Trilene or Flurocarbon 4Lb for open water pannies?

[Slyster]

I went to Fleet Farm today for a new reel and fishing line.. specifically for panfishing come opener.. and I remember that Trilene XL is good.. but then I saw Vanish Flourocarbon for $4.00 more (also a small roll of 4Lb)...

What is the difference? (Besides refractive index)... for very clear water fishing.. which to buy? I scratched my head.. and I bought Flourocarbon Vanish but thought I'd better run it by some of the experienced folks here before I open it.

For 4lb line on a L action rod does it really matter either way? It wasn't a lot of money.. but still $10.. Trilene was like $6.00.

[CrappieJohn]

This is where peole get caught up in the fluorocarbon blitz. Fluoro sinks.If you are planning to use a float during your open water fishing and are using the fluoro, the line between the rod tip and float will settle under the waters' surface and makes a simple hookset tough. The stuff can be miserable.

On the other hand though, if you are free lining a jig or spinner or a small Rapala, whatever, and not using a float, the stuff is great. If you were going to fish bait on a hook with no float it would be super. Adding a float to the equation adds headaches.

As far as refractive qualities, fish don't seem to see it because it appears invisible (remember,it is invisible to OUR eyes). Trilene xl is available in clear, green, and blue-fluorescent. In stained water I think the green is able to hide it a little. The fluorescent needs ultravoilet light to show up blue and as water filters this factor the blue glow disappears somewhat and the clear line behaves much the same as the Vanish.

All of my witnter fishing is done with P-Line Fluor-Ice since casting is not an option....the line goes straight down the hole each time and the sinking factor helps get lighter lures down quicker. When I fish open water, I carry 4 rods at a minimum: 2 with Vanish 4 pound and two with Trilene XL 4 pound. If the fish are spooky and I can't get right over them with a float and get them, I back off and free line them and it is then that the fluoro shines.

Fluoro has other benefits ove XL too....limited strech means quicker, more solid hooksets and the rated breaking strength on the box can be exceeded by about 50%. The stuff is tough yes and worth the extra jing, but in some circumstances that stuff can be a misery. You need to decided what sort of fishing will occupy your time the most if you have but one rod and one spool for the reel. If I found myself facing this senario, I'd go with the XL.

[Deitz Dittrich]

Yep, what Tom said. I would add to it, but cant think on anything to add... So just re-read what he wrote and pretend I wrote it too. Although I dont go panfishing with 4 rods on open water, I usually only have 2.

[CrappieJohn]

You short yourelf in the pannie department? How many go for the bass?

[boneyslayer]

Actually the Vanish Sensation product in 2-4lb is what you should purchase, I use it in the winter because it turns Gold yellow in the sun and then clear in the water. I have transitioned all ics rods over to it and the results are amazing on the Big gills and High pressured crappies. And as far as which one to choose there is always the saying, use the best product available all the time, and Vanish sensation is pretty darn good and close to it. GLUCK

[CrappieJohn]

Sensation and Vanish are two different lines altogether. If you are referring to the Vanish Transition I have yet to see it in #2. And I have had nothing but misery with cold-related memory with it. Used a spool of the 4 pound on one outting and it went straight to the round file.

The sensation is another clear line with supposed limpness. I have used it in several instances and found it to be a fair line, but I think as far as mono goes the XL is hard to whoop.

[Slyster]

Thank you sir. Very informative asnwer.. I think I'll take it back and get the XL! I do use floats.

[Deitz Dittrich]

Tom for as much as I fish panfish in the winter, I do a little panfishing in the spring and some through the year.. but still no more than 2-3 rods.. but usually have about 15 rigged for bass...

[boneyslayer]

Yes Tom my blunder I did mean to say transition, just a mix up of the two names, but like I mean't to say give transition a try, and was not sure myself on the 2lb, I do have 4lb and like it alot but added a range in case they did make it in 2 or 3lb. XL and limper lines stretch to much over time, eventually over a day on larger fish your line will corkscrew at the bait because it has streched so far, also its easier to get tangles out on line you can see even thou the fish cannot see it.

[CrappieJohn]

Boney....The Vanish Transition is available with 4 being the lightest weight.

