What Kind of Fishing Line Should I Use?

Fishing Line Choices
by John Campbell

Have you stood back from the shelf at your local tackle store lately and looked at all the fishing lines there are to choose from?

Fishing lines have over the years come in all types of colors, diameter, tensile strength, and lately more highly technical properties. There are braided lines, monofilament lines, super monofilament lines, fusion lines, and lead core lines. These lines come in colors of green, gold, clear, blue, yellow just to name a few. Some people swear by the line and others swear at the line. Choices, choices! Where will it all end?

 What is the best line? Answers to these questions are easy, especially if you think about where you are fishing, what type of species you are fishing and what type of presentation you are going to use.

If I am jigging I prefer to use a monofilament line that gives me some stretch. The reason for this is that I am directly over the fish when jigging and I want the line to give a little when I make the hookset. This allows me to get the fish to the surface quickly and by adding stretch to the formula the fish can run and yet not get off because there is no slack in the line. Many fish are lost at the boat, so you want a line that gives you some leeway at the boat and will help the fish to stay hooked. The line that I use is not expensive line it is simply Original Stren Clear Blue line. I do want my line to be abrasion resistant especially while jigging in and around rocks. I also want it limp so I can cast it a long way.

In trolling situations I will probably stay with the monofilament line, but I may choose an 8lb. test rather than a 6lb. test. I again like the stretching features of monofilament when trolling. The fish stays hooked longer and I don't have to keep a steady retrieve on the fish. If a person was to use super line or fused line you might be able to feel the strike of the fish sooner, but with no stretch many fish are lost at the boat. That is not to say that when you are trolling you should only use monofilament line. I will periodically use lead core line.

I like lead core line because it gets my lures down to the bottom and keeps them in the strike zone longer. I have used lead core on open flats and it works very well. It has a high tensile strength and very low stretch. Keep in mind with the low stretch you have to keep you hand on the rod at all times. When the fish is hooked it is a steady retrieve all the way back to the boat.

A high-quality fishing line can mean the difference between a productive day of fishing and a frustrating day of attempting to fish. Stren has come to the rescue with their new line, Stren Extra Strength. It's perfect for fishing heavy cover, for fishing structure or for going after that once-in-a-lifetime record-sized fish. Through the use of advanced research and development, Stren made Extra Strength its strongest line ever. Strength in fishing line is defined by tensile strength (breakload vs. diameter). Stren Extra Strength's tensile strength exceeds that of other fishing lines. This added strength translates into great knot strength, shock strength, abrasion resistance, durability and castability. In addition, Extra Strength is a low visibility fishing line so it won't spook the fish. Its crystal clear color virtually disappears in water so fish don't even know it's there. The exceptional strength provides extra insurance against breakage and lets anglers downsize the line to avoid further detection by fish without the worry of line breakage. Extra Strength offers up to 50 percent extra insurance against breakage over what the label states.

Extra Strength is so strong that currently established standards don't really apply to it. If I am fishing for bass I might use Fusion line or Spiderwire. It has a low stretch factor, but it has the small diameter with the highest tensile strength. When you catch a five pound bass on these "super" lines it feels like you have a 5 lb. bass in your hands. A word of caution, if you are going to use these lines make sure that your rod can withstand the additional shock to it without causing serious problems in your rod. I know of at least a few anglers who had to replace rods because they blew up their rods on hooksets.

Braided lines are like the "super" lines. They have been around for a number of years and some people still use them for trolling. Others will use this line for musky fishing. It is high in tensile strength, low stretch, heavy line when it absorbs water, but extremely effective when looking for a monster musky in the 30 lb. class range. As far as color is concerned I use any clear monofilament. I have found that most of the time fish are not concerned about color of line. Some anglers would rather use a green to mask the presence of line, but I prefer to watch my line above the water and therefore want to see where it is. Colored lines have tendency to fade into the environment and they get pretty hard to see. I would probably err in my favor rather than in try to calculate if the fish could see it or not.

Of all the lines on the market today find a line that you like. Think of where you are going to use that line. Match the line to the application and then you can make a conscience decision as to what your line might be. Late breaking news has just come in from Spirit Lake Iowa. Pure Fishing has announced that it has purchased the fishing related assets of Remington Arms Company, Inc. including the popular Stren brand, effective February 10, 2004.

So what is the best line for you? The line that meets your conditions and your fishing tackle will now be provided by Pure Fishing which will include not only Berkley, Spiderwire and SevenStrand, but now Stren as well.

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