THE OFFENSIVE EDGE/ LINE SELECTION (The Good, Bad, and the Ugly)

Hey folks thanks for stopping by. I just want to share the importance of proper line selection. There's Hybrids, Braids, Nylon/Mono, Co-polymers, Fluros, where do you start? Well let's start with the basics, we'll start with Nylon or Monofilament.




Monofilament line is declared by some as your generic line. Is it good for all fishing applications? No! And I will break it down to the goods bads and the uglies of Mono line so you can see why Mono/Nylon line is not the line for all applications.

Monofilament, The Goods

•Easy handling casts well when on a spinning reel or even a bait caster
•Fair knot strength when using a clinch knot or improved clinch knot
•High stretch ratio gives nylon the ability to absorb the initial shock from a strike
•Floats on the water,sinks slower which helps top water fishing ;visualizing strikes

Monofilament, The Bads & The Uglies

•High stretch increases your miss/hook set ratio
•Low abrasion resistance causes more break offs when fishing rough structure
•High memory causes your line to retain it's form on the spool causing roll off, line twists, birds nests



Lets move on to the Braided lines. It's created by "fusing" multiple braided fibers of new types of micro filamentous materials like Dyneema, a gel-spun polyethylene (plastic). This is what you find with Spiderwire, PowerPro and Fireline. Is this the line suited for all fishing applications? No! And here's the Good, Bad and the Ugly to explain why.

Braided Line, The Goods

•Thin diameter allowing more line to be put on your spool
•High strength ten times stronger than steel, great for hook sets
•Abrasion resistant allowing you to fish heavy cover, rough structure, and toothy fish
•Low stretch increases your hook set/miss ratio
•Low memory allows for easier casting
•Extremely sensitive allowing you to telegraph strikes quicker

Braided Line, Bads & Uglies

•High visibility in water can spook fish in clear water conditions
•Low stretch can damage your reel drag and break your rod with hard hooksets
•Knot slip when using the wrong knot
•Very high strength again can damage your reel and rod with hard hooksets



Lastly lets talk about Fluorocarbon line, highly covetted for it's near invisible qualities. Fluorocarbon lines are a type of monofilament line in that it's a single strand line. It's a polymer derived from introducing fluorine to carbon. But once again is Fluorocarbon line the best line for all fishing applications? No! And once again here's why.

Fluorocarbon, The Goods

•High abrasion resistance allowing you to fish rough structure, and toothy fish
•Virtually invisible under water
•Moderate stretch but still allows for solid hook up vs mono lines
•Great leader line when accompanied with a braid main line

Fluorocarbon, The Bads & Uglies

•High memory make it virtually impossible to cast from a spinning reel
•Sinks (not necessarily a bad thing for crankbaits,but not if you're fishing poppers)
•Expensive due to it's high density strenght, low diameter and other properties did I mention it was virtually invisible? Nuff said.

Well I hope this helps some of you new anglers out and hopefully it helps some of you seaseoned anglers as well putting a perspective on line selection. As there's a rod for every fish, there's a line for every rod and reel. Choosing the right line for your reel for the rod and being able to bridge these three properly and effectively will help give you THE OFFENSIVE EDGE!

Until next time, I'm Ben McWhinney wishing you all, tight lines and trophy fishing.