I'll clarify my comments from earlier. I have fished with the Transition line personally only during the winter months. This was with the 4 pound and I was using it for jigging walleyes on the Mississippi during Februuary while the temps were in the low 30's. At that temp the line had so much memory that it would shoot off the spool in matted coils. I unspooled the whole nine yards, let the current run the line completely straight out behind the boat and then re-spooled it tightly. Same thing re-ocurred. I did this several times during the day and finally just put a different spool on the reel with plain Vanish in 4 pound. No further issues with coiling. Or un-coiling.

I have had others in my boat that have had similar results with the Transition.

Remember now, we are talking panfish line here. I have never had a panfish or crappies stretch the XL to the point where it coils and I fish only 2 and 4 pound line in the open water. Snags might stretch the line if you aren't careful how you deal with them, but with an appropriate reel and decend drag you will not see this happen.

I buy my line on 1000 yard spools mostly and change it often. From the time I first hit the water in the boat after the ice is gone until immediately after the spawn, I have changed my line perhaps six times on most of the rods I use. Over the course of the summer months and intothe fall up to ice up, these lines are changed at leats eight more times.

The two rods I have that see crappie action during the summer that have 2 pound Vanish on them (yes, plain Vanish is available in two pound), see action only when I am tossing spinners or small stick baits when I want the extra shock resistance and lack of stretch. The plain Vanish is good in this arena and perhaps the Transition is too, but the first bad expeience with the stuff soured me on it. The cost for the Transition is considerably higher than plain Vanish too and in my opinion the colored line is not worth the extra expense.

For the average angler who wants a good line with easy to use handling characteristics, XL is a premium candidate. I love the stuff because it spools nicely, comes in the clear, is a multi-task line and has a bit of forgiveness in it's stretch. And the stretch is what has put substantially more crappies in my boat because the shock of the hookset doesn't tear hooks out of the soft mouth parts.

We all have our pet plugs when it comes to what we use to catch fish. I don't mean to try and diffuse your liking of the Transition. I related what I did not care for about it. Heck, I can't fish like half of the better anglers I know know how to fish. nd most of them are not going to fish like I do. We're all uniquein that regard. If you are finding favor with the Transition I don't want you to just up and change. My bad experiences came in cold weather, but we need to be reminded that early and late open water crappie fishing will have some pretty chilly days in there and cold related issues with tackle will show themselves.

[kobb]

Has anyone had any luck with that Cajun red fishing line? You can seeit good above the water but it supposedly disappears after it get so deep in the water column. so would this kind of be like the trilene XL except you can see it good out of water?

kobb

[CrappieJohn]

I haven't had any experience with it. The Cajun Red that I have seen at Fleet Farm has been priced quite low. I use the pricing of the Trilene XL in thet 330 yd spool to benchmark what I think line should cost to get quality. If it is below that point, I won't buy it.

I might be missing something in the Cajun red but know what I would be missing if I spooled up something other than what has proven itself to me many, many times over. It took me four years to come over to Pline Florice on my ice reels but now I don't think I could fish like I do without it. The open water gear gets the XL with but two exceptions that get Vanish.

I am not crazy abou colored line and maybe thathas been an issue with my not trying the red. Thatdoesn't mean you shouldn't if you think its what will work for you.

[delmuts]

don't be afraid to give it a try! you will notice here that the guys are always trying new things. some work, others don't.if you're curious, give it a try . then let us know what you think of it. every one has their own preferences! mine, for open water i still prefer solar XT in 2 & 4 # ,but plan on trying some 4# vanish this year.

[kobb]

Tried the Cajun line out this weekend. So far I'm not sure what to think about it. Tried it on Lake Bemidji and just hammered the perch, lots of c&r.Then tried it on Blackduck lake and couldn't get a thing on it. I think it might work better when fishin deeper cause bemidji was in 36 f.o.w. Blackduck was fishin in 17 f.o.w. Have to try it more to see if I like it I guess.

kobb

[delmuts]

interesting! just wondering? how was the water clarity on those two bodies of water?

[PikeBayCommanche]

Have tried cajun with great sucess. It seems to work the best on the ice for me because it does not coil up so much.

[kobb]

The water clarity was about 16' or 17' on blackduck and just under 20' on bemidji, so it was fairly similar, however balckduck don't get much deeper than 20' and bemidgi gets to over 50' deep. So maybe it works better in the darker or murkier water.

kobb