.? So it's most likely a Tom problem, not all Suffix's fault.? I hope that's a fair way to put it.? A lot of guys like stretchy lines, especially for cranking, so Suffix might be great for that application if coupled with a fiberglass rod.? So if you're really a "cranker", I'd suggest giving it a try and tell us what you think.? Again, it casts like a dream.? I was quite surprised by how smooth it did cast.? Blew me away in that department.

[djkimmel]

I used Cajun Red on two rods all year and I was surprised after originally wondering how it would be based on how it felt and some comments a couple people made that it held up VERY well, good sensitivity, a little easier to see line strikes and pretty good abrasion resistance. It doesn't seem like it should do so well, but I had a great year with it.

So more experimenting. I'm in the middle of line testing and switching too after many years of limited choices (my own choice).

I used the Shakespeare Supreme a lot last year. It also seemed to do pretty good. I'm going to keep using it this year. I don't have an official relationship with them although I wouldn't mind it based on my results. Who knows?

I'm trying several different floro lines this year to see which one I like best since I didn't make up my mind last year - I also didn't use floro much last year compared to previous years when I used it a lot.

I used Power Pro quite a bit last year. Overall, it worked pretty good. I'm going to try it some more this year.

[225XS4Garza200PXL]

I throw Berkley Big Game on all my baitcasting rods... Usually it is 15 lb green Big Game... I have one rod rigged with 20 lb Big Game and another with 12... but 15 is the norm...

On my spinning reels... I will be throwing 8 or 10 lb Seaguar Flourocarbon...

I used this line for the Wonderland Owner's tournament with PoorBoy and the results were great... this line is sensitive, no stretch, and casts great... It will be on all my spinning rods for 2006...

Jose

[stackenem]

I use Maxxum on all most all of my spinning rods. I have been using the 6 and 8 lb and have had excellent luck with it. I was actually using 8lb on my salmon setup this year on Bear Creek in Breathen and had excellent results. I use braid on my casting rigs. Mainly fireline.

[Savage]

Keep 'er simple, man.  Throw XL on anything with treables (10 pound is great).  Then 17 pound XT for spinnerbaits and jigs.  I like braid for tubes, fireline is good, 14 lb spiderwire is best.  Senko work really well with spiderwire, too.

[fishon1219]

For all of my finesse type fishing applications last season I used berkly vanish transition in 6lb test. During practise I never had a problem with breaking off fish, but during the tournament i lost several. I guess I was more excited and "SET" the hook instead of just leaning back on it. All of the break offs I encountered were during the hook set. I finally figured out to loosen the drag a little and that worked fine. I was always a trilene xt 6lb guy until this past season and I definatly had more bites using the floro. For my bait cast rods I use 12 to 17lb trilene XT. Never any problems with breaking off with these.

[Bassman24]

It is crazy but I have graduated to line preferences based on technique.

Trilene XT - Green:  is my main stay especially for the start of the season when I am on the inland lakes a lot. 

Fireline: is always on one or two spinning rods for tough days or St. Clair fishing. You can't beat the sensitivity.

Seagar Floro: I added this to my arsenal when I started fishing the rivers for those big smallies.  Sometimes your 30'-50' deep.  It as little stretch and great feel. 

Every year I a buy a spool of something I haven't tried to see if it beats what I use.  I really believe that line is a lot like all your other equipment...you need to be confident in what you use.  Last thing you need is to worry about your line breaking in the middle of a tournament. 

GT

[djmaclf]

I have used the P-Line Cxx now for 2.5 years. I have had less break offs, so why change!

[Hooksetter]

I use P-Line, as follows:

8 lb. floro on spinning reels for St. Clair

8 lb. cxx on spinning everywhere else

20 lb. floro on a baitcaster for c-rig, t-rig, and j-n-p [I also throw a 5" senko on this rig, weightless].

17 and 12 lb. cxx on a baitcaster for spinnerbaits, crankbaits, jerkbaits and topwater

I'm going to try froggin' this year. Has any body tried the P-Line braid? If so, how did you like it?

[spinninbug]

My husband bought some cajun red this year for the first time,  we really liked it,  it comes of the spool nice and lies nice in the water,  really easy to see strikes too.  It held up really well, and if anyone can break line it's him,  one of the guys in our club said he has a hook set from Alabama.  So we liked it really well.  We also use alot of Youzouri (sp)  line alot of 12 lb test.  Seems to work well for us.  Not alot of breaks with it.  Although I'm not sure for me it's as sensitive as I would like it to be. 

[smbassman]

I have been using Yozuri Hybrid on spinning gear with good luck.  Though I use pure XPS Flouro in real clear, lite line stuff.  The Yozuri has a lot of the good points of flour (low stretch, abrasion res, low visibility) but I think it works a little better on spinning reels than pure flouro.  Still not as good as mono for line twist, but manageable.  They have a new soft hybrid out that is supposed to be for spinning reels, so I will be trying that this year.

If you are looking for a standard mono, I do not think you can beat BPS Excel.  It has a lot of stretch, but takes a lot of abuse and is incredibly strong.  I have tried Trilene, Stren and a few others, but nothing is stronger than excel # for # on a steady pull.  It may be that they under classify their line, but I have never noticed a large diameter difference.

Braid and superlines are one thing I have struggled with.  I have not found any thing that can withstand dragging over zebra mussel beds on a carolina rig.  Any suggestions?

[Revtro]

I must say, now that you bring it up, I have had great success with the XPS mono as well.  Last year I broke off less 8lb XPS mono than I did 17lb Suffix fishing similar baits on similar gear.  It seems to hold up under knot pressure very well.