At present I am going with with Trans-optic by trilene in various pound tests. Always looking for a strong line with smaller diameter. Been using a higher pound rating recently-up to 15 pound(I really want to downsize on that) because for a few years I was losing so many lures to snags and rocks. I think line poundage depends on your method of fishing. Live bait,trolling,casting top water. Part of the problem was I think once the sun starts hitting the line on a reel and continued use and over the winter he line becomes rotten. I think the sun is the main culprit.
Sig: All of us our Dreamers. Dreams are what started everything. We our asking ourselves a great question? all of us interested in wilderness preservation are asking...What kind of world do we want.?
If the problems you had with line was with the trans-optic, that wouldn't surprise me. I didn't much like it. I've had good luck with p-line, power pro and recently gold stren. For camo, maxima is very good. I'm still experimenting with long leaders of fluorocarbon.
Actually trans optic I liked better than sensation line by trilene. Pretty much been a trilene person because I just don't know any better for maybe lack of info? Tried floro carbon on a spinning reel once and was not impressed.
I look at the lines in the store and they all look the same to me.
Sig: All of us our Dreamers. Dreams are what started everything. We our asking ourselves a great question? all of us interested in wilderness preservation are asking...What kind of world do we want.?
Always a good idea to try new stuff. Some will work for you, others not so much. Lot's of fun finding the right applications for the new stuff(fluoro, dyneema). Please report findings, that's always great info. We are all looking for the "magic" line. I've always been a Stren guy...sorta inbetween Trilene XL and XT. Currently I'm spooled up with Power Pro 30lb. to enhance hooksets on casting rods. My spinning reels still have mono(XL6), because, well, it just takes a flick of the wrist on a sunnie, crappie, or sandy. With the Aberdeen light wire hooks, I can still pull jigs off of most obstructions...and I just bend the hooks back in shape.(some have interesting shapes by the end of the day!)
"Blessed are the cracked because they let in light."
how about the new Berkley NonoFil line? I plan to try some this spring, it is very thin for its rated strength, and claims longest casting, no memory, very little stretch
“I have found that people go to the wilderness for many things, but the most important of these is perspective. They may think they go for the fishing or the scenery or companionship but, in reality, it is something far deeper. They go to the wilderness for the good of their souls” Sigurd Olson
quote PINETREE: "At present I am going with with Trans-optic by trilene in various pound tests. Always looking for a strong line with smaller diameter. Been using a higher pound rating recently-up to 15 pound(I really want to downsize on that) because for a few years I was losing so many lures to snags and rocks. I think line poundage depends on your method of fishing. Live bait,trolling,casting top water. Part of the problem was I think once the sun starts hitting the line on a reel and continued use and over the winter he line becomes rotten. I think the sun is the main culprit." Your right uv rays from the sun can break down mono, when not fishing I store my line and rods in a dark place.
" I want to know Gods thoughts , The rest are details " Albert Einstein.
Has anyone tried the YO-ZURI Hybrid Line? It is a Flourocarbon and nylon combo. The reviews on Bass Pros website are very good. I baught a spool and will try out in a few weeks. Just wanted to get anyones opinion that has already tried it.
Mostly Tri-XL. Also spool with Ande (for a while that was it) powerpro. Seige and Yozuri Hybrid are on deck to try because I found them for 3 bucks a spool. Always have XL with me.
P-Line Floroclear and Stren Magna Thin (6 pound to be a good jigging line for walleyes as it has the strentgth in a little smaller diameter). Both tie great knots.
Find a Listening Point and visit often. Develop a Land Ethic and strive to live it.
I have spooled up with 8lb Seaguar flouro over the last two years and its going to be hard for someone to convince me there's something better. Low stretch, small dia., minimal memory, and as strong as it should be.
Generally speaking, a howling wilderness does not howl: it is the imagination of the traveler that does the howling.~Thoreau
MONO - Maxima...super limp and really strong. Ultra Green or Crystal Ivory (hard to find, but this one is good for the tannin-stained water up north.)
FLUORO - Seaguar...they invented the stuff. You'll pay for it, but it's some of the best in the market. I like this for my finesse/jigging indications when extra sensitivity is needed. Spool up my spinning reels no more than 2/3 full, helps keep it from springing off the reel.
BRAID/SUPERLINE - Power Pro...never had an issue. Usually use a fluoro leader (blood knot) when I'm not fishing for the toothy critters.
"If people concentrated on the really important things in life, there’d be a shortage of fishing poles." -Doug Larson
For the most part all I use is 4lbs Vanish with a snap swivel. I will usually bring an extra spool with 6lbs or 8lbs Vanish. Yes on the "big ones" you may loose some but for the most part no issues. Set drag appropriately and have fun. I do not consider myself a fishing expert by any means but this has worked well for myself.
I prefer Trilene XL SC for most applications but when I'm fishing lakers or fishing the river I usually user Power Pro or I've found that Spider Stealth braid is also decent.
quote QueticoMike: "I always use trilene XL, seems to work fine no matter where I fish."Used this line for over 35 years, like the clear and 10 pound or less.
Just tried Power pro 15 lb test with diameter of 6 lb mono. Results:Pro's is that it cast about 20% farther than mono,instant reaction with no stretch,excellent on the spinning reel in winding and staying on. Con: It makes a buzz sound when I reel in on my eyelets,also my rod just vibrates like heck when trolling(must be because of no stretch-weird). Anyone else notice this?
I will switch back to mono for trolling and maybe use power pro for casting and maybe winter fishing(winter fishing I don't know if good idea or not?). Problem is while in the BWCA I am mainly a one rod and reel person.
