What line are you using?

[BrokeLoser]

I know most of you are spooled with spectra and a flourocarbon top but what brand do you go with? Are you partial?

I ask because I'm pulling a second mortgage out of my house so I can spool 5 reels and I want to make sure I get the right stuff.

Thanks

[bus kid]

I have power pro on two of my reels, I just got the hollow core and it casts a little different but i like it so far.

word of advice if your going with different tests use different colors for the different test. nothing worse then grabbing a 80# on a hot bite only to have it snap off because it was your 20#, dont ask me how I know...

[taggermike]

As my reels needed re-lining I started switching to spectra. I'm using white power pro on my 20-40 lb reels. On my smaller bay and kelp bass out fits I filled them to the top with the moss green color. I don't even remember what brand the lighter stuff it. MIke

[fishinkid2010]

Take a look at McCoy fishing line. Made in the USA and some of the smoothest casting line I have ever fished, I'm super happy with it. I have fished their spectra, mono, and 100% fluoro. It is great stuff!

[wade]

Accept Nothing Less....

Izorline is The Best.
i use: 65# for spectra & 40# for Mono.

[IB Fish"N"]

Wade were do you get the Izorline braid (spectra)

[steveoh]

I get mine from Charkbait.com they have a store in Huntington Beach and they opened up a store somewhere near SD last summer...I found that they do have the best prices and don't play pricing games like other sites I've found.

[IB Fish"N"]

Thanks Steveoh i know were its at here in SD

[Jimmyz123]

For my braid applications I usually just get the Spider wire from Wal-Mart, good price and it works well. Floro I like Seagar. Mono lines I use Izorline. However I have been looking at the Power pro braid lately.

[IB Fish"N"]

I use Power Pro now but it has a waxie coat on it and i heard that Izorline braid doesn't

[Rav3n805]

Izor...

[dos ballenas]

power pro for spectra, p-line for mono, segaur for fluorocarbon

each of your rod and reels should have a specific application. Some are all mono (40lb mono= jig stick), some are all spectra with a fluoro leader(65lb spectra with 3-6 ft 40lb fluorocarbon=kelp cutter), and some are a little of both.

More importantly if you think your line is old you should change it. If you think your leader got kinked, nicked, or chaffed, change it. If you think your knot was tied incorrectly retie it. If you have to second guess these decisions then definitely change your line immediately and/or retie your knot.

Last year I hooked a nice yellow on fresh 40 lb. It kicked my ass, but I landed it. The guy next to me was not so lucky. He hooked a nice fish just after I landed mine. Unfortunately he lost it as his line snapped. I asked him what happened and his buddy responded for him. Apparently he had decided to be lazy the night before and just fish with old line that hadn't been replaced in over a year. That was that and he lost a nice yellow. If you're going to fish for big fish be prepared. You never know when you will hook your next big fish. IMO if your gear is in bad shape or if your line is old then you're not ready to hook into and fight a big fish. Why even try? You will be disappointed time and time again.

I have lost my share of fish, and many of them were due to equipment failure.

[steveoh]

I was using power pro and I kept slipping knots, so I switched to Izorline brutally strong. I found the PP line has a wax coating on it and the Izor doesn't...I haven't lost a fish due to knot failure since...

I have my setup with 65lb, 50lb, and 30lb Izorline spectra and use 50lb, 30lb and 20lb/15lb fluoro, depending on what I'm targeting.

I have also found a knot that hasn't failed me yet tying fluoro to spectra....the PR knot....here is a youtube link and you can see many other vids of the PR knot too

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbhvZi0fiM4

I made my PR bobbin by getting a bobbin holder from BP and getting a regular bobbin and wrapping it with some wire to give it some weight...I did many searches for the PR bobbin and found this was the least expensive way to make this knot.

Sorry If I got off the subject of line choices

[Nic D]

power pro for bays and kelp, izor (first string) for tuna

ps - Im not trying to be mean, but if you're losing fish because of knot failure its because you cant tie a knot, not because there is wax present.

[Siebler]

Originally Posted by IB Fish"N"

I use Power Pro now but it has a waxie coat on it and i heard that Izorline braid doesn't

Yes and no. You can get Izor in an non-dyed state which doesnt have the coating and will cast much better.

However even the colored spectra is better because the fibers are dyed then braided as opposed to braided then dyed like the other brands out there. This means that the coating does not flake and peel off near as easily.

[Fiskadoro]

The first spectra I tried was Izor followed by Spiderwire and then Power Pro.

I kind of got into the stuff early so the Izor I used was three strand weave which is kind of a flat braid. The Original Spiderwire and Power Pro were four strand which is more round though a technically square four strand braid. For me it's the way to go. There are better spectras out there Like JB that are 12 strand or even 16 strand but I prefer the four strand Power Pro because it's weave creates kind of a sharp edge to the line that cuts kelp better the other smoother rounder braids, and it's relatively cheap.

I buy all my Power Pro 20 30 40 65 80 and 100 pound off ebay in 1500yd spools. Which I can usually get for between 75 and 85 bucks with free shipping. The stuff lasts for ever. I've had reels that I spooled back almost ten years ago and the line is just fine on them.

The only issues I have had with Power Pro has to do with knots and backlashes. If you get a bad backlash the line can cut into itself creating a bad weakspot that can later cause a break.

Knot wise four strand spectra is hard to tie with some knots. I splice almost all mine to fluorcarbon and have about four different splices I use, but my favorite these days is a variation of the Tony Pena knot.


Whatever you use do a bunch of testing.

For big game trolling of lures for Sharks and Marlin I tend to bimini the spectra making a double loop then tie that doubled line with a version of a sandiego knot that I worked up to an offshore swivel that then connects to the fluoro leader. It works for me.

For topshots I only use seaguar. 30 and above leader material


25lbs and under I use their Ivisx or their red label.



I really don't fish mono anymore except with 8 pound and under light spinning gear. Ten pound or over I even fish my spinning gear with spectra. All Power Pro and Seaguar...like I should prostaff for them

Like I said that's what works for me.

Jim

[Fiskadoro]

Originally Posted by Tamarack Studios

power pro for bays and kelp, izor (first string) for tuna

ps - Im not trying to be mean, but if you're losing fish because of knot failure its because you cant tie a knot, not because there is wax present.

I hear that....

[wtlfsh]

This knot is a flyfishing knot called a Slim Beauty Knot, Lefty Cray used it for flyfishing but he used a figure 8 knot to anchor the knot which is a two turn surgeons knot.

If you put it to the test on my line testing machine it will slip but if you anchor the knot with a 4 turn uni knot it will hold a lot better. Also, depending on what pound test Spectra and which brand you use it might need more turns on the Spectra side. This knot has been called: The Tony Pena Knot, The Bob Sands Knot, The Roddy Hayes Knot and many other names but it is a variation of the Slim Beauty Knot.

Wendy Tochihara
Izorline International, Inc.