best line for open water panfish

[EYEHUNTER10]

I have used 4# xl for years, the line works great until them crappies get to be over 14" THEN WATCH OUT!! I have lost a few 15" plus fish usually snaps at the slip not or where you clip the line on a regular bobber. I bought a 3000 yard spool of the stuff this year and decided to respool about every other time out and rety and strip line often about every 10 fish so actualy the stuff sucks it just works good and cast great so I keep using it. I tried 2# 10 power pro this spring and loved it but found that the spools you buy dont have enough line on them to fully spool most of my reels, so my casting suffers a bit, but other wise it was great however retying often was still neseccary as the stuff freys out real easy for the money difference if you fish alot its just hard to beat 4 or 6 # xl just bring a net cuz I can almost guarantee a 15" crappie will snap 4# xl if you just caught 10 crappies previous to the big slab that your about to lose lifting it into the boat, best thing I have found is to wear em out on a smooth drag and grab them in the mouth like a bass with your thumb and lift them out, caught a 16.5 " crappie last week, I have to agree with tom light line like xl will catch you alot more quality fish if you give it a chance, however 2 pound line just wont cut it for a true slab most of the time, and I only use the vanish for leader material because its to stiff, I think 2 pound vanish would be great because its probably equal to 4 pound or better xl, but the stuff freys out much like a super line can, I only buy the 10 pound vanish now and only use it for my lindy rigs for eyes if you use a palomer knot and wet it real good you will be suprised at how strong that 10# vanish is for eyes, Dont try 8 though cuz its to wimpy for most respectable fish, in fact I'd use 8 pound xl before the 8 pound vanish for walleyes the 8 pound vanish is real brittle for some reason but the 10 is tough. For my main line I always use 10 pound stren High Impact(eyes) you can find it at some wal-marts on a big spool in there big game line bins. The stuff is bulletproof, and cheap, then use 10 pound vanish for your snell and your in business. Hope this helps, I think the high vis stuff is a joke unless you just use it for your main line, and use something else like vanish or xl for a leader, then the stren high-vis gold in like 4 or 6 pound for your main line will help you see where your line is at all times its real handy if you shore fish in marinas or areas where theres lots of docks and other fisherman also can see your line and wont cast over you as often, but definitely use a low-vis for the buisness end of the deal.

[CALVINIST]

Eyehunter10,

Thanks for your input!

[hanson]

Sometimes, I find myself resisting change and sometimes I am quick to adapt. Fishing line is one of those things that I am hesitant to change.

I absolutely love the superlines- Fireline, PowerPro, etc. Perhaps its because I can land just about anything on it. Perhaps its because it behaves nicely on my reel. I'm not sure. I was hesitant to get rid of my Fireline on my icerods but I got sick and tired of the line icing up. I now love P-Line!

I'm about ready to respool my ultralight rod to see if I've been missing out on bites as Corey described to me a few weeks ago. Right now, I'm considering P-line Floroclear like ProTrapper mentioned. I was impressed with the 2lb P-line FloroIce I used for a part of the winter so am not hesitant to use P-line on the open water.

Any thoughts on P-line for open water??

[CrappieJohn]

Eyehunter brings up a very good point. Light line has its place, but if you are fishing a lake with weeds and are into sizable crappies within running distance of weeds, that 2 pound stuff will be an onus for you. Certain situations will probably be served best with even a six pound line, but I would hesitate to go much above that.

The lake I fish has no weed areas that I fish, but it does have a lot of wood and very deep water.I fish either 2 or 4 pound line without any problems here, but have had to go to 6 when fishing other weedier waters.

When looking at line weights, you really need to find a "middle-of-the-road" line weight that will serve you best for where you do the bulk of your fishing.

[EYEHUNTER10]

Never tried P-line myself, is it mono or floro or what. I too am hesitant to change I did love the trilene gold I think they called it but i think they quit making it, and also played with rapala line but they stopped making that to I think, has anyone ever tried stren high-impact for Big game, if not try it its as close to super-line as I have found while still being a mono it only comes in 10# or better, but if put on a larger reel like a shimano 4000, or bigger quantum ss or simular size reels it casts a mile and does not stretch you can long line troll with cranks on the weed line and the extra diamater helps keep ya out of the weeds and even with all my line out the stuff is so sensitive it will break your arm and straighten your treble hooks on the right fish. I love superlines alot but hate to use them most of the time especially in the winter cuz of simular freeze up issues, power pro makes a great product, but way to expensive and I hate having to burn, clip , or use a scissors to rety a lure, and will never trust a ball bearing swivel agian in my life but thats a differnt story for a different day.

[CrappieJohn]

Eye....P line comes as a pure fluoro or a hybred copolymer. Both are excellent lines, but the hybred is much softer and has less memory. Spendy though.

