[#1cubsfan]

i'm going to change my line this friday before we go to deep lake again i was possibly thinking about braided but i don't know about braided line or other types of line really. does anyone have any suggestions on what i should go with. I'm looking for good strong line for some big bass, pike, walleye, and catfish etc.

 

[JasonN]

I just picked up some Fireline Crystal 14lb (6lb diameter). I love Fireline over all the braided lines. I was able to catch a 15" bass at Busse in some thick weeds and bring 'er in no problem.

The line is pricey - 13.99 for 125yrds, but i think it's worth it.

 

[Topwater]

Hey #1, you're gonna get twice as many opinions as there are WCF members! I go back and forth between braided and mono. Whichever I use I go with as light as possible, usually 6-8lb mono, or 8lb braided. I don't fish in overgrown weedy lakes much if at all. Right now I am using 8lb green spiderwire. Love it, it gives all the benefits of braided w/o superstrength, but is only 1.5lb mono thickness in visibility. IMHO don't be afraid to let your reel drag do some work now and again, that way you can go lighter and less visible, but still work a bigger fish in even through most weeds. Personally, I don't think you ever need over 8-10lb mono around here or the Northwoods, just set the drag correctly. On the Big Lake sure you need higher strength. But around here you'll never get a fish thats just too big for 8lb line, but you will likely miss a lot of hits cause of too thick a line. Again just IMHO.

 

[krnfishboy7786]

If you have the money, I'd say go ahead and get Fireline like Jason suggested. (It's a bit out of my budget, but I've heard good things from just about everybody who's used it)

If you're interested in mono, this whole summer I've been spooling my spinning rods with Berkeley Iron Silk (8lb-10lb and low vis green) and it works great. On my baitcasters, I just put on either 12-20 lb Spiderwire Mono or just the original Berkeley Trilene XT or XL. These work just fine and they're cheap.

Hope this helped.

 

[Augy]

water clarity at deep is pretty clear so lighter line would definately do better than heavier line. i used 12lb mono last weekend and all my fish except one have been on topwater. down deeper, lighter line probably would of boated me a few more fish later that morning.

i'm changing up line for deep as well. 8lb Vanish all the way around. spinning and casting. just in case, i'll bring heavier line as backup.

 

[Willy]

there you go Augy i've been using vanish flourocarbon for about 3 years it's a great all around strong and almost invisible line, it's also abrassion resiststant so it works great at LM or those weed infested ponds. you can't beat it in clear water, i use 12# test on my baitcaster...

 

[jnapodano]

Best lines available:IMO

Braid: Powerpro. Much more supple than new fireline, less memory as well. Best stuff in the world for draggin big fish through heavy cover. We used it on our canada trip and were pulling in +8lb northerns without leaders while we were bass fishing. Fireline is for Musky fishing IMO. Much better braids out there for bassin.

Flouro: Vanish or McCoy's. Fox & Chicago River I'd go with McCoy's, matches the water perfect. LM K3 or other clear water Vanish is my fav clear water flouro, not as many line twists as I experienced with McCoy's either. Good for fishing breakwalls with a slow presentation, don't need to worry as much about nicks/frays in the line. I got sick of this stuff one night fishing on the fox. Was using the vanish low light stuff and got line twists on every cast. Ruined a great outing I had, I remember the fish were going crazy and here I was with this bunk line all wrapped around the end on my rod. Came home that night and stripped it off my spools. I think it's good in the right setting but doesn't last like mono or braid, this stuff breaks down quicker.

Mono:This is what I use most of the time, Stren Magnaflex. I'd rather not have a monster fish on at all if I'm going to lose it. This line has landed me big fish after big fish. About 3 years ago I went through a period where I was having trouble with berkeley line. I literally switched out my line once a week in search of what I was looking for. Got some spools of this stuff for free from a charity donation on another fishing site and haven't been dissappointed since. I go with 8lb for spring, 10lb for summer and 12lb for fall.

Just my .02

 

[MrB]

Mono bad!!!! Braid good!!!!

I have lost too many fish esp. at the fox due to mono breakage. I also had an issue with berkely mono, it seems ok if you dont catch fish but if your catching you are respooling weekly, I have my reels spooled with Power Pro since spring and the line is still in great shape. I know for sure that I would have spent more or equivalent money buying and respooling mono.

 

[toothdoc]

If you want to go to braid I agree with the Power Pro. It is always rated the best. The only problem with it for Deep is it is quite visible, so just tie on a mono leader of several feet using a Uni to Uni knot. I have had good luck with it. I've used it for King fishing in the Fall and never had a break.