Sig: All of us our Dreamers. Dreams are what started everything. We our asking ourselves a great question? all of us interested in wilderness preservation are asking...What kind of world do we want.?
quote PINETREE: " my rod just vibrates like heck when trolling(must be because of no stretch-weird). Anyone else notice this?" Its the no-stretch and feeling your lure that much better. You should try casting a Chatterbait sometime...
I'm a fireline guy. Been using it since the first incarnation and am now using the fireline fused crystal. When targeting Pike, I use a 50 lb Flouro leader. I have fished with a lot of friends with mono, and I prefer the Fireline for several reasons.
Very low stretch, resulting in way better senistivity and way better hook sets, especially when there is a lot of line out.
Very small diameter, off the top of my head I think its somewhere less than halve of equivlant mono.
Very strong, I can routinly bend hooks to get my lures off of rocks on my trolling rod.
Low vis, due to the fused crystal process.
Very Low memory
Easy knots, way easier to tie than curling slipery mono.
I can't think of a single reason why I would change to mone, for me Fireline has it beat in every department. I know some people say that mono will out fish Fireline, and to this I call BS. I have fished with plenty of people with mono, and none have outfished me when using the same tactics and lures. And there have been times when I have been able to directly attribute outfishing others to my line. Specifically when shore bound and being able to cast farther and getting to the fish, when the mono users are unable.
“Get up, stand up, Stand up for your rights. Get up, stand up, Don't give up the fight.” ------- Bob Marley
"The man who doesn't read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them. ----- Mark Twain, American writer and Freemason
I love Fireline, but a limitation I think is if you have a stiff rod it is easy to get slack into the line and possibly throw the hook. Especially if you are goign barbless. Mono is more stretchy and forgiving. Doesn't affect me but it isn't superior in every way. You can try a lighter rod and that helps.
When I use fireline for trolling, the fish hook themselves with the no stretch. That is good and bad, I liek to set the hook :) SO I mioss that :)
Wonder if using a rod other than a graphite rod trolling would lessen the vibration of the rod when trolling.I mean with Power pro it just shakes,it unbelievable. I like the line in that I think I am getting deeper.
Sig: All of us our Dreamers. Dreams are what started everything. We our asking ourselves a great question? all of us interested in wilderness preservation are asking...What kind of world do we want.?
On trips where I might do several kinds of fishing, I like to have one reel ready to go with Trilene and another (which also functions as a backup) with braided line. If I decide to do some deep jigging or long line trolling, braided line is my choice. For most other kinds of fishing, mono is usually my choice.
quote carmike: "Trilene and PowerPro for me. I actually don't mind breaking lures off in the rocks....I HATE getting PowerPro snagged. "
What pound test power pro you using?
Sig: All of us our Dreamers. Dreams are what started everything. We our asking ourselves a great question? all of us interested in wilderness preservation are asking...What kind of world do we want.?
I am mainly a Fireline Crystal guy and have used it for several years but I did buy some Nanofil last year, it's an awesome casting line but it frays something fierce and that really turns me off. I love casting the line but am going back to Fireline Crystal until they get the fraying issue resolved. I will stick with Fireline Crystal and recommend it many times over.
I have to agree with QueticoMike and BassPro Trilene works and has worked for so many years. The new superlines are fine and I'm sure will find a place in the fishing world. If it ain't broke you can't fix it. The thing is sometimes I think we have a tendency to over think things. Keep it simple.
quote PINETREE: "Wonder if using a rod other than a graphite rod trolling would lessen the vibration of the rod when trolling.I mean with Power pro it just shakes,it unbelievable. I like the line in that I think I am getting deeper."
You do get deeper trolling since it is a smaller diameter.
There is no perfect line. I think the pros have some of each based on conditions.
Last week on Kabetogama. We fan casted jigs for walleyes and Superline/braid outproduced mono 4 to 1. 10 to 1 if the wind was blowing. You had to use a really light jig, and the millisecond you felt the fish you had the set the hook. IN one case the boat next to us using mono caught one fish while we boated over 50. Sometimes it really matters.
THe opposite was true using lindy rigs. Using mono out produced braid. With no forgiveness those walleyes could feel pressure when they picked up the bait and let go. Mono outproduced braid for sure.
It was a really light bite all week, but the line mattered depending on the technique. I know it doesn't always matter that much, but sometimes it does.
One more vote for Trilene XL. It's a great line, and it's cheap.
I do like braid if I'm fishing far from the boat and need to get a good hookset. I just got out from a trip up to Iron, and we had to cast quite a ways for the smallies to bite and hold onto the lure. Braid would've been nice for those hooksets.
I switched to Power Pro about 5 years ago, and i love it. I mainly do walleye fishing, but 15 LB Power Pro landed that 50" sturgeon awesome on my walleye rod.
My wife on the other hand i am going to switch back to Trilene XL because she has a tendancy to set the hook WAY too hard and i think she loses a lot of fish because of the strong hookset and braided line (no stretch).... just picked up the trilene and hope to have it on tomorrow.
I use Yo Zuri Hybrid a lot. It's pretty good stuff. It's more sensitive than mono and it handles quite well. I pretty much use that or Power Pro, and Suffix Siege when I throw topwaters.
I've been a fan of the Cabelas brand flourocarbon and have that loaded on two rods 8lb and 10lb. I also like Berkley's vapor transition (I think its the vapor anways) it turns red in the sunlight and clear underwater. I just bought some color changing mono that goes clear to gold also from Berkley. Both of these are in 6lb.
I used fireline for a while and it is great stuff for casting but I hated it when I had to tie a knot and it liked to wrap around my last eye on my rod. God forbid it tangled because it was game over at that point. It is being replaced with that gold berkley stuff I just mentioned.
I'm a Fireline guy with a mono leader in the 4'-6' range for walleyes, panfish & bass. For Northerns, I'll use a short wire leader for trolling cranks and throwing spoons.