[EYEHUNTER10]

Too Rich for my blood I'm sure, I am a firm believer in re-spooling and stripping a couple of feet off often, hence the need to respool nearly every other time out, and since I prefer xl, them docks, and super hard casts into the wind, and of course the trees, a fresh spool of 4# xl usually gets respooled every time out, and sometimes I even have to respool or swap spools right in the boat, I opted for a 3000 yard roll of 4 pound this year, so I will be forced to keep using it now, even though I wish I would have stepped up to 6 pound xl this year, but if ya step up a size maybe youd never get that 15" to bite to even have a chance to lose it on 4 pound ya know, I used 2 pound xl most of the winter and it was extremely nessecary to get the right action and to pry open the lips of them slabs, my personal favorite was the smallest ratfinky money can buy and a eurolarvae, day or night it was the only thing I could get them to take, well maybe the good old shrimpo, and ratso worked at times but the ratfinky was hands down the winner by far, not a normal winter, but what a way to hone in and perfect my presentation for spring the experience really carried over into the spring, I was wacking the crappies before the ice was even off the lakes this spring from shore, and if it weren't for all that experience of tough fishing I wouldn't have had the patience or the knowledge to make them fish bite, I love crappie fishing, once you master your crappie skills you can catch anything with fins I think, no matter what mother nature throws your way, tonight however I was just about ready to throw the towel in cuz of the snow and wind, but toughed it out and still c&r'd quite a few from shore somehow. Hey tom could you explain the egg absorption theory to me??

[EYEHUNTER10]

Oh yeah I was gonna mention, If you have a bunch of 4pd as I do try this. Use your regular crappie rod I prefer a spinning rod about 6.6 as I'm pretty tall, and its a light action shimano jimmy houston rod which I think is IM-7 graphite and absolutely love to death do us part I hope, and instead of using that litte shimano 1000 or 2000 or simular sized reel dig through that big box of lost fishing reels in the basement and find all the biggest ones simular to the size of a shimano 4000 spool and make sure it has the smoothest drag of them all then load that sucker up with 4 pound, and use that I did this spring and I can cast so far now that I cant even see my bobber lol, i tried 2 pound on my panfish reel(shimano 2000) and the bigger real (not sure what brand) out casts the 2000 using 4 pound line and the line last longer, and i can rety alot and strip off bad line and still have plenty left, just a thought, i love the feel of a light wait reel, but the payoff of switching up to the next size reel definitly was worth the little bit of extra weight and now all my 2000's and 1000's will go on all of the ice rods I own cuz I found them small reels on ice fishing combos are rather pathetic, and these 1000's and 2000's are just perfect size for a ice fishing combo that you dont have to respool all the time and they freeze up less ect . . . i just wish this sweet crappie reel I came up with had a rear drag I'll truly miss that, but am adjusting well to the front drag and found it more forgiving as far as smoothness, and once its set right I dont have to mess with it much at all, so I guess I cant slam front drags anymore, I will truly miss that as well lol.

[markkstanley]

I switched to Pline hybrid spendy but worth it. My only problem has been a bit of extra runoff of line when I overcast for the distance. The beauty is the line won't twist up and get knotted as I reel it up. I use the 4lb. Given the refractive quality you could probably even get away with 6lb for crappies. I have 6lb Transition on one rod. No problems catching fish even shallow, very tough line but it will twist up on you in a minute and knot itself if you don't watch every single cast. It also works well on Mississippi walleyes so it can be somewhat cost effective as a (Contact US Regarding This Word) line in situations where you need to do a lot of line watching.

[Oldtyme]

I've only been back fishing now for a couple years, but I have tried many different lines in that time. I was using mainly monos & could never find one that didn't give me problems.

I tried Fireline last year (6lb test 2lb diameter) and now all my reels have it. From throwing spinners to bobber fishing I have had zero problems with this line. They are great with slip bobbers.

I don't feel I've caught less fish because of the line itself.

I've also never had a problem with fish breaking the line and have caught a few large misc fish. It is very strong. If you snag something the hook will bend before that line breaks, saving your lure.

The only downfall to me is the price.

Since I'm out I plan on trying the 4/1 line on my spinner rod to see if I get more distance.

As with anything you read on the internet....this is my opinion.

[Walleye water]

I'm with Oldtyme. It may be expensive but I love the feel of Fireline. I can still cast for distance and I have yet to break off a misc. fish. I have been bit off clean, but that could happen with 20#.

[CrappieJohn]

The braids have a place in today's fishing theater, but I get nervous when I hear of people using even the lighter weight braids on ultra light rods such as those used for crappies and panfish. Many of these rods are simply not up to the challenges offered by the braids. I know that on my high-end equipment the braids are not an option. I'd rather lose a jig once in a while instead of loosing the rod to breakage caused by an unforgiving line. And yes, a pound and a half crappie can torque a rod enough to schmuch a crappie rod if that braid gets looped around the reel's arbor or the rod tip itself.

[Lost]

I'm with Tom on this one. I only use mono on my light rod. I save the braided lines for more serious fishing with the medium and stronger rods.

I've actually had my best luck with 6 lb test line. This year I'm going to 4 lb test... Trilene XL on my new ultra-light. Wish me luck! I've never used an ultra-light before.

[delmuts]

lost; you will have sooooo much fun with an ultra lite. not a real good rod in heavy cover, but a riot on weed edges and such. a big gil will feel like a monster on it.

[Lost]

I might have to head out with it later this afternoon. Hehe.