When we were much younger, everything seemed to be so much easier when we wanted to fish. All we really cared about was having the pup travelling along with us, any rod would do and the little two-tray tackle box. We didn’t need much, hooks and sinkers did it for us. We didn’t really pay much attention to what we were using for line and regardless, we felt that we caught the best fish! Today, look around and see how many rods and reels you now own and check out how many different types of line you now have stashed away in the closet.

As a youngster, you’d have never believed that a day of fishing would involve choosing from three varieties of line, all with different uses and a variety of sizes. It would have never occurred to you to weigh the value of each line against the type of fishing you had planned you’d simply grab what you had and head off. Let’s take a look at the three categories that fishing line falls into and determine what works best for your needs.

For the last 40 or so years, many people have fished using monofilament line. In reality, it is likely still the best selling fishing line available today. Monofilament line is made from one filament of extruded nylon. It is very inexpensive, but also very strong and somewhat pliable. Monofilament line is somewhat stretchy under tension, which acts like a shock absorber for catching aggressive fighters.

Monofilament is not without its problems. The coils of monofilament tend to get coils in them that are remembered when you spiral off your spool and cast. This can create knots in the wrong places at the wrong times. Other issues are created by the stretch that’s available in the line – stop and think what could happen if you’re trying to pull a large fish out of a thick of weeds or preventing that oversized catch from sneaking off between some rocks – monofilament won’t be a big help in these cases.

Braided line which is made up of tiny braided synthetic fibers resolves some of the issues that are inherent to monofilament lines. Unlike monofilament, braided line doesn’t tend to remember how it was sitting on your reel, so it is less likely to develop knots. While very strong, it’s much thinner than monofilament too – in fact a 30-lb braided line is about the same diameter as an 8-lb monofilament line. The best thing about this braided line is that even its small size is great for filling your reel if you’re going to be fishing for small trout or bass. One of the biggest drawbacks of braided line is that it is likely to be damaged easily as it has low abrasion resistance and unfortunately it is also highly visible. If you decide to use a braided line it’s highly recommended you use a low or non-visible leader with it.

Fluorocarbon lines are the premier line for many fishermen. Fluorocarbon lines had a bad name when they first came out because so many felt that it was too rigid. This rigidity often created issues spooling and casting. Since technology has evolved, these problems seem to have lessened over time and far more fishermen feel this line solves far more problems than it had initially created. Many anglers have discovered that fluorocarbon is perfect for creating leaders – this is because fluorocarbon line is highly abrasion resistant. If you’re fishing in deep water that reflects a lot of light or shallow waters, the fluorocarbon line could be just right since it is nearly invisible.

Each kind of line available today is a different tool for you to use to make fishing easier. When used correctly, each will help you catch more fish too. So, I suppose that fishing was much simpler when I was a kid, but then again so was my overall familiarity and knowledge of fishing. I could have probably continued to fish in that simple manner, but the desire to learn and catch bigger and better fish reeled me in. As I fished and began to learn more and more about fishing, I discovered the advantages of choosing the right line, lure color, etc. Fishing may not seem as simple as it once did, but I sure am glad that I understand how to utilize the tools that are available. They have certainly helped me add fish to my freezer.

There are many different fishing supplies out on the market today. Some of the most popular supplies include: Daiwa BG90, Shimano Calcutta Reel, and Daiwa Fishing Poles.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 7th, 2010 at 8:22 pm and is filed under Swimming Pools. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.