line?

[pbowhunter]

Im brand new to muskie fishing and was wondering what brand of line you perfer and what lb test. thanks

[Guest]

I've been using 80lb Spiderwire for years. It holds up very well!! Works over Bullrushes without seemingly losing strength and yet has a fairly small diameter for it's strength. I know others that are happy with TUF line but I've yet to find a reason to switch. I'm sure there are many out there that work great this is just my experience!

[JJJ]

It's only my second Muskie season and I only boated 4 in the first season, but I like Power Pro 80lb. It seems to cast smooth. I'll be interested to see what others post on this topic. I'm sure it will vary.

[muskieboy46]

I am going on my second year using 50 pound whiplash. The only complaint i have for it is that it tangles easy.

[kslipsinker]

I have Spider wire on one muskie rig and Fireline on another. I use 30 pound Spider Wire and 20 pound Fireline. I have never lost a fish because they broke the line.

[Paul Waldowski]

JJJ,

I'm with you!!! Love that Power Pro

------------------
Paul
[email protected]

[Wildlineman]

I switched to 80lb Power Pro this year. Subsequent years I used 80lb Tuff line. The only problem I had with Tuff line was that it absorbed too much water. So far this year I have been extremely happy with Power Pro and will be using from now on.

Go with Power Pro, you won't be disappointed.
Good luck,
Shayne

[RK]

Hiya,
Try Spiderwire Stealth. Used it a few weeks now and so far really like it. It's pretty similar to Berkly Whiplash. They changed the brand name this year for some reason (I think doing stuff like that from time to time keeps the marketing people employed, but that's just a theory. ). It's teflon empregnated so it doesn't absorb water at all (getting sprayed is partly why I'm switchig from TUF line) and casts very well. Use either the 80 or 100 lb. Tangles much less than the thinner diameters and is much more pleasant to handle.

Cheers,
RK

[wishiniwerefishin]

I love the 80 LB Spiderwire. I havent broken one off yet, and it seems to hold up really well. Tried Tuff line, but didnt care for it all that much.

[NoodleSalad]

80# Power-Pro or Tuff Line! Whiplashs' braids come apart. -NS-

[Guest]

80Ib power pro.

[Guest]

80lb test? what is up with that? I have pulled in 20lb and 30lb lake trout with 8lb test. I have fished big northerns but never have had the opertunity to fish pure strain muskys, do they whip that hard or is the terrain that rugged or you guys just...

[Guest]

Part of the reason ,to me, for the high pound test is the weight of the lures can beat up the line and watching a 15.00 plus lure sail into the great beyond SUCKS! Also when fishing rocks or bullrushes the line does really take a beating. I remember some of the past lines I've used watching them fray and constantly retying. I believe my last spool of 80# was on the reel 4-5yrs. I should of put it on a different reel and used the stuff that was below. Even with backing there was plenty of line that never seen a rod guide.

[This message has been edited by bemduckboy (edited 06-19-2003).]

[Guest]

would it be a good idea to reverse your superline on the same reel once the one part gets worn and old? Like bemduckboy said, more than half of my line never sees water. It would be cheaper than buying new line. Or, does superline have a shelf life like mono?

[RuKiddingMe]

Love that Power Pro, it's a little stiff out of the box but you spend a day working with it and you'll be happy from there on out, never had a break.

That's good stuff Maynerd...

Matt

[Zarkohl]

After reading this, as well as several other posts over the years, I still don't get the concept and/or reason for putting on "backing". As I understand it, "backing" means that you first put some other kind of line on your reel and then add the line that your actually going to fish with.

My questions are these;

1) Why? Is it mostly because of price or is it because the super lines are so thin?

2)What the best type of line to use for backing? (mono, dacron, . . . )

3)What the best size line to use for backing? (10lb, 36lb)

4) Does it matter what size super line you use with a particular backing? (i.e. 36# dacron with 83# power pro. vs 20# mono with 50# whiplash?)

5) How much backing do you put on the spool? (1/2, 3/4. . .)?

6) Do you tie the lines together? If so how?
(wouldn't the knot interfear with the line on the spool?)

As you can tell, I don't currently have any backing on my reels and I just am wondering if this is something I should do. Thanks

[ilikepike]

I use 25lb Trilene XT for lures up to 2 oz, which is 80% of my lures (bucktails, spoons, spinnerbaits, minnowbaits). For heavier I use black 45 lb test micron line. That's mainly for really large jerkbaits.

I use mono backing for non-mono lines because it grips the reel better, resulting in fewer backlashes.

I think a lot of what passes for new innovation in lines and lures tends to be hype so you will shell out more $$$ when the basics would perform fine. Do your research, equip yourself with some basic quality tackle and save your money for fishing trips.

[Guest]

Zarkohl,
There are several reasons for the backing.
1. Keeps the superline from spinning on the spool.
2. Most boxes of superline come in 100-150
yard boxes. This short amount will not fill most baitcasters to the level they should be filled for best casting. The mono is used as a filler.

You can get some of the superlines in 300 yard boxes but why? It's way more expensive and half of it will never see water.(unless you troll for big muskies or something) I use a blood knot for tying the superline to the mono backing. Mono backing is cheaper than dacron and works well.

I hope this has helped.
Tennesseean

[Steve Foss]

I'll take them as you asked them.

1) Why? Price is one factor. It's rare to have so much line out that 125 yards of superline (common length of store-sold superline) will give way to the backing. So if your reel holds 250 yards and you spool it completely with superline, you're wasting money, because superline is more expensive than old dacron braids and regular mono. I don't put on backing because of thin superlines on baitcasters. Rather, instead of using 30 lb mono for the main line like in former times, I'd switch to a superline with a heavier break strength in a 30 lb diameter. Too thin and the line's hard to deal with.

2)What the best type of line to use for backing? Anything you've got. I like to use something fairly beefy (dacron or heavy mono) because it takes less line to fill the backing.

3)What the best size line to use for backing? Best to use a line with the same general diameter as the superline. Doesn't have to be exact, just fairly close.

4) Does it matter what size super line you use with a particular backing? See above.

5) How much backing do you put on the spool? That's the tricky part. You've gotta guess a bit. Ideally, you put on enough backing so that your 125 yards (or however many) of superline fills the spool to the ideal volume. It takes practice. And if you find you've spooled way too much backing on and have way too much superline left over when the spool fills, don't be afraid to rewind the superline on the factory spool, pull off as much backing as you need and rewind it all again.

6) Do you tie the lines together? If you don't tie them together, what happens on that off chance that a really big fish spools you (not likely with Esox, but anything's possible)? Yup, bye-bye line, fish and lure. Down at the bottom between superline and backing, a well-tied knot doesn't create a problem, especially if you cinch it tight and trim it close.

All the superline manufacturers have directions in their line on how to tie it to the backing, which knots are best to use and how to tie them, so I won't go into that here.

Good luck.

------------------
"Worry less, fish more."
Steve Foss
[email protected]

[This message has been edited by stfcatfish (edited 06-20-2003).]

[Guest]

As mentioned before you really need to keep the spool of line from spinning. I have found that at least the first part needs to be mono because it really "grips" onto the spool and is not affected by the swelling and shrinking from being wet that a dacron line might be. Alot of times people think they have a faulty drag when in reality it is the line spinning on the spool itself.