For mono, I've been using Berkley Trilene Sensation. It seems to have less stretch and is definitely stronger than a comparable diameter mono. It is a little more expensive though.

 

[FishinMatt]

You could label me a "Fireline Finatic." For years I would lose big fish getting buried in the weeds. 6 lb. Fireline solved that for me. To tackle the toothy critters I bump up to 14 or 20lb. With all the money we spend on tackle, it seems like a no-brainer to me to spend a little extra on quality line. I really can't think of any advantages mono gives me. It stretches, has too much memory, is bulkier, and nicks easily. It will also dry rot on a reel. One tip with the braid, you can reverse it at the end of the season to put the fresh line at the front of another reel. I naturally lose some line throughout the season, but I can always at least transfer some of my large spools to my ultralights to save some money. A common complaint againest braid is that it is too visable. However 6 lb. Fireline has the diameter of 2 lb. mono. I have never had problems tricking shy crappie and smallies in clear bodies of water with.

Just my thoughts :wink:

 

[toothdoc]

Hey Matt, do you use the Fireline without a leader for Pike?

 

[BassCaster]

Spinning reel mono
baitcaster Fireline

 

[toothdoc]

I've still got 20# mono on my baitcaster. I need to move up to some braid.

 

[Topwater]

I didn't use a leader for pike this past week when using 30lb braid. But I would i think for the 8lb braid. You do still need to be aware of line wear even with the braid if going for toothy fish though. Our last Bowfin outing I had tossed the 'last cast, i swear honey' and got a nice feeling fish on, but the 30lb braided snapped as i set the hook. I had been using it for about four or five fish by that time and was just too lazy and in a hurry to get another one on.

 

[FishinMatt]

Hey Matt, do you use the Fireline without a leader for Pike?

Yep, no leader for me. I will get bit off on occasion, but I feel the number of strikes I get w/o the leader overshadows the couple fish I lose each season for not having one.

These guys were landed without a problem with no leader this year.

 

[Topwater]

Matt, you can stop posting pics now I gotta get to delevan Those are sweet!!

 

[toothdoc]

Thanks Matt. I'm planning on going to Canada next year and was wondering how many leaders I'm going to need due to snags. I'll just make sure to put like 30# braid on my MH rod instead that I will use for Pike.

 

[George W]

Best lines available:IMO

Braid: Powerpro. Much more supple than new fireline, less memory as well. Best stuff in the world for draggin big fish through heavy cover. We used it on our canada trip and were pulling in +8lb northerns without leaders while we were bass fishing. Fireline is for Musky fishing IMO. Much better braids out there for bassin.

Flouro: Vanish or McCoy's. Fox & Chicago River I'd go with McCoy's, matches the water perfect. LM K3 or other clear water Vanish is my fav clear water flouro, not as many line twists as I experienced with McCoy's either. Good for fishing breakwalls with a slow presentation, don't need to worry as much about nicks/frays in the line. I got sick of this stuff one night fishing on the fox. Was using the vanish low light stuff and got line twists on every cast. Ruined a great outing I had, I remember the fish were going crazy and here I was with this bunk line all wrapped around the end on my rod. Came home that night and stripped it off my spools. I think it's good in the right setting but doesn't last like mono or braid, this stuff breaks down quicker.

Mono:This is what I use most of the time, Stren Magnaflex. I'd rather not have a monster fish on at all if I'm going to lose it. This line has landed me big fish after big fish. About 3 years ago I went through a period where I was having trouble with berkeley line. I literally switched out my line once a week in search of what I was looking for. Got some spools of this stuff for free from a charity donation on another fishing site and haven't been dissappointed since. I go with 8lb for spring, 10lb for summer and 12lb for fall.

Just my .02

I agree With the First two. But Mono I Personally Prefer Berkley Products. But I agree With The Braid And Flurocarbon From your post. At Least someones on the right track at using Fishing Lines

George

 

[BassCaster]

I use the Fire Line on my bait caster and yes at first it is a bit stiff but over time it gets very supple with no memory at all and it's very strong. I use 8lb for bass. They are some fine Pike Matt

 

[RobBull]

Just switched from mono to braided and am happy I did. I'm now using 30 lb. Spyderweb Stealth and am getting the best of both words. It's as thin as 8lb. mono and is not really more visible than mono. Haven't had a single birds nest either.