Looking for some Pro's and Con's

[Chief Grey Bear]

I finally broke down and bought some Berkely Fireline. And so far I like. Boy, you sure can cast a lot farther with the same effort as mono.

So do any of use it?

How do you like it?

How does it wear?

[trout fanatic]

I am only aware of a few negatives of this line. The braided lines soak up water and therefore freezes up during cold weather fishing. Be sure to keep your drag set as too many fishermen buy the higher test stuff. Somethin has to give when a big fish or rock takes the lure and often times its the rod. Other than that its a very sensative line and works well IMO.

Dale

[brownieman]

my opinion,

is tough, but will fray

bad in cold weather like tf said

has little strech...sometimes good, sometimes not...depends

casts good in warm conditions

does not bind up as bad on spin cast reels, works well on baitcasters which by nature don't twist line as bad as spinning rigs.

my take for what it's worth

[slider]

CHEIF: TIGHTLINE GOT ME TO USING IT A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO I YOUSED MY FIRST SPOOL FORE 2 YEARS AND WHAT WAS LEFT WAS STILL GOOD EXCEPT I HAD TIED ON SO MUCH IT WASNT MUCH LEFT ON THE SPOOL SO I REITIRED IT. THIS YEAR I TRIED THE NEW CRYSTAL IN 4 LB. I DIDNT LIKE IT AS WELL AS I DID THE 6. I DID BREAK IT OF A FEW TIMES. THE LAST SPOOL WAS 6 IN THE CRYSTAL AND I LOVE IT. THE ONLY THING I DONT LIKE IS I HAVE A HARD TIME WHEN I SET THE HOOK ON CRAPPIE I DO JERK IT THREW THEM. I WANTED THE LINE TO FISH AT WARSAW YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN YOU MIGHT CATCH A HYBRYD OR A GOOD CAT. DONE BOTH THIS YEAR AND IT WORKED GREAT. LAST TRIP I HOOKED A BIG GAR IN THE TAIL WORKED FORE 20 MINUTES AND FINALLY LANDED IT WITH NO PROBLEMS. HAVE WONDERED ABOUT THE 2 LB TO FISH FORE TROUT.

SLIDER

[Al Agnew]

Used it for a couple of years. It was okay, but I didn't much like the fraying problem...after a day of fishing the last ten feet or so was fuzzed out so much it looked twice as thick as it had before. That didn't seem to affect the strength much, just looked thick and ugly. I switched to Power Pro braid, and am much happier with it.

For those of you having trouble with line twist with spinning tackle, a good braided line pretty much solves the problem. The line still twists, but the twist doesn't affect braided line like it does mono. I've got to where I use nothing but 2 pound diameter/10 pound test Power Pro on all my spinning reels.

[Quillback]

I used it for winter steelhead fishing, what I liked about it is that due to low stretch it's much more sensitive making it easier to detect the light pickup of a steelhead bite. But you have to be careful and not wrap it around rod tips, or body parts and start yanking because it can break rods, cause cuts very easily.

[WebFreeman]

Al, I think we've discussed this before. Do you use a leader or anything? I have some green spider wire braid (in fact, I just found it in the garage) and it looked like goat rope in the water and I had a hard time tying knots. I think I used it twice and gave up on it.

[Al Agnew]

Nope, I don't use a leader. A lot of guys who use Power Pro and other braids all the time swear by the 6 pound diameter 20 pound test size, and also swear that the fish don't care about its visibility underwater. But I'm like you, braids DO look pretty thick and obvious to me, which is why I don't use anything bigger than the 2/10 Power Pro. It takes a little getting used to, however. For one thing, on a straight pull, it's a LOT stronger than 10 pound mono...no way you can break it, you have to cut it. But it IS susceptible to abrasion, and when you're talking diameters that thin, it doesn't take much abrasion to weaken it considerably. Also, it SOMETIMES breaks on a hard shock, like a sudden hard hook set when you've got a little slack line to begin with. I've learned to be a bit smoother with my hook sets, and also like to use a medium light action rod to make hooksets a little more forgiving.

The other problem with most braids is that they flatten out when you tie a knot. The line gets flat enough to slip through the gap in the eye of most worm and soft plastic hooks when you are using the smaller diameters. I've mostly solved this problem by tying what I call a double palomar knot, which results in FOUR loops of line running through the eye of the hook. I've also heard you can solve it by putting a small drop of superglue/fishing glue in the gap.

But even with those problems, the almost total lack of trouble with line twist has made me use braid exclusively on spinning reels.

[Chief Grey Bear]

Thanks for all the good info. I will put it to use.

[Tightline]

Chief,I purchased a spool of Fireline a week after it hit Basspros shelves and have been useing it ever since.It was a well kept secret of mine for a while.I've had no problems at all,frayed or not frayed,warm or cold weather,it out performs every line I have ever used.The only time I don't use it is clear water,sunny,no wind days.It last forever seems like.

Good luck trying it out.