Fishing Line...????

[DuckBlind]

Stopped at Gander...they have 900 types of fishing line. Hoping for a little help!

I use all spinning reels...What do you recommend for:

One reel for walleyes

2nd for bass

3rd is an ultra light for pannies

Any advice on brands? Line weight? More of a mono guy...

Thanks much!!!

[Gordie]

I use cajun red 4lb test for eyes and pannies the eye in my avatar was brought in on it in red wing also it doesnt seem to get the line memory as bad as other lines I have used.

for bass depends what type of bassin your doing I fish scum frogs alot so I use a 14-20 lb power pro and I have also used it for wormin but I dont fish that often for bass

[DTro]

Can never really go wrong with good old Trilene XL for light to medium duty and XT for medium to heavy stuff. 4lb for ultralight 6lb for walleyes, and maybe 8lb for Bass. About as simple as it gets.

[bturck]

For over 40 years I have used Stren Clear Blue...6,8 or 12 depending on pannies, wallies or bass. I have always been satisfied with the product. Lots of new products out there, but it wasn't broke so I didn't try to fix it. Just my .02 cents

[chief]

It's very hard to beat monofilament for versatility and value. The fact is it does most things well, and, if you never fish extremes, it does most things really well.

I second Dtro's opinion on Trilene XL in 4, 6, and 8# test. But there's nothing wrong with Stren, or any long standing brand. For color I'd choose green or clear.

[herefish101]

dtro is right on the money.

[Hot_tamale]

I have to say, personally I use fireline crystal for jigging walleyes.

I only fish walleyes and when i use a regular mono it tends to twist the line and with fireline, it doesnt get kinks in the line.

one word of advice, if you do use fireline, make sure you use a mono backing on the spool, and connect your fireline at about half spool.

what this does is to provide a backing so that the fireline doesn't dig into itself and make casting a problem.

I dont worry about spooking fish with it because i catch plenty using this stuff.

as for slip float fishing, I use trilene xl or xt depending on what kind of area i am fishing.

for casting cranks i also use the fireline.

just remember that with fireline, it is very sensitive, but not a lot of stretch. so when setting the hook, you'll want to make sure your drag is a little looser so that you dont rip the hook out of the mouth.

if you have a decent rod and would like sensitivity, i would use fireline.

just my $.02.

[My_Key]

I use Spiderwire or Fireline on all my open water rigs. When jigging or floating a slip bobber for walleyes I tie on a 2-3 foot Vanish leader. It may seem like overkill to use the 2-10 braid for panfish, but when the big ones are in the sunken timber or fallen trees, the extra line strength is nice to have.

[KyleM.]

yo-zuri hybrid for all...

4-6lb for walleyes

8lb for bass

2-4lb for any panfish.

buy in bulk spools to save a lot, I could write a 3 page report on the line, but get some and try it and be hooked for life.

fyi size runs a little bigger but is mono/fluorocarbon hybrid benefits of both.

line does sink which helps when lindy rigging or trolling. (in UP of MI where I first started using it for pink salmon and a few steelies mixed in average 2-6lbs in moderate current with 8lb tst., me/ buddy had countless 50-100 fish days on that line and only retied a couple times...(buddy was using 1 year old line and didn't know it till he got home!) I had a second pole w/ berkley xt in 10lb tst broke every 3th or 4th fish on the knots or the main line. palomar knots were used. there are a thousand other applications but if you watch you can get a 600 yrd spool for like 8 dollars and I have spools that are 6 years old in 4lb that you can't break with hands very easy (not for lack of trying just to make sure)

[Hot_tamale]

my_key,

hey, just wondered that if you use a slip float and spider wire or fireline, doesn't your slip knot actually slip on you?

I had that happen several times. I would tighten it and then have to re-tighten after every cast.

It just became a pain in the butt.

I see you tie on a leader of some sort, but it's easier and much cheaper to just use a full spool of xt or xl .

I am a firm believer that if you start tying leaders in that the knots become the weakest links. you are adding more possibilities to lose fish.

Just a thought on my part. maybe not a good one, but i am a legend in my own mind and that's all that is important!!.

[mainbutter]

Just great, a guy comes in here overloaded with types of fishing line to choose from, and everyone gives him too many options! lol

To the OP:

There are many kinds of fishing lines, but because you need one specific kind for each application, but because many different kinds will work!

Everyone will have their own personal opinion on brand, but when it comes down to it, monofilament is in almost all cases just plain jane nylon monofilament of different thicknesses. There are subtle differences between brands, but the main choice when looking at monofilament line is picking a # test that you like. I know you came looking for brand advice, but TBH I've fished probably a half dozen brands of mono, and I couldn't tell you which one is on which reel anymore, and I don't care.

Right now though I'm in a "braid phase" and haven't fished my reels spooled with mono in a while.

[Rich_s]

I second the Crystal Fireline. Really good stuff. I use high-vis for slip-bobber rods but use 12lb I beleive so the rubber stopper does not slide. I use 6lb Crystal.

[whitebassman]

Fireline crystal with berkley professional fluorocarbon leader. Been doing this for 2-3 years now. Works great. I do suggest using mono backing as well.

[My_Key]

Hot Tamale, I pull on the strings of the slip knot until my fingers are ready to bleed, then trim the excess. I find the more I change depths, the more it works loose. But I don't have a huge problem with it working loose and seldom have to re-tighten. I have more problems with split shot moving or falling off than anything. As for the extra knots, I have yet to lose a fish to a knot coming undone.

[bracer5533]

For panfish i use spiderwire super mono in 4lb, that stuff is so thin you can cast a jig about 5 miles, it doesnt have alot of stretch or memory. For bass i up to 10lb spiderwire stealth with a 1-3 foot floro leader depending on the rig. For eyes, i dont do enough walleye fishing to say better than anyonr else here lol. good luck

[Fish Head]

I think dtro and mainbutter are both right on. You probably won't notice any difference from one mono to the next. I would bring the reels to Gander and have them spool them up for you with some trilene XL for walleyes and pannies, and XT for bass. You really can't go wrong with that.

Having said that… I'm using Power Pro on my jigging rod with a fluorocarbon leader. There is a big difference in feel while using braid. I can understand where you would think another knot would weaken the line, but I've never had a line break on the knot. Learn to tie a good uni to uni knot and it will be solid. In clear water it will definitely make a difference to have the floro leader.

For other walleye rods, I'm going back to 6lb PLine copolymer. It's a fluorocarbon coated mono, so it’s less visible under the water and it's more abrasion resistant than mono. It's a little stiffer too. I used it for a couple years, than went to Gamma mono for a year or two, and now I'm going back to the PLine copolymer.

[LakeDocktor]

Fish Head +1 for PLine. I started using it about 5 years ago and will never go back. I have used a lot of different lines over the years and Trilene is a good choice, however, I didn't like how much memory it had.

[deadeye]

I have to agree with most everyone. 4 lb mono for the ultralight, 6 lb mono for the walleye rig, and either 10lb mono or a braided line for the bass rig.

I guess when it comes to brand choice I like to try everything. I really like pline cx. However I got no problem with trilene XL either. I also just got a spool of gamma I'm going to try too. Silverthread wasn't bad either. Prettly much what makes me happy is easy casting a and good pull strength. Pline has been the nicest to me so far though.

I haven't ever really been on board with the whole tough line deal. I figure if I'm fishing in stuff that I need tough line I will just run a superline.

[Brad B]

I agree with Dtro. You can't beat trilene xl & xt.

4lbs Panfish

6lbs Walleye

8lbs Bass